As others have noted a W9 is the form an independent contractor gives to his customer/client to provide tax reporting information. Typically if you provided a W9, you would expect to receive a 1099 at year end to report gross amounts paid to the independent contractor.Normally when a W9 is requested it indicates that the independent contractor will be reporting his or her business income on Schedule C of Form 1040.If the individual has net earnings of more than $400, then they are required to file a tax return.