There are two sets of hiring forms:

  1. Hiring form W-9 for contractors.
  2. Hiring forms for regular employees.

Hiring Form W-9 for Contractors:

Form W-9 (request for taxpayer identification number and certificate) is the IRS form that needs to be completed by independent contractors. It is simple and essentially requests the contractor’s taxpayer identification number. Get this form.

For significant contractual jobs, we suggest that you sign an agreement with contractors describing the the work and the compensation arrangement.

Hiring Forms for Regular Employees:

Both part-time and full-time employees need to complete the following forms. These forms should be retained on file for each employee, as they are subject to government inspection at any time.

Form W-4 (employee’s withholding allowance certificate)—Each non-ordained employee must fill out a W-4, which authorizes the employer to withhold funds for federal and state taxes. Get this form.

Form I-9 (employment eligibility verification)—This form requests several forms of identification. Get this form.

State Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate—Nine states have no individual income tax on wages (Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming). For all other states, each employee needs to complete a state withholding form unique to that state. This form is similar to the federal W-4 above. Your payroll processor can assist you in obtaining and completing the form particular to your state.

We encourage employers to have each employee fill out an employee information sheet. This asks for emergency contact info, personal contact info, etc. This is good for keeping a clean database of all your employee’s contact info.