Give form to the
requester. Do not
send to the IRS.
Form
W-9S
Request for Student’s or Borrower’s Taxpayer
Identification Number and Certification
(Rev. March 2008)
Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service
Name of student or borrower (see instructions)
City, state, and ZIP code
Print or type
Student or Borrower Identification (All must complete.)
Student Loan Certification (Complete for student loans only.)
I certify that all of the loan proceeds are solely to pay for qualified higher education expenses.
Sign
Here
Signature of borrower
©
Date
©
Form W-9S (Rev. 3-2008)
Part I
Address (number, street, and apt. or suite no.)
Cat. No. 25240C
Taxpayer identification number
Part II
General Instructions
Purpose of form. An eligible educational institution, such as
a college or university, or a lender of a student loan must get
your correct identifying number to file certain information
returns with the IRS and to furnish a statement to you. For
students, this will be your social security number (SSN) or, if
you are not eligible to obtain an SSN, your individual
taxpayer identification number (ITIN). The returns they must
file contain information about qualified tuition and related
expenses (Form 1098-T, Tuition Statement) and student loan
interest (Form 1098-E, Student Loan Interest Statement). The
information about your tuition will help to determine whether
you, or the person who can claim you as a dependent, may
take either the tuition and fees deduction or claim an
education credit to reduce federal income tax. The
information about your student loan interest will help to
determine your deduction for such interest. For more
information, see Pub. 970, Tax Benefits for Education.
Use Form W-9S to give your correct SSN or ITIN to the
person requesting it and, if applicable, to certify that the
proceeds of a loan are being used, or will be used, solely to
pay for qualified higher education expenses (defined on page
2). You are required to provide the requested information.
Note. The educational institution or lender may request your
SSN or ITIN and certification on paper or electronically.
Specific Instructions
Part I. Student or Borrower Identification
Name and address. Enter the name and mailing address of
the student if the request for the student’s SSN or ITIN is
being made because of tuition payments. Enter the name
Taxpayer’s identifying number. Enter your SSN or ITIN. If
you do not have an SSN or ITIN and you have applied for
one or you intend to apply for one soon, write “Applied For”
in the space provided.
How to get an SSN or ITIN. To apply for an SSN, use Form
SS-5, Application for a Social Security Card, that you can get
from your local Social Security Administration office or get
this form online at www.ssa.gov/online. You may also get this
form by calling 1-800-772-1213.
Part II. Student Loan Certification
Requester Information (Optional)
Part III
Requester’s name and address
Tuition account number
Loan account number
Note. If you pay tuition to and have a student loan from the
same educational institution and the student is not the loan
borrower (for example, the borrower is the student’s parent),
complete two Forms W-9S, one for the student and one for
the loan borrower.
If your loan is a student loan incurred solely to pay for
qualified higher education expenses, sign the certification in
Part II. If you do not sign the certification, the lender may not
issue or file Form 1098-E for student loan interest on your
behalf. Do not sign the certification for a mixed use loan
because such a loan is not used solely for qualified higher
education expenses. However, you may sign the certification
for a revolving line of credit or similar loan if you use the line
of credit solely to pay for qualified higher education
expenses.
You must complete this part.
For Privacy Act Notice, see page 2.
and mailing address of the borrower if the request for the
borrower’s SSN or ITIN is being made because of a student
loan.
To apply for an ITIN because you are not eligible to get an
SSN, use Form W-7, Application for IRS Individual Taxpayer
Identification Number, that you can get from the IRS website
at www.irs.gov or by calling 1-800-TAX-FORM
(1-800-829-3676).
Penalties
Failure to furnish correct SSN or ITIN. If you fail to furnish
your correct SSN or ITIN to the requester, you are subject to
a penalty of $50 unless your failure is due to reasonable
cause and not to willful neglect.
Misuse of SSN or ITIN. If the requester discloses or uses
your SSN or ITIN in violation of federal law, the requester
may be subject to civil and criminal penalties.
Page 2
Form W-9S (Rev. 3-2008)
Part III. Requester Information
This part is not required to be completed. It is provided for
the convenience of the requester to help identify the account
to which this Form W-9S relates. The requester may enter its
name and address and a tuition or loan account number.
Note. For information about electronic submission of Forms
W-9S, see the Instructions for Forms 1098-E and 1098-T.
Qualified higher education expenses. These expenses are
the costs of attending an eligible educational institution,
including graduate school, on at least a half-time basis.
Generally, these costs include tuition and certain related
expenses. See Pub. 970 for more information.
Secure Your Tax Records From Identity
Theft
Identity theft occurs when someone uses your personal
information such as your name, taxpayer identification
number (TIN), or other identifying information, without your
permission, to commit fraud or other crimes. An identity thief
may use your SSN to get a job or may file a tax return using
your TIN to receive a refund.
The IRS does not initiate contacts with taxpayers via
emails. Also, the IRS does not request personal detailed
information through email or ask taxpayers for the PIN
numbers, passwords, or similar secret access information for
their credit card, bank, or other financial accounts.
Privacy Act Notice
Section 6109 of the Internal Revenue Code requires you to
give your correct SSN or ITIN to persons who must file
information returns with the IRS to report certain information.
The IRS uses the numbers for identification purposes and to
help verify the accuracy of your tax return. The IRS may also
provide this information to the Department of Justice for civil
and criminal litigation and to cities, states, the District of
Columbia, and U.S. possessions to carry out their tax laws.
We may also disclose this information to other countries
under a tax treaty, or to federal and state agencies to
enforce federal nontax criminal laws, or to federal law
enforcement and intelligence agencies to combat terrorism.
Protect yourself from suspicious emails or phishing
schemes. Phishing is the creation and use of email and
websites designed to mimic legitimate business emails and
websites. The most common act is sending an email to a
user falsely claiming to be an established legitimate
enterprise in an attempt to scam the user into surrendering
private information that will be used for identity theft.
To reduce your risk:
Protect your TIN,
Ensure the requester is protecting your TIN, and
Be careful when choosing a tax preparer.
Call the IRS at 1-800-829-1040 if you think your identity
has been used inappropriately for tax purposes.
Victims of identity theft who are experiencing economic
harm or a system problem, or are seeking help in resolving
tax problems that have not been resolved through normal
channels, may be eligible for Taxpayer Advocate Service
(TAS) assistance. You can reach TAS by calling the TAS
toll-free at 1-877-777-4778 or TTY/TDD 1-800-829-4059.
If you receive an unsolicited email claiming to be from the
IRS, forward this message to phishing@irs.gov. You may also
report misuse of the IRS name, logo, or other IRS personal
property to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax
Administration at 1-800-366-4484. You can forward
suspicious emails to the Federal Trade Commission at:
spam@uce.gov or contact them at www.ftc.gov/idtheft or
1-877-IDTHEFT (1-877-438-4338).
Visit the IRS website at www.irs.gov to learn more about
identity theft and how to reduce your risk.