Form W-9, Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification, is a short IRS form a US business or individual gives to whoever pays them. It states the payee's legal name, business type and taxpayer identification number, and it certifies that the number is correct. The company receiving the completed W-9 uses it to fill out its own 1099 reporting at year end, not to send anything to the IRS itself.
A US client's accounts-payable team asks for a W-9 as a matter of routine before it will add a new vendor to its books, because the form is what lets the client's accounting department file correctly and avoid backup withholding questions. Without one on file, some finance departments will not release a payment at all, regardless of how good the invoice looks.
The form is built for US persons and US entities only: a foreign individual or foreign company does not fill out a W-9, because a W-9 certifies US tax status, which a foreign freelancer does not have. When the invoice is issued by a merchant of record, it is that company, being the US entity on the transaction, that provides the W-9 on request; the foreign freelancer behind the work is not the one signing it.
If you invoice a US client directly as a foreign freelancer, you cannot supply a W-9 yourself, and that gap is exactly what stalls some accounts-payable approvals. Working through a merchant of record removes the question: PANORAMA payments is the US company on the invoice and provides its own W-9 when the client's finance team asks for one, so you never need to hold or sign that form yourself. For more on how the setup works without you forming a company, see invoicing a US client without a company.
Do I need to fill out a W-9 as a foreign freelancer?
No. Form W-9 is for US persons and US entities. As a foreign freelancer you are not the one who completes it, even if your client's accounting department asks about it during onboarding.
What does a US client do with my W-9?
The client's accounts-payable team keeps it on file and uses the taxpayer identification number on it to prepare Form 1099-NEC at year end, if a 1099 is required for that payee. The W-9 itself is never sent to the IRS.
Why does my client keep asking for a W-9 if I am not American?
Some accounts-payable systems ask for a W-9 automatically for every new vendor, before anyone checks whether the vendor is a US person. When the actual invoicing entity is a US company, that company answers the request directly and the freelancer is not involved.