W9 and subcontractors

I have a client wanting a w9 submitted for a job which I have sub-contracted another painter to cover.
Do I fill out the w9? Or does the other painter? They are representing my business, but the client will be paying them directly.

I haven't had this come up, because I haven't contracted another painter yet. I'll be interested to know.

I just read a page concerning the form on Turbotax, and it isn't too clear. Or I am just not understanding it.
If I do the w9 since it's my business, does it then matter if they are making a check out to the contracted painter directly.
This is a client I work for occasionally, but it's the first time they have requested a w9.

I would say the painter would submit to the client the W-9 with their social or EIN# if you do it that way with no commission to you. When we've had shared gigs then each painter would submit a W-9 to the client.

However, if she does a lot of gigs for you as a sub contractor (I think it's $600+) then you could submit the W-9 to the client with your info, get the check, pay her then send a 10-99 to her at the end of the year.

I thought this was a good answer from Ask.com:
The purpose of the Form W9 is to ask for the number that identifies you as a taxpayer. The form gives detailed information on filling it. It is used by contractors, banks, consultants and individuals who are self-employed.

And then this about 1099 forms:
A 1099 is similar to a W-2 except it notes payment from a company to either an individual or another company. One copy is sent to the person/group that provided the services. The other copy goes to the Govt.

Like a W-2 the Government uses it understand whether tax fillers are accurately reporting their income. In some cases, when the 1099 is very specific about the income reported, it can trigger an automatic audit if the payee does not report the corresponding amount on their tax return.

1099's are used to report things like investment earnings but also to report the earnings from services provided by individuals (sole propriotorships) or businesses (LLCs, Corps, Partnerships, etc.)

Thank you Denise. That explains much better that what I had found.
I will have to submit the w9, then pay her myself. And do the 1099 if she does any more work for me.

Denise,

Upon occasion, I have needed to hire additional artists. These are corporate events, so I know W-9s are necessary. I do not want to pay taxes on the money they make, so I get each artist to submit a W-9 to the company. Most times, I have given myself no extra $ for finding the job. I ask the client to pay us all the same. There have only been maybe twice, where I quoted a certain amount to the client for the whole gig. Then asked for one amount to be given to the artists and a higher amount was paid to me. I felt a bit guilty, but I provided sample sheets for each artist (they have been different holiday parties) and sometimes some holiday head gear!

I've said it before, I am an artist first. I don't want a BIG entertainment company where I spend more time doing the business side. I want to have FUN and paint cute kids. That is what makes me happy! 

I primarily do commercial work, have a team of artists and two balloon twisters on my team. I give an I-9 to the client, I pay my team on site at the gig and at the end of the year I give each team member a 1099 for their total for the year. Then, I used an online service Taxslayer.com, but you can use any multitude of services, and entered the info for each of my team and for a small fee - a few dollars each - Taxslayer electronically filed the Fed.forms, I printed and mailed the state and the personal copy to each person. Super fast and easy. It was bagged'n tagged in less than thirty minutes!

Also: You don't need to send a 1099 if the subcontractor has earned less than $600.