Fill - Free fillable Revenue Procedure 2011-61 om IR Bulletin 2011-52 Reprinted (UncleFed's Tax Board) PDF form

Revenue

Procedure

2011-61

Reprinted fr

om IR Bulletin 2011-52

Dated Decemb

er 27, 2011

Publicatio

n1167

General R

ules and

Speciﬁca

tions for Substitute

Forms and

Schedules

IRS

Department of the Treasury

Internal Revenue Service

blication 1167 (Rev. 12-2011)

talog Number 47013F

www.irs.gov

NOTE. This revenue procedure will be reproduced as the next revision of IRS

Publication 1167, General Rules and Speciﬁcations for Substitute Forms and

Schedules.

Rev. Proc. 2011-61

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART 1 – INTRODUCTION TO SUBSTITUTE FORMS

Section 1.1 – Overview of Revenue Procedure 2011-61.................... 1

Section 1.2 – IRS Contacts............................................. 2

Section 1.3 – What’s New ............................................. 3

Section 1.4 – Deﬁnitions .............................................. 4

Section 1.5 – Agreement .............................................. 7

PART 2 – GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR SUBMISSIONS AND APPROVALS

Section 2.1 – Ge ne ral Speciﬁcations for Approval ........................ 8

Section 2.2 – Highlights of Permitted C hanges and Requirements ........... 10

Section 2.3 – Vouchers ................................................ 10

Section 2.4 – Restrictions on Changes ................................... 14

Section 2.5 – Guidelines for Obtaining IRS Approval ..................... 14

Section2.6–Ofﬁce of Management and Budget (OMB) Requirements for All

Substitute Forms

........................................ 18

PART 3 – PHYSICAL ASPECTS AND REQUIREMENTS

Section 3.1 – General Guidelines for Substitute Forms..................... 20

Section 3.2 – Paper ................................................... 22

Section 3.3 – Printing ................................................. 24

Section 3.4 – Margins ................................................. 25

Section 3.5 – Examples of A pproved Formats ............................ 26

Section 3.6 – Miscellaneous Information for Substitute Forms .............. 26

PART 4 – ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Section 4.1 – Guidance From Other Revenue Procedures .................. 28

Section 4.2 – Electronic Tax Products ................................... 28

Section 4.3 – IRS Tax Products on DVD (Publication 1796)................ 29

PART 5 – REQUIREMENTS FOR SPECIFIC TAX RETURNS

Section 5.1 – Tax Returns (Forms 1040, 1040A, 1120, etc.) ................ 29

Section 5.2 – Changes Permitted to Graphics (Forms 1040A and 1 040) ...... 31

Section 5.3 – Changes Permitted to Form 1040A Graphics ................. 32

Section 5.4 – Changes Permitted to Form 1040 Graphics .................. 33

PART 6 – FORMAT AND CONTENT OF SUBSTITUTE RETURNS

Section 6.1 – Acceptable Formats for Substitute Forms and Schedules....... 34

Section 6.2 – Additional Instructions for All Forms ....................... 36

PART 7 – MISCELLANEOUS FORMS AND PROGRAMS

Section 7.1 – Speciﬁcations for Substitute Schedules K-1 .................. 38

Section 7.2 – Guidelines for Substitute Forms 8655 ....................... 45

PART 8 – ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Section 8.1 – Forms for Electronically Filed Returns ...................... 47

Section 8.2 – Effect on Other Documents ................................ 48

Exhibit A-1 – Schedule A (Preferred Format) ............................ .. 48

Exhibit A-2 – Schedule A (Acceptable Format)........................... .. 48

Exhibit B-1 – Form 2106-EZ (Preferred Format).......................... .. 48

Exhibit B-2 – Form 2106-EZ (Acceptable Format) ........................ .. 48

Exhibit C – Software Developers Voucher ............................... .. 48

Exhibit D – Check Sheet of IRS Substitute Forms......................... .. 48

Part 1

Introduction to Substitute F o r ms

Section 1.1 – Overview of Revenue Procedure 2011-61

1.1.1

Purpose

The purpose of this revenue procedure is to provide guidelines and general

requirements for the development, printing, and approval of substitute tax

forms. Approval will be based on these guidelines. After review and approval,

submitted forms will be accepted as substitutes for ofﬁcial IRS forms.

1.1.2

Unique Forms

Certain unique specialized forms require the use of other additional publications

to supplement this publication. See Part 4.

1.1.3

Scope

The IRS accepts quality substitute tax forms that are consistent with the ofﬁcial

forms and have no adverse impact on our processing. The IRS Substitute

Forms Unit administers the formal acceptance and processing of these forms

nationwide. While this program deals with paper documents, it also reviews

for approval other processing and ﬁling forms such as those used in electronic

ﬁling.

Only those substitute forms that comply fully with these requirements are

acceptable. This revenue procedure is updated as required to reﬂect pertinent

tax year form changes and to meet processing and/or legislative requirements.

1.1.4

Forms Covered

by This Revenue

Procedure

The following types of forms are covered by this r evenue procedure:

• IRS tax forms and their related schedules,

• Worksheets as they appear in instruction packages,

• Applications for permission to ﬁle returns electronically and forms used

as required documentation for electronically ﬁled returns,

• Powers of Attorney,

• Over-the-counter estimated tax payment vouchers, and

• Forms and schedules relating to partnerships, exempt organizations, and

employee plans.

1.1.5

Forms Not

Covered by

This Revenue

Procedure

The following types of forms are not covered by this revenue procedure:

• W-2 and W-3 (see Publication 1141 for information on these forms),

• W-2c and W-3c (see Publication 1223 for i nformation on these forms),

• 941, Schedule B (Form 941) and Schedule R (Form 941) (see Publication

4436 for information on these forms),

• 1096, 1097-BTC, 1098 series, 1099 series, 3921, 3922, 5498 series,

W-2G, 1042-S, and 8935 (see Publication 1179 for information on these

forms),

• 8027 (see Publication 1239 for information on this form),

• Federal Tax Deposit (FTD) coupons, which may not be reproduced,

• Forms 1040-ES (OCR) and 1041-ES (OCR), which may not be

reproduced,

• Forms 5500, 5500-SF and associated schedules (For more information on

these forms, see the Department of Labor website at www.efast.dol.gov.),

• Forms 5300, 5307, 8717, and 8905, bar-coded forms requiring separate

approval,

• FinCEN forms, TD F 90-22 forms, and Form 8300,

• Requests for information or documentation initiated by the IRS,

• FormsusedinternallybytheIRS,

• State tax forms,

• Forms developed outside the IRS, and

• General Instructions and Speciﬁc Instructions (These are not reviewed by

the Substitute Forms Program Unit).

Section 1.2 – IRS Contacts

1.2.1

Where To Send

Substitute Forms

Send your substitute forms for approval to the following ofﬁces (do not send

forms with taxpayer data):

Form Ofﬁce and Address

All FinCEN family of forms, T D F

90-22 family of forms, and Form

8300

Enterprise Computing Center

Detroit (ECC-D) BSA Compliance

Branch

P.O. Box 32063

Detroit, MI 48232-0063

Form 8300, FBAR, and Casino

CTR [FinCEN Form 103]

Enterprise Computing Center

Detroit (ECC-D) BSA Compliance

Branch

P.O. Box 32621

Detroit, MI 48232-0621

Form Ofﬁce and Address

5500, 5500-SF, and Schedules for

Form 5500

Check EFAST2 information at the

Department of Labor’s website at

www.efast.dol.gov

5300, 5307, 8717, and 8905 Jennifer.L.Frederick@irs.gov

Software developer vouchers (See

Sections 2.3.7 - 2.3.9.)

Internal Revenue Service

Attn: Doris Bethea, C5-266

5000 Ellin Rd.

Lanham, MD 20706

Doris.E.Bethea@irs.gov or

Brenda.C.Martinez@irs.gov

All others (except W-2, W-2c,

W-3, W-3c, 941, Schedules B and

R (Form 941), 1096, 1097-BTC,

1098, 1099, 3921, 3922, 5498,

W-2G, 1042-S, 8027 and 8935)

covered by this publication

Internal Revenue Service

Attn: Substitute Forms Program

SE:W:CAR:MP:T:M:S

1111 Constitution Avenue, NW

Room 6526

Washington, DC 20224

In addition, the Substitute Forms Program Unit can be contacted via email at

substituteforms@irs.gov. Please include “PDF Submissions” on the subject

line.

For questions about Forms W-2 and W-3, refer to IRS Publication 1141,

General Rules and Speciﬁcations for Substitute Forms W-2 and W-3. For

Forms W-2c and W-3c, refer to IRS Publication 1223, General Rules and

Speciﬁcations for Substitute Forms W-2c and W-3c. For Form 941 and

Schedules B and R (Form 941), refer to IRS Publication 4436, General Rules

and Speciﬁcations for Substitute Form 941, Schedule B (Form 941) and

Schedule R (Form 941). For Forms 1096, 1097-BTC, 1098, 1099, 3921, 3922,

5498, W-2G, 1042-S, and 8935, refer to IRS Publication 1179, General Rules

and S peciﬁcations for Substitute Forms 1096, 1098, 1099, 5498, and Certain

Other Information Returns. For Form 8027, refer to IRS Publication 1239,

Speciﬁcations for Filing Form 8027, Employer’s Annual Information Return

of Tip Income and Allocated Tips, Electronically.

Section 1.3 – What’s New

1.3.1

What’s New

The following changes have been made to Publication 1167 since the last

revision (March 2010).

• Website reference change. The IRS website will now be referred to as

IRS.gov rather than www.irs.gov.

• Enterprise Computing Center name change. The Enterprise

Computing Center-Martinburg (ECC) is now referred to as The Internal

Revenue Service/Information Returns Branch (IRS/IRB).

• Section 3.2.4 deleted. References to carbon paper are obsolete.

• Section 3.6.3 deleted. Because tax packages are no l onger being

automatically distributed to taxpayers, preprinted labels are no longer

necessary.

• Revised Section 4.3. Section 4.3 has been revised to reﬂect changes

concerning IRS Publication 1796.

• Section 6.2.2 updated. Software that creates computer-generated paper

substitute forms must now contain a 3-letter source Code. See Section

6.2.2.

• Section 7.2 deleted. Because tax packages are no longer being

automatically distributed to taxpayers, envelope speciﬁcations are no

longer necessary.

• We made editorial changes as needed.

Section1.4–Deﬁnitions

1.4.1

Substitute Form

A tax form (or r elated schedule) that differs in any way from the ofﬁcial version

and is intended to replace the form that is printed and distributed by the IRS.

This term also covers those approved substitute forms exhibited in this revenue

procedure.

1.4.2

Printed/Preprinted

Form

A form produced using conventional printing processes, or a printed form

which has been reproduced by photocopying or a similar process.

1.4.3

Preprinted

Pin-Fed

Form

A printed form that has marginal perforations for use with automated and

high-speed printing equipment.

1.4.4

Computer

Prepared

Substitute Form

A preprinted form in which the taxp

ayer’s tax entry information has been

inserted by a computer, computer p

rinter, or other computer-type equipment.

1.4.5

Computer

Generated

Substitute Tax

Return or Form

A tax return or form that is entirely designed and printed using a computer

printer on p lain white paper. This return or form must conform to the physical

layout of the corresponding IRS form, although the typeface may differ. The

text should m atch the text on the ofﬁcially printed form as closely as possible.

Condensed text and abbreviations will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Exception. All jurats (perjury statements) must be reproduced verbatim.

1.4.6

Manually

Prepared

Form

A preprinted reproduced form in which the taxpayer’s tax entry information is

entered by an individual using a pen, pencil, typewriter, or other non-automated

equipment.

1.4.7

Graphics

Parts of a printed tax form that are not tax amount entries or required

text. Examples of graphics are line numbers, captions, shadings, special

indicators, borders, rules, and strokes created by typesetting, photographics,

photocomposition, etc.

1.4.8

Acceptable

Reproduced

Form

A legible photocopy or an exact replica of an original form.

1.4.9

Supporting

Statement

(Supplemental

Schedule)

A document providing detailed information to support a line entry on an ofﬁcial

or approved substitute form and ﬁledwith(attachedto)ataxreturn.

Note. A supporting statement is not a tax form and does not take the place of

an ofﬁcial form.

1.4.10

SpeciﬁcForm

Terms

The following speciﬁc terms are used throughout this revenue procedure in

reference to all substitute forms: format, sequence, line reference, item caption,

and data entry ﬁeld.

1.4.11

Format

The overall physical arrangement and general layout of a substitute form.

1.4.12

Sequence

Sequence is an integral part of the total format requirement. The substitute

form should show the same numeric and logical placement order of data, as

shown on the ofﬁcial form.

1.4.13

Line Reference

The line numbers, letters, or alphanumerics used to identify each captioned line

on an ofﬁcial form. These line refere nces are printed to the immediate left of

each caption and/or data entry ﬁeld.

1.4.14

Item Caption

The text on each line of a form, which identiﬁes the data required.

1.4.15

Data Entry F ield

Designated areas for the entry of data such as dollar amounts, quantities,

responses and checkboxes.

1.4.16

Advance Draft

A draft version of a new or revised form may be posted to the IRS website

for information purposes. Substitute forms may be submitted based on these

advance drafts, but any submitter that receives forms approval based on these

early drafts is responsible for m onitoring and revising forms to mirror any

revisions in the ﬁnal forms provided by the IRS.

1.4.17

Approval

Generally, approval could be in writing or assumed after 20 business days from

our receipt for forms that have not been substantially changed by the IRS. Also,

this does not apply to newly created or substantially revised IRS forms.

Section 1.5 – Agreement

1.5.1

Important

Stipulation

of This Revenue

Procedure

Any person or company who uses substitute forms and makes all or part of the

changes speciﬁed in this revenue procedure agrees to the following stipulations.

• The IRS presumes that any required changes a re made in accordance

with these procedures and will not be disruptive to the processing of

the tax return.

• Should any of the changes be disruptive to the IRS’s processing of the

tax return, the person or company agrees to accept the determination of

the IRS as to whether the form may continue to be ﬁled.

• The person or company agrees to work with the IRS in correcting

noted deﬁciencies. Notiﬁcation of deﬁciencies may be made by any

combination of fax, letter, email, or phone contact and may include the

request for the re-submission of unacceptable forms.

1.5.2

Response Policy

and Stipulations

The Substitute Forms Unit (the Unit) will email conﬁrmation, as much as

possible, of receipt of your forms submission. Your submission can be

considered approved if you do not receive a response from the Unit within 20

business days of the receipt date. If the Unit anticipates problems in completing

the review of your submission within the 20 business day period, the Unit will

send an interim email notifying you of the extended period for review.

Once the substitute forms have been approved by the Substitute Forms U nit,

you can release them after the ﬁnal versions of the forms have been issued by

the IRS. Before r eleasing the forms, you are responsible for updating forms

approved as draft and for making form changes we requested.

The policy has the following stipulations.

• This 20-day policy applies to electronic submissions only. It does not

apply to substitute forms submitted for approval by paper or fax.

• The policy applies to submissions of 15 (optimal) or f ewer items.

Submissions of more than 15 items may require additional review time.

• If you send a large number of submissions within a short period of time,

processing may be delayed.

• Delays in processing could occur if the Unit ﬁ nds signiﬁcant errors in

your submission. The Unit will send you an interim email in this case.

• Any anticipated problems in processing your submission within the

20-day period will generate an interim email on or about the 15th

business day.

• If any signiﬁcant inaccuracies are discovered after the 20-day period, the

Unit reserves the right to inform you and will require that changes be

made to correct the inaccuracies.

• The policy does not apply to substantially revised forms or to new forms

created by the IRS for which you have already made an initial submission.

Part 2

General Guidelines for Submissions and Approvals

Section 2.1 – General Speciﬁcations for Approval

2.1.1

Overview

If you produce any tax forms following only those changes speciﬁcally outlined

by the Substitute Forms Unit, you can generate your own substitute forms

without further a pproval. If your changes are more extensive, you must get IRS

approval before using substitute forms. More extensive changes can include

the use of typefaces and sizes other than those found on the o fﬁcial form and

the condensing of line item descriptions to save space.

Note. The 20-day turnaround policy may not apply to e xtensive changes.

2.1.2

Submissions

The Substitute Forms Program accepts substitute forms su

bmissions via email.

The email address is substituteforms@irs.gov.Pleasein

clude the term “PDF

Submissions” on the subject line.

Follow these guidelines.

• Your submission should include all the forms you wish to

submit in one

attached pdf ﬁle. Do not email each form individually.

• Small (optimally 15 forms), rather than large, submis

sions should

expedite processing. A submission should contain a m

aximum of 15

forms.

• An approval check sheet listing the forms you are su

bmitting should

always be included i n the pdf ﬁle along with the form

s. See a sample

check sheet in Exhibit D.

• Optimize pdf ﬁles before submitting.

• The maximum allowable email attachment is 2.5 me

gabytes.

• The Substitute Forms Unit accepts zip ﬁles.

• To alleviate delays during the peak time of Sep

tember through December,

submit advance d raft forms as early as possibl

If the guidelines are not followed, you may need to resubmit.

Emailing pdf submissions will not expedite review and approval. The pdf

submissions will be assigned a control number and put in queue along with

mailed-in paper submissions. In addition to submitting forms via email, you

may send your submissions to:

Internal Revenue Service

Attn: Substitute Forms Program

SE:W:CAR:MP:T:M:S

1111 Constitution A venue, NW

Room 6526

Washington, DC 20224

2.1.3

Expediting the

Process

Follow these basic guidelines for expediting the process.

• Always include a check sheet f or the Substitute Forms Unit’s response.

• Follow Publication 1167 for general substitute form guidelines. Follow

the specialized publications produced by the Substitute Forms Unit for

other speciﬁcforms.

• To spread out the workload, send in draft versions of substitute forms

when they are posted.

Note. Be sure to make any changes to approved drafts before releasing

ﬁnal versions.

2.1.4

Schedules

Schedules are considered to be an integral part of a complete tax return. A

schedule may be included as part of a form or printed separately.

2.1.5

Examples of

Schedules

That Must Be

Submitted

with the Return

Form 706, United States Estate (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return,

is an example of this situation. Its Schedules A through U have pages numbered

as part of the basic return. For Form 706 to be considered for approval, the

entire form including Schedules A through U m ust be submitted.

2.1.6

Examples of

Schedules

That Can Be

Submitted

Separately

However, Schedules C, D, and E and Form 1040 are examples of schedules that

can be submitted separately. Although printed by the IRS as a supplement to

Form 1040, none of these schedules are required to be ﬁled with Form 1040.

These schedules may be separated from Form 1040 and submitted as substitute

forms.

2.1.7

Use and

Distribution

of Unapproved

Forms

The IRS is continuing a program to identify and contact tax return preparers,

forms developers, and software publishers who use or distribute unapproved

forms that do not conform to this revenue procedure. The use of unapproved

forms hinders the processing of the returns.

Section 2.2 – Highlights o f Permitted C hanges and Requirements

2.2.1

Methods of

Reproducing

Internal

Revenue Service

Forms

There are methods of reproducing IRS printed tax forms suitable for use as

substitutes without prior approval.

• You can photocopy most tax forms and use them instead of the ofﬁcial

ones. The entire substitute form, including entries, must be legible.

• You can reproduce any current tax form as cut sheets, snap sets, and

marginally punched, pin-fed f orms as long as you use an ofﬁcial IRS

version as the master copy.

• You can reproduce a form that requires a signature as a v alid

substitute form. Many tax forms (including returns) have a taxpayer

signature requirement as part of the form layout. The jurat/perjury

statement/signature line areas must be retained and worded exactly as

on the ofﬁcial form. The requirement for a signature, by itself, does not

prohibit a tax form from being properly computer-generated.

Section 2.3 – Vouchers

2.3.1

Overview

All payment vouchers (Forms 940-V, 941-V, 943-V, 945-V, 1040-V, 1041-V

and 2290-V) must be reproduced in conjunction with their forms. Substitute

vouchers must be the same size as the ofﬁcially printed vouchers. Vouchers that

are prepared for printing on a laser printer may include a scan line.

2.3.2

Scan Line

Speciﬁcations

NNNNNNNNNAA XXXX NN N NNNNNN NNN

Item: AB CDEF G

A. Social Security Number/Employer Identiﬁcation Number

(SSN/EIN) has 9 numeric (N) spaces.

B. Check Digits have 2 alpha (A) spaces.

C. Name Control has 4 alphanumeric (X) spaces.

D. Master File Tax (MFT) Code has 2 numeric (N) spaces (see

below).

E. Taxpayer Identiﬁcation Number (TIN) Type has 1 numeric (N)

space (see below).

F. Tax P eriod has 6 numeric (N) spaces in year/month format

(YYYYMM).

G. Transaction Code has 3 numeric (N) spaces.

2.3.3

MFT Code

Code Number for Forms:

• 1040 (family) – 30,

• 940 – 10,

• 941 – 01,

• 943 – 11,

• 944 – 14,

• 945 – 16,

• 1041–V – 05,

• 2290 – 60, and

• 4868 – 30.

2.3.4

TIN Type

Type Number for:

• Form 1040 (family), 4868 – 0, and

• Forms 940, 941, 943, 944, 945, 1041-V and 2290 – 2.

2.3.5

Voucher Size

The voucher size must be exactly 8.0′′ x3.25′′ (Forms 1040-ES and 1041-ES

must be 7.625′′ x3.0′′). The document scan line must be vertically positioned

0.25 inches from the bottom of the scan line to the bottom of the voucher. The

last character on the right of the scan line must be placed 3.5 inches from the

right leading edge of the document. The minimum required horizontal clear

space between characters is .014 inches. The line to be scanned must have a

clear band 0.25 inches in height from top to bottom of the scan line, and from

border to border of the document. “Clear band” means no printing except for

dropout ink.

2.3.6

Print and Paper

Weight

Vouchers must be imaged in black ink using OCR A, OCR B, or Courier 10.

These fonts may not be mixed in the scan line. The horizontal character pitch is

10 CPI. The preferred paper weight is 20 to 24 pound OCR bond.

2.3.7

Speciﬁcations

for Software

Developers

Certain vouchers may be reproduced for use in the IRS lockbox system. These

include the 1040-V, 1040-ES, 1041-V, the 940 family, and 2290 vouchers.

Software developers must follow these speciﬁ c guidelines to produce scannable

vouchers strictly for lockbox purposes. Also see Exhibit C.

• The total depth must be 3.25 inches.

• The scan line must be .5 inches from the bottom edge and 1.75 inches

from the left edge of the voucher and left-justiﬁ ed.

• Software developers vouchers must be 8.5 inches wide (instead of 8

inches with a cut line). Therefore, no vertical cut line is required.

• Scan line positioning must be exact.

• Do not use the over-the-counter format voucher and add the scan line to it.

• All scanned data must be in 12-point OCR A font.

• The 4-digit NACTP ID code should be placed under the payment

indicator arrow.

• Windowed envelopes must not display the scan line in order to avoid

disclosure and privacy issues.

Note. All software developers must ensure that their software uses OCR A font

so taxpayers will be able to print the vouchers in the correct font.

2.3.8

SpeciﬁcLine

Positions

Follow these line speciﬁcations for entering taxpayer data in the lockbox

vouchers.

Start Row

Start

Column Width

End

Column

Line Speciﬁcations

for Taxpayer Data:

Taxpayer N ame 56 6 36 41

Start Row

Start

Column Width

End

Column

Taxpayer Address,

Apt.

57 6 36 41

Taxpayer City, State,

ZIP

58 6 36 41

Foreign Country

Name

59 6 36 41

Foreign

Province/Country

60 6 17 22

Foreign Postal Code 60 26 16 41

Line Speciﬁcations

for Mail To Data:

Mail Name 56 43 38 80

Mail Address 57 43 38 80

Mail City, State, ZIP 58 43 38 80

ine Speciﬁcations

or:

Scan Line 63 26 n/a n/a

2.3.9

How t o Get

Approval

To receive approval, please send i n 25 voucher samples yearly for each form

type or scenarios, by December 10, for testing to the following address.

Internal Revenue Service

Attn: Doris Bethea, C5-266

5000 Ellin Road

Lanham, MD 20706

For further information, contact either Doris Bethea, Doris.E.Bethea@irs.gov,

at 202-283-0218 or Brenda Martinez, Brenda.C.Martinez@irs.gov,at

202-283-5789.

Section 2.4 – Restrictions on C hanges

2.4

Wha

tYou

nnot

to Forms

itable for

ubstitute

ax Forms

You

cannot, without prior IRS approval, change any IRS tax form or use your

own

(non-approved) versions including graphics, unless speciﬁcally permitted

this revenue procedure. See Sections 2.5.7 to 2.5.11.

You cannot adjust any of the graphics on Forms 1040, 1040A, and 1040EZ

(except in those areas speciﬁed in Part 5 of this revenue procedure) without

prior approval from the IRS Substitute Forms Unit.

Note. The 20-day turnaround policy may not apply to e xtensive changes.

Section 2.5 – Guidelines for Obtaining IRS Approval

2.5.1

Basic

Requirements

Preparers who submit substitute privately designed, privately printed, computer

generated, or computer prepared tax forms must develop these substitutes using

the guidelines established in this part. These forms, unless there is an exception

outlined by the revenue procedure, must be approved by the IRS before being

ﬁled.

2.5.2

Conditional

Approval Based

on Advanced

Drafts

The IRS cannot grant ﬁnal approval of your substitute form until the ofﬁcial

form has been published. However, the IRS posts advance draft forms on its

website at:

www.IRS.gov/draftforms

We encourage submission of proposed substitutes of these advance draft forms

and will grant conditional approval based solely on these early drafts. These

advance drafts are subject to signiﬁcant change before forms are ﬁnalized. If

these advance drafts are used as the basis for your substitute forms, you will be

responsible for subsequently updating your ﬁnal forms to agree with the ﬁnal

ofﬁcial version. These revisions need not be resubmitted for further approval.

Note. Approval of forms based on advance drafts will not be granted after the

ﬁnal version of an ofﬁcial form is published.

2.5.3

Submission

Procedures

Follow these general guidelines when submitting substitute forms for approval.

• Any alteration of forms must be within the limits acceptable to the IRS.

It is possible that, from one ﬁling period to another, a change in law o r a

change in internal need (processing, audit, compliance, etc.) may change

the allowable limits for the alteration of the ofﬁcial form.

• When approval of any substitute form (other than those exceptions

speciﬁed in Part 1, Section 1.2 – IRS Contacts) is requested, a sample

of the p roposed substitute form should be forwarded for consideration

via email or by letter to the Substitute Forms Unit at the address shown

in Section 1.2.1.

• Schedules and forms (for example, Forms 3468, 4136, etc.) that can

be used with more than one type of return (for example, 1040, 1041,

1120, etc.) should be submitted only once for approval, regardless of

the number of different tax returns with which they m ay be associated.

Also, all pages of multi-page forms or returns should be submitted in the

same package.

2.5.4

Approving

Ofﬁces

Because only the Substitute Forms Unit is authorized to approve substitute

forms, unnecessary delays may occur if forms are sent to the wrong ofﬁce.

You may receive an interim letter about the delay. The Substitute Forms Unit

may then coordinate the response with the originator responsible for revising

that particular form. Such coordination may include allowing the originator

to ofﬁcially approve the form. No IRS ofﬁce is authorized to allow deviations

from this revenue procedure.

2.5.5

IRS Review of

Software

Programs, etc.

The IRS does not review or approve the logic of speciﬁc software programs,

nor does the IRS conﬁrm the calculations on the forms produced by these

programs. The accuracy of the program remains the responsibility of the

software package developer, distributor, or user.

The S ubstitute Forms Unit is primarily concerned with the p re-ﬁling quality

review of the ﬁnal forms that are expected to be processed by IRS ﬁeld ofﬁces.

For this purpose, you should submit forms without including any taxpayer

information such as names, addresses, monetary amounts, etc.

2.5.6

When To Send

Proposed

Substitutes

Proposed substitutes, which are required to be submitted per this revenue

procedure, should be s ent as m uch in advance of the ﬁling period as possible.

This is to allow adequate time for analysis and response.

2.5.7

Accompanying

Statement

When submitting sample substitutes, you should include an accompanying

statement that lists each form number and its changes from the ofﬁcial form

(position, arrangement, appearance, line numbers, additions, deletions, etc.).

With each of the items you should include a detailed reason for the change.

When requesting approval, please include a check sheet. Check sheets expedite

the approval process. The check sheet may look like the example in Exhibit

D displayed in the back of this procedure or may be one of your own design.

Please include your fax number and email address on the check sheet.

2.5.8

Approval/Non-

Approval Notice

The Substitute Forms Unit will fax or email the check sheet or an approval

letter to the originator if a fax number has been provided, unless:

• The requester has asked for an email response or for a formal letter, or

• Signiﬁcant corrections to the submitted forms are required.

Notice of approval may impose qualiﬁcations before using the substitutes.

Notices of unapproved forms may specify the changes required for approval

and require re-submission of the form(s) in question. When appropriate, you

will be contacted by telephone.

2.5.9

Duration of

Approval

Most signature tax returns and many of their schedules and related forms

have the tax (liability) year printed in the upper right corner. Approvals for

these annual forms are usually good for one calendar year (January through

December of the year of ﬁling). Quarterly tax forms in the 94X series and Form

720 require approval for any quarter in which the form has been revised.

Because changes are usually made to an annual form every year, each new

ﬁling season generally requires a new submission of a substitute form. Very

rarely is updating the preprinted year the only change made to an annual form.

2.5.10

Limited

Continued Use

of an Approved

Change

Limited changes approved for one tax year may be allowed for the same form

in the following tax year. Examples are the use of abbreviated words, revised

form spacing, compressed text lines, and shortened captions, etc., which do not

change the integrity of lines or text on the ofﬁcial forms.

If substantial changes are made to the form, new substitutes must be submitted

for approval. If only minor editorial changes are made to the form, it is not

subject to review. It is the responsibility of each vendor who has been granted

permission to use substitute forms to monitor and revise forms to mirror any

revisions to ofﬁcial forms made by the Service. If there are any questions,

please contact the Substitute Forms Unit.

2.5.11

When Approval

Is Not Required

If you received approval for a speciﬁ

c change on a form last year, you may

make the same change this year if the i

tem is still present on the ofﬁcial form.

• The new substitute form does not have to be submitted to the IRS and

approval based on that change is not required.

• However, the new substitute form must conform to the ofﬁcial current

year IRS form in other respects: date, Ofﬁce of Management and Budget

(OMB) approval number, attachment sequence number, Paperwork

Reduction Act Notice statement, arrangement, item caption, line number,

line reference, data sequence, etc.

• The new substitute form must also comply with changes to the guidelines

in this revenue procedure. The procedure may have eliminated, added to,

or otherwise changed the guideline(s) that affected the change approved

in the prior year.

• An approved change is authorized only for the period from a prior tax

year substitute form to a current tax year substitute form.

Exception. Forms with temporary, limited, or interim approvals (or with

approvals that state a change is not allowed in any other tax year) are subject to

review in subsequent years.

2.5.12

Continuous-

Use Forms

Forms without preprinted tax years are called “continuous-use” forms.

Continuous-use forms are revised when a legislative change affects the form or

a change will facilitate processing. These forms frequently have revision dates

that are valid for longer than one year.

2.5.13

Required Copies

Generally, you must send us one copy of each form being submitted for

approval. However, if you are producing forms for different computer systems

(for example, IBM compatible vs. Macintosh) or different types of printers and

these forms differ signiﬁcantly in appearance, submit one copy for each type of

system or printer.

2.5.14

Requestor ’s

Responsibility

Following receipt of an initial approval for a substitute forms package or a

software output program to print substitute forms, it is the responsibility of the

originator (designer or distributor) to provide client ﬁrms or individuals with

forms that m eet the IRS’s requirements for continuing acceptability. Examples

of this responsibility include:

• Using the prescribed print paper, font size, legibility, state tax data

deletion, etc., and

• Informing all users of substitute forms of the l egal requirements of

the Paperwork Reduction Act Notice, which is generally found in the

instructions for the ofﬁcial IRS forms.

2.5.15

Source Code

The Substitute Forms Unit will assign a unique source code to each ﬁrm

that submits substitute paper forms for approval. This source code will be a

permanent identiﬁer that must be used on every submission by a particular ﬁrm.

The source code consists of three alpha characters and should generally be

printed at the bottom left margin area on the ﬁrst page of every approved

substitute form.

Section 2.6 – Ofﬁce of Management and Budget (OMB) Requirements for All

Substitute Forms

2.6.1

OMB

Requirements

for All Substitute

Forms

There are legal requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (The

Act). Public Law 104-13 requires the following.

• OMB approves all IRS tax forms that are subject to the Act.

• Each IRS form contains (in the upper right corner) the OMB number,

if assigned.

• Each IRS form (or its instructions) states why the IRS needs the

information, how it will be used, and whether or not the information is

required to be furnished to the IRS.

This information must be provided to every user of ofﬁcial or substitute IRS

forms or instructions.

2.6.2

Application of

the Paperwork

Reduction Act

On forms that have been assigned OMB numbers:

• All substitute forms must contain in t he upper right corner the OMB

number that is on the ofﬁcial form, and

• The required format is: OMB No. 1545-XXXX (Preferred) or OMB #

1545-XXXX (Acceptable).

2.6.3

Required

Explanation to

Users

You must inform the users of your substitute forms of the IRS use and collection

requirements stated in the instructions for ofﬁcial IRS forms.

• If you provide your users or customers with the ofﬁcial IRS instructions,

each form must retain either the Paperwork Reduction Act Notice (or

Disclosure, Privacy Act, and Paperwork Reduction Act Notice), or a

reference to it as the IRS does on the ofﬁcial forms (usually in the lower

left corner of the forms).

• This notice r eads, in part, “ We ask for the information on this form to

carry out the Internal R evenue laws of the United States....”

Note. If no IRS instructions are provided to users of your forms, the exact

text of the Paperwork Reduction Act Notice (or Disclosure, Privacy Act, and

Paperwork Reduction Act Notice) must be furnished separately or on the form.

2.6.4

Finding the

OMB Number

and Paperwork

Reduction Act

Notice

The OMB number and the Paperwork Reduction Act Notice, or references to

it, may be found printed on an ofﬁcial form (or its instructions). The number

and the notice are included on the ofﬁcial paper format and in other formats

produced by the IRS (for example, DVD (Publication 1796) or IRS.gov

download).

Part 3

Physical Aspects and Requirements

Section 3.1 – General Guidelines for Substitute Forms

3.1.1

General

Information

The ofﬁcial form is the standard. Because a substitute form is a variation from

the ofﬁcial form, you should know the requirements of the ofﬁcial form for the

year of use before you modify it to meet your needs. The IRS provides several

means of obtaining the most frequently used tax forms. These include IRS.gov

and the IRS tax products DVD (see Part 4).

3.1.2

Design

Each form must follow the design of the ofﬁcial form as to format arrangement,

item caption, line numbers, line references, and sequence.

3.1.3

State Tax

Information

Prohibited

Generally, state tax information must not appear on the federal tax return,

associated form, or schedule that is ﬁled with the IRS. Exceptions occur when

amounts are claimed on, or required by, the federal return (for example, state

and local income taxes, on Schedule A of Form 1040).

3.1.4

Vertical

Alignment

of Amount Fields

IF a form is to be... THEN...

1. The entry column must have a vertical line

or some type of indicator in the amount ﬁeld

to separate dollars from cents.

Manually prepared

2. The cents column must be at least 3/10′′

wide.

1. Vertically align the amount entry ﬁelds

where possible.

2. Use one of the following amount formats:

a) 0,000,000, or

Computer generated

b) 0,000,000.00.

IF a form is to be... THEN...

1. You may remove the vertical line in the

amount ﬁeld that separates dollars from

cents.

2. Use one of the following amount formats:

a) 0,000,000, or

Computer prepared

b) 0,000,000.00.

3.1.5

Attachment

Sequence

Number

Many individual income tax forms have a required “attachment sequence

number” located just below the year designation in the upper right corner of

the form. The IRS uses this number to indicate the order in which forms are to

be attached to the tax return for processing. Some of the attachment sequence

numbers may change from year to year.

The following applies to computer prepared forms.

• The sequence number may be printed in no less than 12-point boldface

type and centered below the form’s year designation.

• The sequence number may also be placed following the year designation

for the tax form and separated with an asterisk.

• The actual number may be printed w ithout labeling it the “Attachment

Sequence Number.”

3.1.6

Assembly of

Forms

When developing software or forms for use by others, please inform your

customers/clients that the order in which the forms are arranged may affect the

processing of the package. A return must be arranged in the order indicated

below.

IF the form is... THEN the sequence is...

1040 • Form 1040, and

• Schedules and forms in attachment sequence

number order.

Anyothertaxreturn

(Form 1120, 1120S,

1065, 1041, etc.)

• The tax returns,

• Directly associated schedules (Schedule D, etc.),

• Directly associated forms,

• Additional schedules in alphabetical order, and

• Additional forms in numerical order.

Supporting statements should then follow in the same sequence as the forms

they support. Additional information required should be attached last.

In this way, the forms are received in the order in which they must be processed.

If you do not send returns to the IRS in order, processing may be delayed.

3.1.7

Paid Preparer’s

Information and

Signature Area

On Forms 1040EZ, 1040A, 1040, and 1120, etc., the “Paid Preparer Use Only”

area may not be rearranged or relocated. You may, however, add three extra

lines to the paid preparer’s address area without prior approval. This applies to

other tax forms as well.

3.1.8

Some Common

Reasons for

Requiring

Changes to

Substitute Forms

Some reasons that substitute form submissions may require changes include

the following.

• Failing to preprint certain amounts in entry spaces.

• Shading areas incorrectly.

• Failing to include a reference to the location of the Paperwork Reduction

Act Notice.

• Not including parentheses for losses.

• Not including “Attach Statement” when appropriate.

• Including line references or entry spaces that don’t match the o fﬁcial

form.

• Printing text that is different f rom the ofﬁcial form.

• Altering the jurat (perjury statement).

Section 3.2 – Paper

3.2.1

Paper Content

The paper must be:

• Chemical wood writing paper that is equal to or better than the quality

used for the ofﬁcial form,

• At least 18 pound (17′′ x22′′, 500 sheets), or

• At least 50 pound offset book (25′′ x38′′, 500 sheets).

3.2.2

Paper with

Chemical

Transfer

Properties

There are several kinds of paper prohibited for substitute forms. These are:

1. Carbon-bonded paper, and

2. Chemical transfer paper except when the following speciﬁcations

are met:

a. Each ply within the chemical transfer set of forms must be

labeled, and

b. Only the top ply (ply one and white in color), the one that

contains chemical on the back only (coated back), may be

ﬁled with the IRS.

3.2.3

Example

A set containing three plies would be constructed as follows: ply one (coated

back), “Federal Return, File with IRS”; ply two (coated front and back),

“Taxpayer’s copy”; and ply three (coated front), “Preparer’s copy.”

The ﬁle designation, “Federal Return, File w ith IRS” for ply one, must be

printed in the bottom right margin (just below the last line of t he form) in

12-point boldface type.

It is not mandatory, but recommended, that the ﬁle designation “Federal Return,

File with IRS” be printed in a contrasting ink for visual emphasis.

3.2.4

Paper and Ink

Color

It is preferred that the color and opacity of paper substantially duplicates that

of the original form. This means that your substitute must be printed i n black

ink and may be on w hite or on the colored paper the IRS form is printed on.

Forms 1040A and 1040 substitute reproductions may be in black ink without

the colored shading. The only exception to this rule is Form 1041-ES, which

should always be printed with a very light gray shading in the color screened

area. This is necessary to assist us in expeditiously separating this form from

the very similar Form 1040-ES.

3.2.5

Page Size

Substitute or reproduced forms and computer prepared/generated substitutes

may be the same size as the ofﬁcial form or they may be the standard

commercial size (8

/2′′ x11′′). The thickness of the stock cannot be less than

.003 inches.

Section 3.3 – Printing

3.3.1

Printing Medium

The private printing of all substitute tax forms must be by conventional printing

processes, photocopying, computer graphics, or similar reproduction processes.

3.3.2

Legibility

All forms must have a high standard of legibility as to printing, reproduction,

and ﬁll-in matter. Entries of taxpayer data may be no smaller than eight

points. The IRS reserves the right to reject those with poor legibility. The ink

and printing method used must ensure that no part of a form (including text,

graphics, data e ntries, etc.) develops “smears” or similar quality deterioration.

This standard must be followed for any subsequent copies or reproductions

made from an approved master substitute form, either during preparation or

during IRS processing.

3.3.3

Type Font

Many federal tax forms ar

e printed using “Helvetica” as the basic type font. It

is preferred that you use

this type font when composing substitute forms.

3.3.4

Print Spacing

Substitute forms should be printed using a 6 lines/inch vertical print option.

They should also be printed horizontally in 10 pitch pica (that is, 10 print

characters per inch) or 12 pitch elite (that is, 12 print positions per inch).

3.3.5

Image Size

The image size of a printed substitute form should be as close as possible to

that of the ofﬁcial form. You may omit any text on both computer prepared and

computer generated forms that is solely instructional.

3.3.6

Title Area

Changes

To allow a large top margin for marginal p rinting and more lines per page, the

title line(s) for all substitute forms (not including the form’s year designation

and sequence number, when present), m ay be photographically reduced by 40

percent or reset as one line of type. When reset as one line, the type size may be

no smaller than 14-point. You may omit “Department of the Treasury—Internal

Revenue Service” and all reference to instructions in the form’s title area.

3.3.7

Remove

Government

Printing Ofﬁce

Symbol and IRS

Catalog Number

When privately printing substitute tax forms, the Government Printing Ofﬁce

(GPO) symbol and/or jacket number must be removed. In the same place using

the same type size, print the Employer Identiﬁcation Number (EIN) of the

printer or designer or the IRS assigned source code. ( We prefer this last number

be printed in the lower left area of t he ﬁrst page of each form.) Also, remove

the IRS Catalog Number (Cat. No.) and the recycle symbol if the substitute is

not produced on recycled paper.

3.3.8

Printing on One

Side of Paper

Even though the IRS uses both sides of the paper for printing ofﬁcial paper

forms or schedules, t he IRS will accept your forms if only one side of the paper

is used.

3.3.9

Photocopy

Equipment

The IRS does not undertake to approve or disapprove the speciﬁc equipment

or process used in reproducing ofﬁcial forms. Photocopies of forms must be

entirely legible and satisfy the conditions stated in this and other revenue

procedures.

3.3.10

Reproductions

Reproductions of ofﬁcial forms and substitute forms that do not meet the

requirements of this revenue procedure may not be ﬁled instead of the ofﬁcial

forms. Illegible photocopies are subject to being returned to the ﬁler for

re-submission of legible copies.

3.3.11

Removal of

Instructions

Generally, you may remove references to instructions. No prior approval

is needed. However in some instances, you may be requested to include

references to instructions.

Exception. The words “For Paperwork Reduction Act Notice, see instructions”

must be retained or a similar statement indicating the location of t he Notice

must be provided on each form.

Section 3.4 – Margins

3.4.1

Margin Size

The format of a reproduced tax form when printed on the page must have

margins on all sides at least as large as the margins on the ofﬁcial form. This

allows room for IRS employees to make necessary entries on the form during

processing.

• A

/2-inch to

/4-inch margin m ust be maintained across the top, bottom,

and both sides of all substitute forms.

• The marginal, perforated strips containing pin-fed holes must be removed

from all forms prior to ﬁling with the IRS.

3.4.2

Marginal

Printing

Prior approval is not required for the m arginal printing allowed when printed

on an ofﬁcial form or on a photocopy of an ofﬁcial form.

• With the exception of the actual tax forms (for example, Forms 1040,

1040A, 1040EZ, 1120, 940, 941, etc.), you may print in the left vertical

margin and in the left half of the bottom margin.

• Printing is never allowed in the top right margin of the tax form (for

example, Forms 1040, 1040A, 1040EZ, 1120, 940, 941, etc.). The

Service uses this area to imprint a D ocument Locator Number for each

return. There are no exceptions to this requirement.

Section 3.5 – Examples of Approved Formats

3.5.1

Examples of

Approved

Formats From

the Exhibits

Two sets of exhibits (Exhibits A-1 and 2; B-1 and 2) at the end of this revenue

procedure are examples of how these guidelines may be used. Vertical spacing

is six (6) lines to the inch. A combination of upper-case and lower-case print

font is acceptable in producing substitute forms.

The same logic may be applied to any IRS form that is normally reproducible

as a substitute form, with the exception of t he tax return forms as discussed

elsewhere.

Note. These exhibits may be from a prior year and are not to be used as current

substitute forms.

Section 3.6 – Miscellaneous Information for Substitute Forms

3.6.1

Filing Substitute

Forms

To be acceptable f or ﬁling, a substitute form must print out in a format that will

allow the ﬁler to follow the same instructions that accompany ofﬁcial for ms.

The form must be legible, must be on the appropriately sized paper, and must

include a jurat (perjury statement) where one appears on the published form.

3.6.2

Caution to

Software

Publishers

The IRS has received returns produced by software packages with approved

output where either the form heading was altered or the lines were spaced

irregularly. This produces an illegible or unrecognizable return or a return

with the wrong number of pages. We realize that many of these problems are

caused by individual printer differences but they may delay input of return data

and, in some cases, generate correspondence to the taxpayer. Therefore, in the

instructions to the purchasers of your product, both individual and professional,

please stress that their returns will be processed more efﬁciently if they are

properly formatted. This includes:

• Having the correct form numbers and titles at the top of the return, and

• Submitting the same number of pages as if the form were an ofﬁcial IRS

formwiththelineitemsontheproperpages.

3.6.3

Caution to

Producers of

Software

Packages

If you are producing a software package that generates name and address data

onto the tax r eturn, do not under any circumstances program either the IRS

preprinted check digits or a practitioner derived name control to appear on any

return prepared and ﬁled with the IRS.

3.6.4

Programming

to Print Forms

Whenever applicable:

• Use only the following label information format for single ﬁlers:

JOHN Q. PUBLIC

310 OAK DRIVE

HOMETOWN, STATE 94000

• Use only the following information for joint ﬁ lers:

JOHN Q. PUBLIC

MARY I. PUBLIC

310 OAK DRIVE

HOMETOWN, STATE 94000

Part 4

Additional Resources

Section 4.1 – Guidance From Other Revenue Procedures

4.1.1

General

The IRS publications listed below provide guidance f or substitute tax forms not

covered in this revenue procedure. These publications are available on the IRS

website. Identify the requested document by the IRS publication number.

• Publication 1141, General Rules and Speciﬁcations for Substitute Forms

W-2 and W-3.

• Publication 1179, General Rules and Speciﬁcations for Substitute Forms

1096, 1098, 1099, 5498, and C ertain Other Information Returns.

• Publication 1187, Speciﬁ cations for Filing Form 1042-S, Foreign

Person’s U.S. Source Income Subject to Withholding, Electronically.

• Publication 1220, Speciﬁcations for Filing Forms 1097-BTC, 1098,

1099, 3921, 3922, 5498, 8935, and W -2G Electronically.

• Publication 1223, General Rules and Speciﬁcations for Substitute Forms

W-2c and W-3c.

• Publication 1239, Speciﬁcations for Filing Form 8027, Employer’s

Annual Information Return of Tip Income and Allocated Tips,

Electronically.

• Publication 1345, Handbook for Authorized IRS e-ﬁle Providers of

Individual Income Tax Returns.

• Publication 4436, General Rules and Speciﬁcations for Substitute Form

941, Schedule B (Form 941) and Schedule R (Form 941).

Section 4.2 – Electronic Tax Products

4.2.1

The IRS Website

Copies of tax forms with instructions, publications, draft forms, ﬁllable forms,

prior year f orms and publications, and other tax-related information may be

found on the I RS website at IRS.gov.

Section 4.3 – IRS Tax Products on DVD (Publication 1796)

4.3.1

Information

About IRS Tax

Products DVD

The DVD contains approximately 2,500 tax forms and publications for small

businesses, return preparers, and others who frequently need current or prior

year tax products. Most current tax forms on the D VD may be ﬁlled in

electronically, then printed out for submission and saved for recordkeeping.

Other products on the DVD include the Internal Revenue Bulletins, Tax

Supplements, and Internet resources for the tax professional w ith links to the

World Wide Web.

4.3.2

System

Requirements

and

How To O rder

the IRS Tax

Products DVD

For system requirements, contact the National Technical Information Service

(NTIS) at http://www.ntis.gov. Prices are subject to change.

The cost of the DVD if purchased from NTIS via IRS.gov at

http://www.irs.gov/formspubs/article/0,,id=108660,00.html is $30 (with no

handling fee).

If purchased using the following methods, the cost for each DVD is $30 (plus a

$6 handling fee). These methods are:

• By phone – 1-877-CDFORMS (1-877-233-6767) - for IRS DVD

purchase only,

• By fax – 703-605-6900 - for IRS DVD purchase only,

• By mail to:

National Technical Information Service

5301 Shawnee Road

Alexandria, VA 22312

Part 5

Requirements for SpeciﬁcTaxReturns

Section 5.1 – Tax Returns (Forms 1040, 1040A, 1120, etc.)

5.1.1

Acceptable

Forms

Tax forms (such as Forms 1040, 1040A, and 1120) require a signature and

establish tax liability. Computer generated versions are acceptable under the

following conditions.

• These substitute forms must be printed on plain white paper.

• Substitute forms must conform to the physical layout of the corresponding

IRS form although the typeface may differ. The text should match the

text on the ofﬁcially published form a s closely as possible. Condensed

text and abbreviations will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Caution. All jurats (perjury statements) must be reproduced verbatim.

No text can be added, deleted, or changed in meaning.

• Various computer graphic print media such as laser printing, inkjet

printing, etc., may be used to produce the substitute forms.

• The substitute form must be the same number of pages and contain the

same line text as the ofﬁcial form.

• All substitute forms must be submitted for approval prior to their original

use. You do not need approval for a substitute form if its only change is

the preprinted year and you had received a prior year approval letter.

Exception. If the approval letter speciﬁ es a one time exception for your

form, the next year’s form must be approved.

5.1.2

Prohibited Forms

The following are prohibited.

• Computer generated tax forms (for example, Form 1040, etc.) on lined or

color barred paper.

• Tax forms that differ from the ofﬁcial IRS forms in a manner that makes

them non-standard or unable to process.

5.1.3

Changes

Permitted to

Forms

1040 and 1040A

Certain changes (listed in Sections 5.2 through 5.4) are permitted to the

graphics of the form without prior approval, but these changes apply to only

acceptable preprinted forms. Changes not requiring prior approval are good

only for the annual ﬁling period, which is the current tax year. Such c hanges

are valid in subsequent years only if the ofﬁcial form does not change.

5.1.4

Other Changes

Not Listed

All changes not listed in Sections 5.2 through 5.4 require approval from the

IRS before the form can be ﬁled.

Section 5.2 – Changes Permitted to Graphics (Forms 1040A and 1040)

5.2.1

Adjustments

You may make minor vertical and horizontal spacing adjustments to allow for

computer or word processing printing. This includes widening the amount

columns or tax entry areas if the adjustments comply with other provisions

stated in revenue procedures. No prior approval is needed for these changes.

5.2.2

Name and

Address Area

The horizontal rules and instru

ctions within the name and address area may be

removed and the entire area lef

t blank. No line or instruction can remain in the

area. The heavy r uled border (

when present) that outlines the name, address

area, and social security num

ber must not be removed, relocated, expanded, or

contracted.

5.2.3

Required Format

When the name and address area is left blank, the following format must be

used when printing the taxpayer’s name and address.

• 1st name line (35 characters maximum).

• 2nd name line ( 35 characters maximum).

• In-care-of name line (35 characters maximum).

• City, state (25 characters maximum), one blank character, a nd ZIP code.

5.2.4

Conventional

Name and

Address Data

When there is no in-care-of name line, the name and address will consist of

only three lines (single ﬁler) or four lines (joint ﬁler). Name and address (joint

ﬁler) with no in-care-of name line:

JOHN Z. JO NES

MARY I. JONES

1234 ANYWHERE ST., APT. 111

ANYTOWN, STATE 12321

5.2.5

Example of

In-Care-Of

Name Line

Name and address (single ﬁler) with in-care-of name line:

JOHN Z. JO NES

C/O THOMAS A . JONES

4311 SOMEWHERE AVE.

SAMETOWN, STATE 54345

5.2.6

SSN and

Employer

Identiﬁcation

Number (EIN)

Area

The broken vertical lines separating the format arrangement of the SSN/EIN

may be removed. When the vertical lines are removed, the SSN and EIN

formats must be 000-00-0000 or 00-0000000, respectively.

5.2.7

Cents Column

• You may remove the v ertical rule that separates the dollars from the cents.

• All entries in the amount column should have a decimal point following

the whole dollar amounts whether or not the vertical line that separates

the dollars from the cents is present.

• You may omit printing the cents, but all amounts entered on the form

must follow a consistent format. You are strongly urged to round off the

ﬁgures to whole dollar amounts, following the ofﬁcial form instructions.

• When several amounts are summed together, the total should be rounded

off after addition (that is, individual amounts should not be rounded off

for computation purposes).

• When printing money amounts, you must use one of the following

formats:

(a) 0,000,000.;

(b) 0,000,000.00.

• When there is no entry for a line, leave the line blank.

5.2.8

“Paid Preparer’s

Use Only” Area

On all forms, the paid preparer’s information area may not be rearranged or

relocated. You may add three lines and remove the horizontal rules in the

preparer’s address area.

Section 5.3 – Changes Permitted to Form 1040A Graphics

5.3.1

General

No prior approval is needed for the following changes (for use with computer

prepared forms only).

5.3.2

Line 4 of

Form 1040A

This line may be compressed horizontally (to allow for same line entry for

the name of the qualifying child) by using the following caption: “Head of

household; child’s name” (name ﬁeld).

5.3.3

Other Lines

Any line with text that takes up two or more vertical lines may be compressed

to one line by using contractions, etc., and by removing instructional references.

5.3.4

Page 2 of

Form 1040A

All lines must be present and numbered in the order shown on the ofﬁcial form.

These lines may also be compressed.

5.3.5

Color Screening

It is not necessary to duplicate the color screening used on the ofﬁcial form.

A substitute Form 1040A may be printed in black and white only with no

color screening.

5.3.6

Other Changes

Prohibited

No other changes to the Form 1040A graphics are allowed without prior

approval except for the removal of instructions and references to instructions.

Section5.4–ChangesPermittedtoForm1040Graphics

5.4.1

General

No prior approval is needed for the following changes (for use with computer

prepared forms only). Speciﬁc line numbers in the following headings may

have changed due to tax law changes.

5.4.2

Line 4 of

Form 1040

This line may be compressed horizontally (to allow for a larger entry area

for the name of the qualifying child) by using the following caption: “Head

of household; child’s name” (name ﬁeld).

5.4.3

Line 6c of

Form 1040

The vertical lines separating columns (1) through (4) may be removed. The

captions may be shortened to allow a one line caption for each column.

5.4.4

Other Lines

Any other line with text that takes up two or more vertical lines may

be compressed to one line by using contractions, etc., and by r emoving

instructional references.

5.4.5

Line21–Other

Income

The ﬁll-in portion of this line may be expanded vertically to three lines. The

amount entry box must remain a single entry.

5.4.6

Line 44 of

Form 1040 – Tax

You may change the line caption to read “Tax” and computer print the words

“Total includes tax from” and either “Form(s) 8814” or “Form 4972” or “962

election.” If both forms are used, print both form numbers. This speciﬁcline

number may have changed.

5.4.7

Line 53 of

Form 1040 –

Other Credits

You m ay change the caption to read: “Other credits from Form” and computer

print only the form(s) that apply.

5.4.8

Color Screening

It is not necessary to duplicate the color screening used on the ofﬁcial form.

A substitute Form 1040 may be printed in black and white only with no color

screening.

5.4.9

Other Changes

Prohibited

No other changes to the Form 1040 graphics are permitted without prior

approval except for the removal of instructions and references to instructions.

Part 6

Format and Content of Substitute Returns

Section 6.1 – Acceptable Formats for Substitute Forms and Schedules

6.1.1

Exhibits and Use

Exhibits of acceptable formats for Schedule A, usually attached to the Form

1040, and Form 2106-EZ are shown in the exhibits section of this revenue

procedure.

of Acceptable

Formats

• If your computer generated forms appear exactly like the exhibits, no

prior authorization i s needed.

• You may computer generate forms not shown here, but you must design

them by following the manner and style of those in the exhibits section.

• Take care to observe other requirements and conditions in this revenue

procedure. The IRS encourages the submission of all proposed forms

covered by this revenue procedure.

6.1.2

Instructions

The format of each substitute form or schedule must follow the format of the

ofﬁcial form or schedule as to i tem captions, line references, line numbers,

sequence, form arrangement and format, etc. Basically, try to make the form

look like the ofﬁcial one, with readability and consistency being primary

factors. You may use periods and/or other similar special characters to separate

the various parts and sections of the form. Do not use alpha or numeric

characters for these purposes. All line numbers and i tems must be printed even

though an amount is not entered on the line.

6.1.3

Line Numbers

Whenalineonanofﬁcial form is designated by a number or a letter, that

designation (reference code) must be used on a substitute form. The reference

code must be printed to the left of the text of each line and immediately

preceding the data entry ﬁ eld, even if no reference code precedes the data entry

ﬁeldontheofﬁcial form. If an entry ﬁeld contains multiple lines and shows the

line references once on the left and right side of the form, use the same number

of line references on the substitute form.

In addition, the reference code that is immediately before the data ﬁeld must

either be followed by a period or enclosed in parentheses. There also must be at

least two blank spaces between the period or the right parenthesis and the ﬁrst

digit of the data ﬁeld. (See Section 6.1.4.)

6.1.4

Decimal Points

A decimal point (that i s, a period) should be used for each money amount

regardless of whether the amount is reported in dollars and cents or in whole

dollars, or whether or not the vertical line that separates the dollars from the

cents is present. The decimal points m ust be vertically aligned when possible.

Example:

5 STATE & LOCAL INC. TAXE S............... 5. 495.00

6 REAL ESTATE TAXES............................ 6.

7 PERSONAL PROPERTY TAXES............ 7. 198.00

5 STATE & LOCAL INC. TAXE S............... (5) 495.00

6 REAL ESTATE TAXES............................. (6)

7 PERSONAL PROPERTY TAXES............. (7) 198.00

6.1.5

Multi-Page

Forms

When submitting a multi-page form, send all its pages in the same package.

Exception. If you will not be producing certain pages, please note that in your

cover letter.

Section 6.2 – Additional Instructions for All Forms

6.2.1

Use of Your

Own Internal

Control Numbers

and

Identifying

Symbols

You may show the computer prepared internal control numbers and identifying

symbols on the substitute if using such numbers or symbols is acceptable to

the taxpayer and the t axpayer’s representative. Such information must not

be printed in the top

/2 inch clear area of any form or schedule requiring a

signature. Except for the actual tax return form (Forms 1040, 11ID Number on

20, 940, 941, etc.), you may print in the left vertical and bottom left margins.

The bottom left margin you may use extends 3

/2 inches from the left edge of

the form.

6.2.2

Required

Software

ID Numbe r

(Source Code)

Computer

Prepared

Substitutes

In the February 2009 Government Accountability Ofﬁce (GAO) report, “Many

Taxpayers Rely on Tax Software and IRS Needs to Assess Associated Risks”

(GAO-09-297), GAO recommended that I RS require a software identiﬁcation

number on all individual returns to speciﬁcally identify the software package

used to prepare each tax return. IRS already has t his capability for all e-ﬁled

returns. In addition, many tax preparation software ﬁrms already print an

IRS-issued 3-letter Source Code on paper returns that are generated by their

individual tax software. This Source Code was assigned when the ﬁrms were

seeking substitute forms approval under Publication 1167 (this publication).

In order to respond properly to this GAO recommendation, the IRS will

require all tax preparation software ﬁrms to include the 3-letter Source Code

on all paper tax returns created by their individual t ax preparation software.

The m any ﬁrms that currently have and display their Source Code on paper

returns generated from their software should continue to do so, and no change

is necessary.

We have reviewed all software companies that passed PATS testing last ﬁling

season and have determined that some ﬁrms do not currently have a Source

Code. To save you the burden of contacting us and for your convenience, we

have assigned Source Codes t o those ﬁ rms.

You should program your Source Code to be placed in the bottom left hand

corner of page one of each paper form that will be generated by your individual

tax return package. You do not need to apply for a new Source Code annually.

If you already use a 3-letter Source Code and we have issued you one in error,

you are unsure if you were ever issued one, or have other questions or concerns,

you may contact Tax Forms and Publications Special Services Section at

substituteforms@irs.gov.

6.2.3

Descriptions for

Captions, Lines,

etc.

Descriptions for captions, lines, e tc., appearing on the substitute forms may

be limited to one print line by using abbreviations and contractions, and by

omitting articles, prepositions, e tc. However, sufﬁcient key words must be

retained to permit ready identiﬁcation of the caption, line, or item.

6.2.4

Determining

Final Totals

Explanatory detail and/or intermediate calculations for determining ﬁnal line

totals may be included on the substitute. We prefer that such calculations be

submitted in the form of a supporting statement. If intermediate calculations

are included on the substitute, the line on which they appear may not be

numbered or lettered. Intermediate calculations may not be printed in the right

column. This column is reserved only for ofﬁcial numbered and lettered lines

that correspond to the ones on the ofﬁcial form. Generally, you may choose the

format for intermediate calculations or subtotals on supporting statements to be

submitted.

6.2.5

Instructional

Text on the

Ofﬁcial Form

Text on the ofﬁcial form, which is solely instructional (for example, “See

instructions.” etc.), may generally be omitted from the substitute form.

6.2.6

Mixing Forms

on the Same Page

Prohibited

You m ay not show more than one form or schedule on the same printout page.

Both sides of the paper may be printed for multi-page ofﬁcial forms, but it is

unacceptable to intermix single page schedules of forms.

For instance, Schedule E can be printed on both sides of the paper because the

ofﬁcial form is multi-page, with page 2 continued on the back. However, do not

print Schedule E on the f ront page and Schedule SE on the back, or Schedule A

on the front and Form 8615 on the back, etc. Both pages of a substitute form

must match the ofﬁcial form. The back page may be left blank if the back page

of the ofﬁcial form contains only the instructions.

6.2.7

Identifying

Substitutes

Identify all computer prepared substitutes clearly. Print the form designation

inch from the top margin and 1

/2 inches from the left margin. Print the title

centered on the ﬁrst line of print. Print the taxable year and, where applicable,

the sequence number on the same line

/2 inch to 1 i nch from the right margin.

Include the taxpayer’s name and SSN on all forms and attachments. Also, print

the OMB number as reﬂectedontheofﬁ cial form.

6.2.8

Negative

Amounts

Negative (or loss) amount entries should be enclosed in brackets or parentheses

or include a minus sign. This assists in accurate computation and input of form

data. The IRS pre-prints parentheses in negative data ﬁelds on many ofﬁcial

forms. These parentheses should be retained or inserted on printouts of a ffected

substitute forms.

Part 7

Miscellaneous Forms and Programs

Section 7.1 – Speciﬁcations for Substitute Schedules K-1

7.1.1

Requirements

for Schedules K-1

That Accompany

Forms 1041,

1065, 1065-B,

and 1120S

Because of signiﬁcant changes to improve processing, prior approval is now

required for substitute Schedules K-1 that accompany Form 1041 (for estates

and trusts), F orm 1065 (for partnerships), Form 1065-B (for electing large

partnerships), or Form 1120S (for S corporations). Substitute Schedules K-1

should be as close as possible to exact replicas of copies of the ofﬁcial IRS

schedules and follow the same process for submitting other substitute forms

and schedules. Before releasing their substitute forms, software vendors are

responsible for m aking any subsequent changes that have been made to the

ﬁnal ofﬁcial IRS forms after the draft forms have been posted.

You must include all information on the f orm. Submit Schedules K-1 to the

IRS at substituteforms@irs.gov with “Attn: PDF Submissions” on the subject

line or at:

Internal Revenue Service

Attn: Substitute Forms Program

SE:W:CAR:MP:T:M:S

1111 Constitution A venue, NW

Room 6526

Washington, DC 20224

Include the 6-digit form ID code in the upper r ight of Schedules K-1 of Forms

1041, 1065, and 1120S.

• 661110 for Form 1041,

• 651110 for Form 1065, and

• 671110 for Form 1120S.

Please allow white space around the 6-digit code.

Schedules K-1 that accompany Forms 1041, 1065, 1065-B, or 1120S must

meet all s peciﬁcations. The speciﬁcations include, but are not limited to, the

following requirements.

• You will no longer be able to produce Schedules K-1 that contain only

those lines or boxes that taxpayers are required to use. All lines must

be included.

• The w ords “*See attached statement for additional information.” must

be preprinted in the lower right hand side on Schedules K-1 of Forms

1041, 1065, and 1120S.

• All K-1s that are ﬁled w ith the IRS should be printed on standard 8.5”

x 11” paper (the international standard (A4) of 8.27” x 11.69” may be

substituted).

• Each recipient’s informationmustbeonaseparatesheetofpaper.

Therefore, you must separate all continuously printed substitutes, by

recipient, before ﬁling with the IRS.

• No carbon copies or pressure-sensitive copies will be accepted.

• The Schedule K-1 must contain the name, address, and SSN or EIN

of both the entity (estate, trust, partnership, or S corporation) and the

recipient (beneﬁciary, partner, or shareholder).

• The Schedule K-1 must contain the tax year, the OMB number, the

schedule number (K-1), the related form number (1041, 1065, 1065-B, or

1120S), and the ofﬁcial schedule name in substantially the same position

and format as shown on the ofﬁcial IRS schedule.

• The Schedule K-1 must contain all the line items as shown on the ofﬁcial

form, except for the instructions, if any are printed on the b ack of the

ofﬁcial Schedule K-1.

• The line items or boxes must be in the same order and arrangement as

those on the ofﬁcial form.

• The amount of each recipient’s share of each item m ust be shown.

Furnishing a total amount of each item and a percentage (or decimal

equivalent) to be applied to such total amount by the recipient does not

satisfy the law and the speciﬁcations of this revenue procedure.

• State or local tax-related information may not be included on the

Schedules K-1 ﬁled with the IRS.

• The entity may have to pay a penalty if s ubstitute Schedules K-1 are ﬁled

that do not conform to speciﬁcations.

• Additionally, the IRS may consider the Schedules K-1 that do not

conform to speciﬁcations as not being able to be processed and may return

Forms 1041, 1065, 1065-B, or 1120S to the ﬁler to be ﬁled correctly.

Schedules K-1 that are 2-D bar-coded will continue to require prior approval

from the IRS (see Sections 7.1.3 through 7.1.5).

7.1.2

Special

Requirements for

Recipient Copies

of Schedules K-1

Standardization for reporting information is required for recipient copies of

substitute Schedules K-1 of Forms 1041, 1065, 1065-B, and 1120S. Uniform

visual standards are provided to increase compliance by allowing recipients and

practitioners to more easily recognize a substitute Schedule K-1. The entity

must furnish to each recipient a copy of Schedule K-1 that meets the following

requirements.

• Include the 6-digit form ID code in the upper right of Schedules K-1

of Forms 1041, 1065, and 1120S.

• 661110 for Form 1041,

• 651110 for Form 1065, and

• 671110 for Form 1120S.

Please allow white space around the 6-digit code.

• You will no longer be able to produce Schedules K-1 that contain only

those lines or boxes that taxpayers are required to use. All lines must

be included.

• Both pages 1 and 2 of Schedules K-1 of Forms 1065 and 1120S must be

provided to each recipient.

• The w ords “*See attached statement for additional information.” must

be preprinted in the lower right hand side on Schedules K-1 of Forms

1041, 1065, and 1120S.

• The Schedule K-1 must contain the name, address, and SSN or EIN of

both the entity and recipient.

• The Schedule K-1 must contain the tax year, the OMB number, the

schedule number (K-1), the related form number (1041, 1065, 1065-B, or

1120S), and the ofﬁcial schedule name in substantially the same position

and format as shown on the ofﬁcial IRS schedule.

• All applicable amounts and information required to be reported must

be titled and numbered in the same manner as shown on the ofﬁcial

IRS schedule. The line items or boxes must be in the same order and

arrangement and must be numbered like those on the ofﬁcial IRS

schedule.

• The Schedule K-1 must contain all items required for use by the recipient.

The instructions to the schedule must identify the line or box number and

code, if any, for each item as shown in the ofﬁcial IRS schedule.

• The amount of each recipient’s share of each item m ust be shown.

Furnishing a total amount of each line item and a percentage (or decimal

equivalent) to be applied to such total amount by the recipient does not

satisfy the law and the speciﬁcations of this revenue procedure.

• Instructions to the recipient that are substantially similar to those on o r

accompanying the ofﬁcial IRS schedule must be provided to aid in the

proper reporting of the items on the recipient’s income tax return. Where

items are not reported to a recipient because they do not apply, the related

instructions may be omitted.

• The quality of the ink or other material used to generate recipients’

schedules must produce clearly legible documents. I n general, black

chemical transfer inks are preferred.

• In order to assure uniformity of substitute Schedules K-1, the paper size

should be standard 8.5” x 11” (the international standard (A4) of 8.27” x

11.69” may be substituted.)

• The paper weight, paper color, font type, font size, font color, and page

layout must be such that the average recipient can easily decipher the

information on each page.

• State or local tax-related information may be included on recipient copies

of substitute Schedules K-1. All non-tax-related information should be

separated from the tax information on the substitute schedule to avoid

confusion for the recipient.

• The legend “Important Ta x Return Document Enclosed” must appear in a

bold and conspicuous manner on the outside of the envelope that contains

the substitute recipient copy of Schedule K-1.

• The entity may have to pay a penalty if a substitute Schedule K-1

furnished to any recipient does not conform to the speciﬁcations of this

revenue procedure and results in impeding processing.

7.1.3

Requirements

for Schedules

K-1 with

Two-Dimensional

(2-D) Bar Codes

Electronic ﬁling is now and will continue to be the preferred method of ﬁling;

however, 2-D bar code is the best alternative method for paper processing.

In an effort to improve efﬁciency and at the same time increase data accuracy,

the IRS partnered with the tax software development community on a

two-dimensional bar code project in 2003. Certain tax software packages have

been modiﬁed to generate 2-D bar codes on Schedules K-1. As a result, when

K-1’s are printed using these programs, a bar code will print on the page.

Rather than manually transcribe information from t he Schedule K-1, the IRS

will scan the bar code and e lectronically upload the information from the

K-1. The results will be more efﬁcient operation within the IRS and fewer

transcription errors for your clients.

Note. If software vendors do not want to produce bar-coded Schedules K-1,

they may produce the ofﬁcial IRS Schedules K-1 but cannot use the expedited

process for approving bar-coded K-1s and their parent returns as outlined in

Section 7.1.6.

In addition to the requirements i n Sections 7.1.1 and 7.1.2, the bar-coded

Schedules K-1 must meet the following speciﬁcations.

• The bar code should print in the space labeled “For IRS Use Only” on

each Schedule K-1. The entire bar code must print within the “For IRS

Use Only” box surrounded by a white space of at least

/4 inch.

• Bar codes m ust print in PDF 417 format.

• The bar codes must always be in the speciﬁed format with every ﬁeld

represented by at least a ﬁeld delimiter (carriage return). Leaving out a

ﬁeld in a bar code will cause every subsequent ﬁeldtobemisread.

• Be sure to include the 6-digit form ID code in the upper right of

Schedules K-1 of Forms 1041, 1065, and 1120S.

• 661110 for Form 1041,

• 651110 for Form 1065, and

• 671110 for Form 1120S.

Please allow white space around the 6-digit code.

7.1.4

2-D Bar Code

Speciﬁcations for

Schedules K-1

Follow these general speciﬁcations for p reparing all 2-D bar-coded Schedules

K-1.

• Numeric ﬁelds –

• Do not include leading zeros (except Taxpayer Identiﬁcation

Numbers, Zip Codes, and percentages).

• If negative value, the minus sign “–” must be present immediately

to the left of the number and part of the 12 position ﬁeld.

• Do not use non-numeric characters except that the literal "STMT"

can be put in money ﬁelds.

• All money ﬁelds should be rounded to the nearest w hole dollar

amount – If a money amount ends in 00 to 49 cents, drop the cents;

if it ends in 50 to 99 cents, truncate the cents and increment the

dollar amount by one. Use the same rounding technique for the

bar-coded and the printed K-1s.

• All numeric-only ﬁelds are r ight justiﬁed (except Taxpayer

Identiﬁcation Numbers and Zip Codes).

• All ﬁeld l engths are expressed as maximum lengths. If the value in the

ﬁeld has fewer positions or the software program does not support that

many positions, put in the bar code only those positions actually used.

• Alpha ﬁelds –

• Do not include leading blanks (left justiﬁed).

• Do not include trailing blanks.

• Use uppercase alpha characters only.

• Vari ab le ﬁelds –

• Do not include leading blanks (left justiﬁed).

• Do not include trailing blanks.

• Use uppercase alpha characters, numerics, and special characters

as deﬁnedineachﬁeld.

• Delimit each ﬁeld w ith a carriage return.

• Express percentages as 6-digit numbers without the percent sign. Left

justify with leading zero(s) (for percentages less than 100%) and no

decimal point (decimal point is assu med between 3rd and 4th positions).

Examples: 25.32% expressed as "025320"; 105% expressed as "105000";

8.275% expressed as "008275"; 10.24674% express as "010247".

• It is vital that the print routine reinitialize the bar code prior to printing

each succeeding K-1. Failure to do this will result in each K-1 for a

parent return having the same bar code as the document before it.

7.1.5

Approval

Process for

Bar-Coded

Schedules K-1

Prior to releasing commercially available tax software that creates bar-coded

Schedules K-1, the printed schedule and the bar code must both be tested.

Bar code testing must be done using the ﬁnal ofﬁcial IRS Schedule K-1. Bar

code approval requests m ust be resubmitted for any subsequent changes to the

ofﬁcial IRS form that would affect the bar code. Below are instructions and a

sequence of events that will comprise the testing process.

• The IRS has released the ﬁnal Schedule K-1 bar-code

speciﬁcations by publishing them on the IRS.gov website (see

http://www.irs.gov/eﬁle/article/0,,id=129859,00.html).

• The IRS will publish a set of test documents that will be used to test

the ability of tax preparation software to create bar codes in the correct

format.

• Software developers will submit two identical copies of the test

documents – one to the IRS and one to a contracted testing vendor.

• The IRS will use one set to ensure the printed schedules comply with

standard substitute forms speciﬁcations.

• If the printed forms fail to meet the substitute form criteria, t he IRS will

inform the software developer of the reason for noncompliance.

• The software developer must resubmit the Schedule(s) K-1 until they

pass the substitute forms criteria.

• The testing vendor will review the bar codes to ensure they m eet the

published bar-code speciﬁcations.

• If the bar code(s) does not meet published speciﬁcations, the testing

vendor will contact the software developer directly informing t hem of the

reason for noncompliance.

• Software developers must submit new bar-coded schedules until they

pass the bar-code test.

• When the bar code passes, the testing vendor will inform the I RS that the

developer has passed the bar-code test and the IRS will issue an overall

approval for both the substitute form and the bar code.

• After receiving this consolidated response, the software vendor is free to

release software for tax preparation as long as any subsequent revisions

to the schedules do not change the ﬁelds.

• Find the m ailing address for the testing vendor below. Separate and

simultaneous mailings to the IRS and the vendor will reduce testing time.

7.1.6

Procedures

for Reducing

Testing Time

In order to help provide incentives to the software development c ommunity

to participate in the Schedule K-1 2-D project, the IRS has committed to

expediting the testing of bar-coded Schedules K-1 and their associated parent

returns. To receive this expedited service, follow the instructions below.

• Mail the parent returns (Forms 1065, 1120S, 1041) and a ssociated

bar-coded Schedule(s) K-1 to the appropriate address below in a separate

package from all other approval requests.

Internal Revenue Service

Attn: Bar-Coded K -1

SE:W:CAR:MP:T:M:S

1111 Constitution A venue, NW

Room 6526

Washington, DC 20224

• Mail one copy of the parent f orm(s) and Schedule(s) K-1 to the IRS and

another copy to the testing vendor at the address below.

Northrop Grumman Information Tech

Attn: Cecilia Siamundo, Quality Assurance Lead

12011 Sunset Hills Road — 7th ﬂoor

Reston, VA 20190

Phone: 703-345-6900

• Include multiple email and phone contact points in the packages.

• While the IRS can expedite bar-coded Schedules K-1 and their associated

parent returns, it cannot expedite the approval of non-associated tax

returns.

Section 7.2 – Guidelines for Substitute Forms 8655

7.2.1

Increased

Standardization

for Forms 8655

Increased standardization for reporting information on substitute Forms 8655 is

now required to aid in processing and for compliance purposes. Please follow

the guidelines in Section 7.2.2.

7.2.2

Requirements for

Substitute Forms

8655

Please follow these speciﬁc requirements when producing substitute Forms

8655.

• The ﬁrst line of the title must be “Reporting Agent Authorization.”

• If you want to include a reference to “State Limited Power of Attorney,”

it can be in parentheses under the title. “State” must be the ﬁrst word

within the parentheses.

• You must include “Form 8655” on the form.

• While the line numbers do not have to match the ofﬁcial form, the

sequence of the information must be in the same order.

• The size of any variable data must be printed in a font no smaller than

10-point.

• For adequate disclosure checks, the following must be included for

each taxpayer:

(a) Name,

(b) EIN, and

• At this time, Form 944 will not be required if Form 941 is checked. O nly

those forms that the reporting agent company supports need to be listed.

• The jurat (perjury statement) must be identical with the exception of

references to line numbers.

• A contact name and number for the reporting agent is not required.

• You m ust include line 17, or the equivalent line, and it must include

two checkboxes.

• Any state information included should be contained in a separate section

of the substitute form. Preferably this information will be in the same

area as line 19 of the ofﬁcial form.

• All substitute Forms 8655 must be approved by the Substitute Forms

Unit as outlined in the Form 8655 speciﬁcations in Publication 1167.

• If you have not already been assigned a 3-letter source code, you will be

given one when your substitute form is submitted for approval. This

source code should be included in the lower left corner of the form.

• The 20-day assumed approval policy does not apply to Form 8655

approvals.

Part 8

Additional Inform ation

Section 8.1 – Forms for Electronically Filed Returns

8.1.1

Electronic Filing

Program

Electronic ﬁling is a method by which authorized providers transmit tax return

informationtoanIRSServiceCenterintheformatoftheofﬁcial IRS forms.

The IRS accepts both refund and balance due forms that are ﬁled electronically.

8.1.2

Applying to

Participate in

IRS e-ﬁle

Anyone wishing to participate in IRS e-ﬁle of tax returns must submit an e-ﬁle

application. The application can be completed and submitted electronically on

the IRS website at IRS.gov after ﬁrst registering for e-services on the website.

8.1.3

Obtaining the

Taxpayer

Signature /

Submission of

Required Paper

Documents

Taxpayers choosing to electronically prepare and ﬁle their return will be

required to use the Self-Select PIN method as their signature.

Electronic Return Originators (EROs) can e-ﬁle individual income tax returns

only if the returns are signed electronically using either the Self-Select or

Practitioner PIN method.

Taxpayers must use Form 8453, U.S. Individual Income Tax Transmittal for

an IRS e-ﬁle Return, to send supporting documents that are required to be

submitted to the IRS.

For speciﬁc information about electronic ﬁling, refer to Publication 1345,

Handbook for Authorized IRS e-ﬁle Providers of Individual Income Tax

Returns and Publication 1346, Electronic Return File S peciﬁcations and Record

Layouts for Individual Income Tax Returns.

8.1.4

Guidelines for

Preparing

Substitute Forms

in the Electronic

Filing Program

A participant in the electronic ﬁling program, who wants to develop a substitute

form should follow the guidelines throughout this publication and send a

sample form for approval to the Substitute Forms Unit at the address in Part

1. If you do not prepare Substitute Form 8453 using a font in which all IRS

wording ﬁts on a single page, the form will not be accepted.

Note. Use of unapproved forms could result in suspension of the participant

from the electronic ﬁling program.

Section 8.2 – Effect on Other Documents

8.2.1

Effect on Other

Documents

This revenue procedure supersedes Revenue Procedure 2010-21, 2010-13

I.R.B. 473.

Exhibit A-1 (Preferred Format)

SCHEDULE A

(Form 1040)

Department of the Treasury

Internal Revenue Service (99)

Itemized Deductions

▶

Attach to Form 1040.

▶

See Instructions for Schedule A (Form 1040).

OMB No. 1545-0074

2011

Attachment

Sequence No.

Name(s) shown on Form 1040 Your social security number

Medical

and

Dental

Expenses

Caution. Do not include expenses reimbursed or paid by others.

1 Medical and dental expenses (see instructions) . . . . . 1

Enter amount from Form 1040, line 38

3 Multiply line 2 by 7.5% (.075) . . . . . . . . . . . 3

4 Subtract line 3 from line 1. If line 3 is more than line 1, enter -0- . . . . . . . . 4

Taxes You

Paid

5 State and local (check only one box):

Income taxes, or

General sales taxes

}

. . . . . . . . . . .

6 Real estate taxes (see instructions) . . . . . . . . . 6

7 Personal property taxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

8 Other taxes. List type and amount

▶

9 Add lines 5 through 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Interest

You Paid

Note.

Your mortgage

interest

deduction may

be limited (see

instructions).

Home mortgage interest and points reported to you on Form 1098

Home mortgage interest not reported to you on Form 1098. If paid

to the person from whom you bought the home, see instructions

and show that person’s name, identifying no., and address

▶

Points not reported to you on Form 1098. See instructions for

special rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

13 Mortgage insurance premiums (see instructions) . . . . . 13

Investment interest. Attach Form 4952 if required. (See instructions.)

15 Add lines 10 through 14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Gifts to

Charity

If you made a

gift and got a

benefit for it,

see instructions.

Gifts by cash or check. If you made any gift of $250 or more,

see instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Other than by cash or check. If any gift of $250 or more, see

instructions. You must attach Form 8283 if over $500 . . .

18 Carryover from prior year . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

19 Add lines 16 through 18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Casualty and

Theft Losses

20 Casualty or theft loss(es). Attach Form 4684. (See instructions.) . . . . . . . . 20

Job Expenses

and Certain

Miscellaneous

Deductions

Unreimbursed employee expenses—job travel, union dues,

job education, etc. Attach Form 2106 or 2106-EZ if required.

(See instructions.)

▶

22 Tax preparation fees . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Other expenses—investment, safe deposit box, etc. List type

and amount

▶

24 Add lines 21 through 23 . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Enter amount from Form 1040, line 38

26 Multiply line 25 by 2% (.02) . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Subtract line 26 from line 24. If line 26 is more than line 24, enter -0- . . . . . .

Other

Miscellaneous

Deductions

Other—from list in instructions. List type and amount

▶

Total

Itemized

Deductions

Add the amounts in the far right column for lines 4 through 28. Also, enter this amount

on Form 1040, line 40 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

If you elect to itemize deductions even though they are less than your standard

deduction, check here . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

▶

For Paperwork Reduction Act Notice, see Form 1040 instructions.

Schedule A (Form 1040) 2011

Exhibit A-2 (Acceptable Format)

SCHEDULE A

(Form 1040)

Department of the Treasury

Internal Revenue Service (99)

Itemized Deductions

▶

Attach to Form 1040.

▶

See Instructions for Schedule A (Form 1040).

OMB No. 1545-0074

2011

Attachment

Sequence No.

Name(s) shown on Form 1040 Your social security number

Medical

and

Dental

Expenses

Caution. Do not include expenses reimbursed or paid by others.

1 Medical and dental expenses (see instructions) . . . . . 1

Enter amount from Form 1040, line 38

3 Multiply line 2 by 7.5% (.075) . . . . . . . . . . . 3

4 Subtract line 3 from line 1. If line 3 is more than line 1, enter -0- . . . . . . . . 4

Taxes You

Paid

5 State and local (check only one box):

Income taxes, or

General sales taxes

}

. . . . . . . . . . .

6 Real estate taxes (see instructions) . . . . . . . . . 6

7 Personal property taxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

8 Other taxes. List type and amount

▶

9 Add lines 5 through 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Interest

You Paid

Note.

Your mortgage

interest

deduction may

be limited (see

instructions).

Home mortgage interest and points reported to you on Form 1098

Home mortgage interest not reported to you on Form 1098. If paid

to the person from whom you bought the home, see instructions

and show that person’s name, identifying no., and address

▶

Points not reported to you on Form 1098. See instructions for

special rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

13 Mortgage insurance premiums (see instructions) . . . . . 13

Investment interest. Attach Form 4952 if required. (See instructions.)

15 Add lines 10 through 14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Gifts to

Charity

If you made a

gift and got a

benefit for it,

see instructions.

Gifts by cash or check. If you made any gift of $250 or more,

see instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Other than by cash or check. If any gift of $250 or more, see

instructions. You must attach Form 8283 if over $500 . . .

18 Carryover from prior year . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

19 Add lines 16 through 18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Casualty and

Theft Losses

20 Casualty or theft loss(es). Attach Form 4684. (See instructions.) . . . . . . . . 20

Job Expenses

and Certain

Miscellaneous

Deductions

Unreimbursed employee expenses—job travel, union dues,

job education, etc. Attach Form 2106 or 2106-EZ if required.

(See instructions.)

▶

22 Tax preparation fees . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Other expenses—investment, safe deposit box, etc. List type

and amount

▶

24 Add lines 21 through 23 . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Enter amount from Form 1040, line 38

26 Multiply line 25 by 2% (.02) . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Subtract line 26 from line 24. If line 26 is more than line 24, enter -0- . . . . . .

Other

Miscellaneous

Deductions

Other—from list in instructions. List type and amount

▶

Total

Itemized

Deductions

Add the amounts in the far right column for lines 4 through 28. Also, enter this amount

on Form 1040, line 40 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

If you elect to itemize deductions even though they are less than your standard

deduction, check here . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

▶

For Paperwork Reduction Act Notice, see Form 1040 instructions.

Schedule A (Form 1040) 2011

Exhibit B-1 (Preferred Format)

Form 2106-EZ

Department of the Treasury

Internal Revenue Service (99)

Unreimbursed Employee Business Expenses

▶

Attach to Form 1040 or Form 1040NR.

OMB No. 1545-0074

2011

Attachment

Sequence No. 129A

Your name Occupation in which you incurred expenses

Social security number

You Can Use This Form Only if All of the Following Apply.

• You are an employee deducting ordinary and necessary expenses attributable to your job. An ordinary expense is one that is

common and accepted in your field of trade, business, or profession. A necessary expense is one that is helpful and appropriate for

your business. An expense does not have to be required to be considered necessary.

• You do not get reimbursed by your employer for any expenses (amounts your employer included in box 1 of your Form W-2 are not

considered reimbursements for this purpose).

• If you are claiming vehicle expense, you are using the standard mileage rate for 2011.

Caution: You can use the standard mileage rate for 2011 only if: (a) you owned the vehicle and used the standard mileage rate for the first year

you placed the vehicle in service, or (b) you leased the vehicle and used the standard mileage rate for the portion of the lease period after 1997.

Part I

Figure Your Expenses

1 Complete Part II. Multiply line 8a by 51¢ (.51) for miles driven before July 1, 2011, and by 55.5¢

(.555) for miles driven after June 30, 2011. Add the amounts , then enter the result here . . .

2 Parking fees, tolls, and transportation, including train, bus, etc., that did not involve overnight

travel or commuting to and from work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

3 Travel expense while away from home overnight, including lodging, airplane, car rental, etc. Do

not include meals and entertainment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

4 Business expenses not included on lines 1 through 3. Do not include meals and

entertainment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

5 Meals and entertainment expenses: $ × 50% (.50). (Employees subject to

Department of Transportation (DOT) hours of service limits: Multiply meal expenses incurred

while away from home on business by 80% (.80) instead of 50%. For details, see instructions.)

Total expenses. Add lines 1 through 5. Enter here and on Schedule A (Form 1040), line 21 (or

on Schedule A (Form 1040NR), line 7). (Armed Forces reservists, fee-basis state or local

government officials, qualified performing artists, and individuals with disabilities: See the

instructions for special rules on where to enter this amount.) . . . . . . . . . . . .

Part II

Information on Your Vehicle. Complete this part only if you are claiming vehicle expense on line 1.

7 When did you place your vehicle in service for business use? (month, day, year)

▶

/ /

8 Of the total number of miles you drove your vehicle during 2011, enter the number of miles you used your vehicle for:

a Business

b Commuting (see instructions) c Other

9 Was your vehicle available for personal use during off-duty hours? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes No

10 Do you (or your spouse) have another vehicle available for personal use? . . . . . . . . . . . .

Yes No

11a Do you have evidence to support your deduction? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Yes No

b If “Yes,” is the evidence written? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Yes No

For Paperwork Reduction Act Notice, see your tax return instructions.

Form 2106-EZ (2011)

Exhibit B-2 (Acceptable Format)