The purpose of this revenue procedure to set forth the 2017 requirements for:

This revenue procedure contains specifications for these information returns:

For purposes of this revenue procedure, a substitute form or statement is one that is not published by the IRS. For a substitute form or statement to be acceptable to the IRS, it must conform to the official form or the specifications outlined in this revenue procedure. Do not submit any substitute forms or statements listed above to the IRS for approval. Privately published forms may not state, “This is an IRS approved form.”

Filers making payments to certain recipients during a calendar year are required by the Internal Revenue Code (the Code) to file information returns with the IRS for these payments. These filers must also provide this information to their recipients. In some cases, this also applies to payments received. See Part 4 for specifications that apply to recipient statements (generally Copy B).

In general, section 6011 of the Code contains requirements for filers of information returns. A filer must file information returns electronically or on paper. A filer who is required to file 250 or more information returns of any one type during a calendar year must file those returns electronically.

Caution: Financial institutions that are required to report payments made under chapters 3 or 4 must file Forms 1042–S electronically, regardless of the number of forms to file.

Note. If you file electronically, do not file the same returns on paper.

Although not required, small volume filers (fewer than 250 returns during a calendar year) may file the forms electronically. See the requirements for filing information returns (and providing a copy to a payee) in the 2017 General Instructions for Certain Information Returns and the 2017 Instructions for Form 1042–S. In addition, see the current revision of Publication 1220, Specifications for Electronic Filing of Forms 1097, 1098, 1099, 3921, 3922, 5498, and W–2G, for electronic filing through the IRS FIRE system.

The IRS prints and provides the forms on which various payments must be reported. See Section 5.3, later, for ordering forms and instructions. Alternately, filers may prepare substitute copies of these IRS forms and use such forms to report payments to the IRS.

Note. Further information impacting Publication 1179, such as issues arising after its final release, will be posted on IRS.gov at IRS.gov/pub1179.

The following changes have been made to this year’s revenue procedure. For further information about each form listed below, see the separate reporting instructions.

Vendor code. The use of a vendor code is encouraged in place of a form printer EINs. See Section 2.1.10.

Form 1042–S.

Form 1098. New box 10, number of mortgaged properties. Filers must report the number of properties in excess of one (1) that secure a single mortgage.

See the instructions for box 10.

Form 1098–T. For the 2017 calendar year, Announcement 2016–42, available at IRS.gov/irb/2016-49_IRB/ar10.html, provides that no penalties will be imposed under section 6721 or 6722 for reporting the aggregate amount billed, instead of the aggregate amount of payments received, for qualified tuition and related expenses. Beginning in 2018, only the qualified tuition and related expenses actually paid can be reported.

Forms 1099–A and 1099–C. T.D. 9793 removes the rule that a deemed discharge of indebtedness for which a Form 1099–C must be filed occurs at the expiration of a 36-month nonpayment testing period.

Form 1099–OID. Box 11 was added to report tax–exempt OID.

Form 1099–S. A new checkbox has been added as box 5 to report the transfer of real estate by a foreign person. Previous box 5, Buyer’s Part of Real Estate Tax, is now box 6.

Form 5498. Report late rollover contributions certified by the participant in boxes 13a and 13b. Report the self-certification code in box 13c.

Form W–2G. The text in box 1 has been changed from “Gross winnings” to “Reportable winnings.” This change clarifies that for certain types of gambling activity, the amount shown in box 1 is gross winnings less the amounts of the wager or buy-in.

Exhibits. All of the exhibits in this publication were updated to include all of the 2017 revisions of those forms that have been revised.

Editorial changes. We made editorial changes throughout, including updated references. Redundancies were eliminated as much as possible.

Form recipient means the person to whom you are required by law to furnish a copy of the official form or information statement. The form recipient may be referred to by different names on various Forms 1099 and related forms (“beneficiary,” “borrower,” “debtor,” “donor,” “employee,” “homeowner,” “insured,” “participant,” “payee,” “payer/borrower,” “policyholder,” “shareholder,” “student,” “transferor,” or, in the case of Form W–2G, the “winner”). See Section 1.3.4.

Filer means the person or organization required by law to file with the IRS a form listed in Section 1.1.2 with the IRS. A filer may be a payer, creditor, payment settlement entity, recipient of mortgage or student loan interest payments, educational institution, broker, barter exchange, person reporting real estate transactions; a trustee or issuer of any educational or ABLE Act savings account, individual retirement arrangement, or medical savings account; a lender who acquires an interest in secured property or who has reason to know that the property has been abandoned; a corporation reporting a change in control and capital structure or transfer of stock to an employee; or certain donees of motor vehicles, boats, and airplanes.

Substitute form means a paper substitute of Copy A of an official form listed in Section 1.1.2 that completely conforms to the provisions in this revenue procedure.

Substitute form recipient statement means a paper or electronic statement of the information reported on a form listed in Section 1.1.2. For the remainder of this revenue procedure, we will refer to this as a recipient statement. This statement must be furnished to a person (form recipient), as defined under the applicable provisions of the Code and the applicable regulations.

Composite substitute statement means one in which two or more required statements (for example, Forms 1099–INT and 1099–DIV) are furnished to the recipient on one document. However, each statement must be designated separately and must contain all the requisite Form 1099 information except as provided under Section 4.2. A composite statement may not be filed with the IRS.

Paper substitutes for Form 1096 and Copy A of Forms 1097–BTC, 1098, 1099, 3921, 3922, 5498, W–2G, and 1042–S that completely conform to the specifications listed in this revenue procedure may be privately printed and filed as returns with the IRS. The reference to the Department of the Treasury– Internal Revenue Service should be included on all such forms.

If you are uncertain of any specification and want it clarified, you may submit a letter citing the specification, stating your understanding and interpretation of the specification, and enclosing an example of the form (if appropriate) to:

Note. Allow at least 30 days for the IRS to respond.

You may also contact the Substitute Forms Program via e-mail at substituteforms@irs.gov. Please enter “Substitute Forms” on the Subject Line.

Forms 1096, 1097–BTC, 1098, 1099, 3921, 3922, 5498, W–2G, and 1042–S are subject to annual review and possible change. Therefore, filers are cautioned against overstocking supplies of privately printed substitutes.

Some Forms 1097–BTC, 1098, 1099, 3921, 3922, 5498, W–2G, and 1042–S

that include logos, slogans, and advertisements may not be recognized as important tax documents. A payee may not recognize the importance of the payee copy for tax reporting purposes due to the use of logos, slogans, and advertisements. Thus, the IRS has determined that logos, slogans, and advertising are not allowed on the payee copies of the above forms, on Copy A filed with the IRS, or on Form 1096, with the following exceptions:

The IRS e-file logo on the IRS official payee copies may be included, but it is not required, on any of the substitute form copies.

The information return and payee copies must clearly identify the payer’s name associated with its employer identification number.

Logos and slogans may be used on permissible enclosures, such as a check or account statement, other than information returns and payee copies.

If you have comments about the restrictions on including logos, slogans, and advertising on information returns and payee copies, send your comments to:

or email them to substituteforms@irs.gov.

Proposed substitutes of Copy A must be exact replicas of the official IRS form with respect to layout and content. Proposed substitutes for Copy A that do not conform to the specifications in this revenue procedure are not acceptable.

Further, if you file such forms with the IRS, you may be subject to a penalty for failure to file a correct information return under section 6721 of the Code. The amount of the penalty is based on when you file the correct information return. The amount of the penalty is shown next.

Caution: If you do not file corrections and do not meet any of the exceptions listed in the 2017 General Instructions for Information Returns under Penalties, the penalty is $260 per information return.

Copy B and Copy C Specifications

Copy B and Copy C of the following forms must contain the information in Part 4 to be considered a “statement” or “official form” under the applicable provisions of the Code. The format of this information is at the discretion of the filer with the exception of the location of the tax year, form number, form name, and the information for composite Form 1099 statements as outlined under Section 4.2.

Copy B, of the forms below, are for the following recipients.

Copy C of the following forms are for the following recipients.

Note. On Copy C, Form 1099–LTC, you may reverse the locations of the policyholder’s and the insured’s name, street address, city, state, and ZIP code for easier mailing.

Due to the very low volume of paper Forms 1099–CAP, 1099–LTC, 1099–QA, 1099–SA, 3922, 5498–ESA, 5498–QA, and 5498–SA received and processed by the IRS each year, these forms have been converted to an online fillable format. Note. The instructions for substitute Forms 1042–S, also an online fillable format, are found separately in Part 5.

These forms in their fillable format can be found at IRS.gov/formspubs.

All the instructions regarding the substitute forms found in Part I, and Sections 2.1.2, 2.1.7, 2.1.9, and 2.1.10, and the remainder of this publication, unless specified differently immediately below, remain in effect if you are going to produce the online fillable forms as paper or online substitute forms.

Note. If you want to print the forms as they formerly appeared to save paper, they are all printed 3-to-a-page. Follow the 3-to-a-page measurements in Exhibit E in Section 6.

Form identifying numbers (for example, 9191 for Form 1099–DIV) must be printed in nonreflective black carbon-based ink in print positions 15 through 19 using an optical character recognition (OCR) A font. The check boxes to the right of the form identifying numbers must be 10-point boxes. The “VOID” checkbox is in print position 25 (1.9” from left vertical line of the form). The “CORRECTED” check box is in print position 33 (2.7” from left vertical line of the form). Measurements are generally from the left edge of the paper, not including the perforated strip.

The substitute form Copy A must be an exact replica of the official IRS form with respect to layout and content. To determine the correct form measurements, see Exhibits A through Y at the end of this publication.

Hot wax and cold carbon spots are not permitted on any of the internal form plies. These spots are permitted on the back of a mailer top envelope ply.

Use of chemical transfer paper for Copy A is acceptable.

The Government Printing Office (GPO) symbol must be deleted.

Color and paper quality for Copy A (cut sheets and continuous pinfeed forms) as specified by JCP Code 0–25, dated November 29, 1978, must be white 100% bleached chemical wood, OCR bond produced in accordance with the following specifications.

Note. Reclaimed fiber in any percentage is permitted provided the requirements of this standard are met.

Chemical transfer paper is permitted for Copy A only if the following standards are met.

All copies must be clearly legible. Fading must be minimized to assure legibility.

All print on Copy A of Forms 1097–BTC, 1098, 1098–C, 1098–E, 1098–MA, 1098–Q, 1098–T, 1099–A, 1099–B, 1099–C, 1099–DIV, 1099–G, 1099–INT, 1099–K, 1099–MISC, 1099–OID, 1099–PATR, 1099–Q, 1099–R, 1099–S, 3921, 3922, 5498, and the print on Form 1096 above the statement, “Return this entire page to the Internal Revenue Service. Photocopies are not acceptable.” must be in Flint J-6983 red OCR dropout ink or an exact match. However, the four-digit form identifying number must be in nonreflective carbon-based black ink in OCR A font.

The shaded areas of any substitute form should generally correspond to the format of the official form.

The printing for the Form 1096 jurat statement and the text that follows may be in any shade or tone of black ink. Black ink should only appear on the lower part of the reverse side of Form 1096, where it will not bleed through and interfere with scanning.

Note. The instructions on the front and back of Form 1096, which include filing addresses, must be printed.

Separation between fields must be 0.1 inch.

Other printing requirements are discussed in Sections 2.1.5 through 2.1.9.

You must initiate, or have, a quality control program to assure OCR ink density. Readings will be made when printed on approved 20 lb. white OCR bond with a reflectance of not less than 80%. Black ink must not have a reflectance greater than 15%. These readings are based on requirements of the “Scan-Optics Series 9000” Optical Scanner using Flint J-6983 red OCR dropout ink or an exact match.

The following testers and ranges are acceptable:

Important information: The forms produced under these specifications must be guaranteed to function properly when processed through High Speed Scan-Optics 9000 mm scanners. Forms require precision spacing, printing, and trimming.

Density readings on the solid J-6983 (red) must be between the ranges of 0.95 to 0.90. The optimal scanning range is 0.93. Density readings on the solid black must be between the ranges of 112 to 108. The optimal scanning range is 110.

Note. The readings are taken using an Ex-Rite 500 series densitometer, in Status T with Absolute or – paper setting under an Illuminate 5000 Kelvin Watt Light. You must maintain print contrast specification of ink and densitometer reflectivity reading throughout entire production run.

Type must be substantially identical in size and shape to the official form. All rules are either ½-point or ¾-point. Rules must be identical to those on the official IRS form.

Note. The form identifying number must be nonreflective carbon-based black ink in OCR A font.

Generally, three Copies A of Forms 1098, 1099, 3921, and 3922 are contained on a single page, 8 inches wide (without any snap-stubs and/or pinfeed holes) by 11 inches deep.

Exceptions. Forms 1097–BTC, 1098, 1098–Q, 1099–B, 1099–DIV, 1099–INT,

1099–K, 1099–MISC, 1099–OID, 1099–R, and 5498, contain two documents per page. Forms 1098–C and 1042–S are single page documents.

There is a 0.33 inch top margin from the top of the corrected box, and a 0.2 to

0.25 inch right margin, with a +/- ¹20 (0.05) inch tolerance for the right margin. If the right and top margins are properly aligned, the left margin for all forms will be correct. All margins must be free of print. See Exhibits A through Y in Part 6 for correct form measurements.

These measurements are constant for certain Forms 1098, 1099, and 5498. These measurements are shown only once in this publication, on Form

1097–BTC (Exhibit B) for two per page forms and on Form 1098–E (Exhibit

E) for three per page forms. Exceptions to these measurements and form-specific measurements are shown on the rest of the exhibits.

The depth of the individual trim size of each form (three per page) on a page must be 3 ²3 inches, the same depth as the official form, unless otherwise indicated.

The depth of the individual trim size of each form (two per page) is 5 ½ inches.

Copy A (three per page and two per page) of privately printed continuous substitute forms must be perforated at each 11″ page depth. No perforations are allowed between forms on the Copy A page.

Exception. Copy A of Form W–2G may be perforated.

The words “Do Not Cut or Separate Forms on This Page” must be printed in red dropout ink (as required by form specifications) between the three or two forms per page. This statement should not be included after the last form on the page.

Separations are required between all the other individual copies (Copies B and C, and Copies 1 and 2 of Forms 1099–B, 1099–DIV, 1099–G, 1099–INT, 1099–K, 1099–MISC, 1099–OID, 1099–R, and Copy D for Forms 1099–LTC, 1099–R, and 1042–S) in the set. Any recipient copies printed on a single sheet of paper must be easily separated. The best method of separation is to provide perforations between the individual copies. Each copy should be easily distinguished whatever method of separation is used.

Note. Perforation does not apply to printouts of copies that are furnished electronically to recipients (as described in Regulations section 31.6051–1(k)).

However, these recipients should be cautioned to carefully separate any copies. See Section 4.6.1, later, for information on electronically furnishing statements to recipients.

Required Inclusions/ Exclusions

You must include the OMB Number on Copies A and Form 1096 in the same location as on the official form.

The following Privacy Act and Paperwork Reduction Act Notice phrases must be printed on Copy A of the forms as follows. It also must be printed on the Copy C, D, or E of the form retained by the filer.

Exception: The words “2017 General Instructions for Certain Information Returns” are not bolded on Form 1098–MA.

A postal indicia may be used if it meets the following criteria.

The printer’s symbol (GPO) must not be printed on substitute Copy A. Instead, the employer identification number (EIN) or the vendor code of the form’s printer must be entered in place of the Catalog Number (Cat. No.). The 4-digit vendor code, preceded by four zeros and a slash, for example 0000/9876, must appear in 12-point Arial font, or a close approximation, on Copy A only of Forms 1096, 1098–BTC, 1098, 1099, 3921, 3922, 5498, and W-2G. The vendor code is used to identify the forms producer. Vendor codes can be obtained free of charge from the National Association of Computerized Tax Processors (NACTP) via email at president@nactp.org. The use of a vendor code is recommended.

Note. Vendor codes from the NACTP are required by those companies producing the 1099 family of forms (Forms 1096, 1097–BTC, 1098, 1099, 3921, 3922, 5498, and W–2G) as part of a product for resale to be used by multiple issuers. Issuers developing 1099 family forms to be used only for their individual company do not require a vendor code.

The Cat. No. shown on the forms is used for IRS distribution purposes and should not be printed on any substitute forms.

The form must not contain the statement “IRS approved” or any similar statement.

The form recipient’s name, street address, city, state, ZIP code, and telephone number (if required) should be typed or machine printed in black ink in the same format as shown on the official IRS form. The city, state, and ZIP code must be on the same line.

The following rules apply to the form recipient’s name(s).

Because certain states require that trust accounts be provided in a different format, filers generally should provide information returns reflecting payments to trust accounts with the:

Although handwritten forms will be accepted, the IRS prefers that filers type or machine print data entries. Also, filers should insert data as directed by shading, or in the middle of blocks, well separated from other printing and guidelines, and take measures to guarantee clear, dark black, sharp images. Photocopies are not acceptable.

Truncating payee identification number on payee statements. Where permitted, filers may truncate a payee’s identification number (social security number (SSN), individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN), adoption taxpayer identification number (ATIN), or employer identification number (EIN)) on the payee statement (including substitute and composite substitute statements) furnished to the payee in paper form or electronically. Generally, the payee statement is that copy of an information return designated “Copy B” on the form. To truncate where allowed, replace the first 5 digits of the 9-digit number with asterisks (*) or Xs (for example, an SSN xxx-xx-xxxx would appear on the paper payee statement as ***-**-xxxx or XXX-XX-xxxx). See Treasury Decision 9675, 2014–31 I.R.B. 242, available at IRS.gov/irb/2014-31_IRB/ ar07.html.

Caution: Recipient TINs must not be truncated on Copy A filed with the IRS.

Use the account number box on all Forms 1098, 1099, 3921, 3922, 5498, and W–2G for an account number designation when required by the official IRS form. The account number is required if you have multiple accounts for a recipient for whom you are filing more than one information return of the same type. Additionally, the IRS encourages you to include the recipients’ account numbers on paper forms if your system of records uses the account number rather than the name or TIN for identification purposes. Also, the IRS will include the account number in future notices to you about backup withholding. If you are using window envelopes to mail statements to recipients and using reduced rate mail, be sure the account number does not appear in the window. The Postal Service may not accept these for reduced rate mail.

Exception. Form 1098–T can have third-party provider information.

Mail completed paper forms to the IRS service center shown in the Instructions for Form 1096 and in the 2017 General Instructions for Certain Information Returns. Specific information needed to complete the forms mentioned in this revenue procedure are given in the specific form instructions. A chart showing which form must be filed to report a particular payment is included in the 2017 General Instructions for Certain Information Returns.

The following specifications give the format requirements for substitute Form W–2G (Copy A only), which is filed with the IRS.

A filer may use a substitute Form W–2G to file with the IRS (referred to as “substitute Copy A”). The substitute form must be an exact replica of the official form with respect to layout and content.

You must follow these specifications when printing substitute Copy A of the Form W–2G.

Caution: The payee’s TIN (SSN, ITIN, ATIN, or EIN) must not be truncated on Form W2–G.

If you do not use the official IRS form to furnish statements to recipients, you must furnish an acceptable substitute statement. Information presented in substitute statements should be in a point size large enough to be easily read by recipients. To be acceptable, your substitute statement must comply with the rules in this Part. If you are furnishing a substitute form, see Regulations sections 1.6042–4, 1.6044–5, 1.6049–6, and 1.6050N–1 to determine how the

following statements must be provided to recipients for most Forms 1099–DIV and 1099–INT, all Forms 1099–OID and 1099–PATR, and Form 1099–MISC

or 1099–S for royalties. Generally, information returns may be furnished electronically with the consent of the recipient. See Section 4.6.1.

Note. A trustee of a grantor-type trust may choose to file Forms 1099 and furnish a statement to the grantor under Regulations sections 1.671–4(b)(2)(iii) and (b)(3)(ii). The statement required by those regulations is not subject to the requirements outlined in this section.

4.1.2 Substitute Statements to Recipients for Certain Forms 1099–B, 1099- DIV, 1099–INT, 1099–OID, and 1099–PATR

The rules in this section apply to Form 1099–B, 1099–DIV (except for section 404(k) dividends), 1099–INT (except for interest reportable under section 6041), 1099–OID, and 1099–PATR only. You may furnish form recipients with Copy B of the official Form 1099 or a substitute Form 1099 (recipient statement) if it contains the same information as the official IRS form (such as aggregate amounts paid to the form recipient, any backup withholding, the name, address, and TIN of the person making the return, and any other information required by the official form). Information not required by the official form should not be included on the substitute form except for state income tax withholding information.

Note. Many of the information returns now include boxes for providing state withholding information as part of the official form, with additional copies for convenience. Payers may, however, provide the state withholding information separately (such as on a separate page or section) in order to assist the payee with completing a state income tax return that requires the attachment of any information return that includes state withholding amounts and payer numbers.

Exception for supplementary information. The substitute form may include supplementary information that will assist the payee with completing his or her tax return. Such information could include expense and cost basis factors related to the reporting for widely held fixed investment trusts (WHFITs), as

required under Regulation section 1.671–5. The substitute statement should disclose to the payee that such supplementary information is not furnished to the IRS. See Section 4.3 for additional requirements when providing supplemental information with the Form 1099–B that is not furnished to the IRS.

Form 1099–B. For transactions reportable on Form 8949, brokers that use substitute statements should segregate dispositions of noncovered securities from covered securities, and further segregate long-term and short-term dispositions of covered securities. They may also segregate long-term from short-term dispositions of noncovered securities, to the extent that date acquired is known. For 2017 dispositions, the substitute Forms 1099–B may have up to five separate sections, each with a heading identifying which securities are included in the list, and each separately totaled. Each section, after totaling or within the heading for the section, should indicate how to report the transactions on Form 8949, as indicated.

For each section, each transaction may include information not reported to the IRS, such as basis, date acquired, and gain or loss. Therefore, for short-term dispositions where basis was not reported to the IRS, basis and date acquired may be shown just as it would be shown for short-term dispositions where basis was reported to the IRS.

For 2017 dispositions, each of the applicable sections must have Sales Price and Cost or Other Basis (if known) separately totaled. Net gain or loss, if included for any of the sections, may also be totaled.

Brokers may also use substitute Form 1099–B for transactions that are not directly reported on Form 8949. Examples include transactions involving regulated futures contracts, foreign currency contracts, and section 1256 option contracts. Any additional sections created for this purpose should be segregated from those transactions directly reportable on Form 8949.

The substitute form requirements in the following paragraphs also apply to Form 1099–B.

Forms 1099–INT, DIV, OID, and PATR. A substitute recipient statement for Form 1099–INT, 1099–DIV, 1099–OID, or 1099–PATR must comply with the following requirements.

A mutual fund family may furnish one statement (for example, one piece of paper) on which it reports the dividend income earned by a recipient from multiple funds within the family of mutual funds, as required by Form 1099–DIV. However, each fund and its earnings must be stated separately. The statement must contain an instruction to the recipient that each fund’s dividends and name, not the name of the mutual fund family, must be reported on the recipient’s tax return. The statement cannot contain an aggregate total of all funds. In addition, a mutual fund family may furnish a single statement (as

a single filer) for Forms 1099–INT, 1099–DIV, and 1099–OID information (see Section 4.2.1, later). Each fund and its earnings must be stated separately. The statement must contain an instruction to the recipient that each fund’s earnings and name, not the name of the mutual fund family, must be reported on the recipient’s tax return. The statement cannot contain an aggregate total of all funds.

You may enter a total of the individual accounts listed on the statement only if they have been paid by the same payer. For example, if you are listing interest paid on several accounts by one financial institution on Form 1099–INT, you may also enter the total interest amount. You may also enter a date next to the corrected box if that box is checked.

Statements to form recipients for Forms 1097–BTC, 1098, 1098–C, 1098–E, 1098–MA, 1098–Q, 1098–T, 1099–A, 1099–C, 1099–CAP, 1099–G, 1099–K,

1099–LTC, 1099–MISC, 1099–Q, 1099–QA, 1099–R, 1099–S, 1099–SA, 3921,

3922, 5498, 5498–ESA, 5498–QA, 5498–SA, W–2G, 1099–DIV (only for

section 404(k) dividends reportable under section 6047), and 1099–INT (only for interest of $600 or more made in the course of a trade or business reportable under section 6041) can be copies of the official forms or an acceptable substitute.

Caution: The IRS does not require a donee to use Form 1098–C as the written acknowledgment for contributions of motor vehicles, boats, and airplanes.

However, if you choose to use copies of Form 1098–C or an acceptable substitute as the written acknowledgment, then you must follow the requirements of this section.

To be acceptable, a substitute recipient statement must meet the following requirements.

Exception. If you are reporting a payment as “Other income” in box 3 of Form 1099–MISC, you may substitute appropriate language for the box title. For example, for payments of accrued wages and leave to a beneficiary of a deceased employee, you might change the title of box 3 to “Beneficiary payments” or something similar.

Note. You cannot make this change on Copy A.

A composite recipient statement is permitted for reportable payments consisting of the proceeds of brokerage and barter transactions, dividends, interest, original issue discount, patronage dividends, and royalties. The following forms may be included on a composite substitute statement, when one payer is reporting more than one of these payments during a calendar year to the same form recipient.

Generally, do not include any other Form 1099 information (for example, 1099–A or 1099–C) on a composite statement with the information required on the forms listed in the preceding sentence.

Although the composite recipient statement may be on one sheet, the format of the composite recipient statement must satisfy the following requirements in addition to the requirements listed earlier in Section 4.1.2, 4.3 and 4.4, as applicable.

A composite recipient statement for the forms specified in Section 4.1.2 is permitted when one filer is reporting more than one type of payment during a calendar year to the same form recipient. A composite statement is not allowed for a combination of forms listed in Section 4.1.3.

Exceptions:

Although the composite recipient statement may be on one sheet, the format of the composite recipient statement must satisfy the requirements listed in Section 4.2.1 as well as the requirements in Section 4.1.3. A composite statement of Forms 1098 and 1099–INT (for interest reportable under section 6049) is not allowed.

A filer may include Form 1099–B information on a composite form with the forms listed in Section 4.1.2. Therefore, supporting, explanatory, or comparable relevant information for covered and noncovered lots on the 1099–B portion of the composite statement can be included. This information includes display on the payee statement of data elements such as basis for noncovered lots, explanatory remarks on permissible basis adjustments for covered lots descriptions of the type of transaction (merger, buy to close, redemption, etc.), identification of contingent payment debt obligations, and lot relief methods.

If you wish to provide additional information to the investor on the same substitute recipient Form 1099–B, the form must follow the rules set forth in this Section 4.3 and should clearly delineate how the information is presented. Any information presented should make reference to its corresponding number on the official form as appropriate. You should clearly categorize each type of information you are reporting.

An additional separate legend is required that explains exactly which pieces of information are and which are not reported to the IRS to the extent, if any, the information is not already identified as not being reported to the IRS as described in Section 4.1.2. It should clearly explain how the information is presented. You may present this legend in a way that is consistent with your design as long as it clearly indicates which information is being provided to the IRS. Additionally, a reminder to taxpayers that they are ultimately responsible for the accuracy of their tax returns is also required.

Form 1098 recipient statements (Copy B) must contain the following legends:

Copies B, C, and in some cases D, E, 1, and 2 are included in the official assembly for the convenience of the filer. You are not legally required to include all these copies with the privately printed substitute forms. Furnishing Copy B, and in some cases C, will satisfy the legal requirement to provide statements of information to form recipients.

Note. If an amount of federal income tax withheld is shown on Form 1099–R or W–2G, Copy B (to be attached to the tax return) and Copy C must be furnished to the recipient. Copy D (Forms 1099–R and W–2G) may be used for payer records. Only Copy A should be filed with the IRS.

Copy A (“For Internal Revenue Service Center”) of all forms must be on top. The rest of the assembly must be arranged, from top to bottom, as follows.

For:

Instructions for perforation of forms can be found in Section 2.1.8, earlier.

If you are required to furnish a written statement (Copy B or an acceptable substitute) to a recipient, then you may furnish the statement electronically instead of on paper. This includes furnishing the statement to recipients of Forms 1098, 1098–E, 1098–MA, 1098–Q, 1098–T, 1099–A, 1099–B, 1099–C, 1099–CAP, 1099–DIV, 1099–G, 1099–INT, 1099–K, 1099–LTC, 1099–MISC, 1099–OID, 1099–PATR, 1099–Q, 1099–QA, 1099–R, 1099–S, 1099–SA, 1042–S, 3921, 3922, 5498, 5498–ESA, 5498–QA, and 5498–SA. It also includes Form W–2G (except for horse and dog racing, jai alai, sweepstakes, wagering pools, and lotteries).

Note. Until further guidance is issued, you cannot furnish Form 1098–C electronically. Perforation (see Section 2.1.9, earlier) does not apply to printouts of copies of forms that are furnished electronically to recipients. However, recipients should be cautioned to carefully separate the copies.

If you meet the requirements listed in Sections 4.6.2, and 4.6.3, you are treated as furnishing the statement timely.

The recipient must consent in the affirmative and not have withdrawn the consent before the statement is furnished. The consent by the recipient must be made electronically in a way that shows that he or she can access the statement in the electronic format in which it will be furnished. You must notify the recipient of any hardware or software changes prior to furnishing the statement. A new consent to receive the statement electronically is required after the new hardware or software is put into service. Prior to furnishing the statements electronically, you must provide the recipient a statement with the following statements prominently displayed.

Additionally, you must:

For more information, see Regulations section 31.6051–1.

For electronic furnishing of:

Paper substitutes of Copies A, B, C, and D must be identical to the Form 1042–S, Foreign Person’s U.S. Source Income Subject to Withholding, and may be privately printed without prior approval from the Internal Revenue Service.

Note. Copies A, B, C, and D of Form 1042–S may not contain multiple income types for the same recipient, that is, multiple rows of the top boxes 1–11 of the form. Only Copy E, retained by the withholding agent, can contain multiple income types.

Form 1042–S is subject to annual review and possible change. Withholding agents and form suppliers are cautioned against overstocking supplies of the privately printed substitutes.

Copies of the official form for the reporting year may be obtained from most Service offices. The Service provides only cut sheets of these forms. Continuous fan-fold/pin-fed forms are not provided.

The Paperwork Reduction Act (the Act) of 1995 (Public Law 104–13) requires that:

This information must be provided to any users of official or substitute IRS forms or instructions.

The OMB requirements for substitute IRS forms are:

Caution: These requirements do not apply to substitute Forms 1042–S. See Section 5.1.4, earlier.

All substitute forms must state the Privacy Act and Paperwork Reduction Act Notice as listed in Section 2.1.10, earlier.

If no instructions are provided to users of your forms, you must furnish them with the exact text of the Privacy Act and Paperwork Reduction Act Notice.

Revenue Procedure 2016–35, 2016–26, I.R.B. 1111, dated June 27, 2016, is superseded by this revenue procedure.

Exhibits A through Y illustrate some of the specifications that were discussed earlier in this revenue procedure. The dimensions apply to the actual size forms, but the exhibits have been reduced in size.

Generally, the illustrated dimensions apply to all like forms. For example, Exhibit E shows 11.00" from the top edge to the bottom edge of Form 1098–E and .85” between the bottom rule of the top form and the top rule of the second form on the page. These dimensions apply to all forms that are printed three to a page.

Exhibit B contains the general measurements for forms printed 2-to-a-page. All 2-to-a-page forms, except Form 1099–B, are 4.5" in height within the border lines. Form 1099–B, is 4.67" in height within the border lines.

Exhibit E contains the general measurements for forms printed 3-to-a-page. All 3-to-a-page forms are 2.83" in height within the border lines.

The printed area of all forms is 7.3" wide.

All of the exhibits in this publication were updated to include all of the 2017 revisions for those forms that have been revised.

Keep in mind the following guidelines when printing substitute forms.

The following exhibits provide specifications for the forms listed in the Section 1.1.2. Exhibits A, B, and E contain the general measurements for all of the forms. The remaining exhibits represent the images and may contain unique measurements as required by the form.

Purpose

The purpose of this revenue procedure is to provide guidelines and general requirements for the development, printing, and approval of the 2017 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.

Unique Forms

Certain unique specialized forms require the use of other additional publications to supplement this publication. See Part 4.

Scope

The IRS accepts quality substitute tax forms that are consistent with the official forms and have no adverse impact on processing. The IRS Substitute Forms Program (the Program) 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 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.

Forms Covered by This Revenue Procedure

The following types of forms are covered by this revenue procedure.

Forms Not Covered by This Revenue Procedure

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

Other Information Not Covered by This Revenue Procedure

The following information is not covered by this revenue procedure.

Where To Send Substitute Forms

Send your substitute forms for approval to the following offices (do not send forms with taxpayer data).

For questions about:

The following changes have been made to this year’s revenue procedure.

A tax form (or related 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.

A form produced using conventional printing processes or a printed form which has been reproduced by photocopying or a similar process.

A printed form that has marginal perforations for use with automated and high-speed printing equipment.

A preprinted form in which the taxpayer’s tax entry information has been inserted by a computer, computer printer, or other computer-type equipment.

A tax return or form that is entirely designed and printed using a computer printer on plain 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 match 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.

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.

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.

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

A document providing detailed information to support a line entry on an official or approved substitute form and filed with (attached to) a tax return.

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

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.

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

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.

The line numbers, letters, or alphanumerics used to identify each captioned line on an official form. These line references are printed to the immediate left of each caption and/or data entry field.

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

Designated areas for the entry of data such as dollar amounts, quantities, responses, and checkboxes.

A draft version of a new or revised form may be posted to the IRS website (www.irs.gov/ap/picklist/list/draftTaxForms.html) 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 monitoring and revising forms to mirror any revisions in the final forms provided by the IRS.

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. This does not apply to newly created or substantially revised IRS forms. However, the Program reserves the right to notify vendors of any inaccuracies even after 20 business days have lapsed.

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 Program will email confirmation of receipt of your forms submission, if possible. Even if you do not receive emailed confirmation of receipt, you will receive an emailed “submission receipt,” which will provide feedback on your submission. If the Program anticipates problems in completing the review of your submission within the 20 business day period, the Program will send an interim email notifying you of the extended period for review.

Once the substitute forms have been approved by the Program, you can release them after the final versions of the forms have been issued by the IRS. Before releasing the forms, you are responsible for updating forms approved as draft and for making form changes we requested.

The policy has the following stipulations.

If you produce any substitute tax forms that fully comply or follow the changes specifically outlined by the Program, then you can generate your own substitute forms without further approval. If your changes are more extensive, you must get IRS approval before using substitute forms. More extensive changes include the use of a different typeface, font size, data entry font size and type layout, and the condensing of line item descriptions to save space.

The Program accepts submissions of substitute forms for review and approval via email. The email address is substituteforms@irs.gov. Please include the term “PDF Submissions” on the subject line.

Follow these guidelines.

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

Emailing PDF submissions will not expedite review and approval. Submitting your substitute forms package via email is the preferred and suggested method

for submitting forms for review. If, for some reason, you are not able to email your submission(s), you can mail your submission(s) to:

Follow these basic guidelines for expediting the process.

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.

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, as well as Schedule PC, must be submitted.

Schedules C, D, and E for 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.

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.