The purpose of this revenue procedure is to set forth the 2005 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 printed 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 printed 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 on magnetic media, through electronic media, 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 by magnetic media or electronic media.

Although not required, small volume filers (fewer than 250 returns during a calendar year) may file the forms on magnetic media or electronically. See the legal requirements for filing information returns (and providing a copy to a payee) in the 2005 General Instructions for Forms 1099, 1098, 5498, and W-2G and the 2005 Instructions for Form 1042-S. In addition, see Revenue Procedure 2005-49 published as Publication 1220, Specifications for Filing Forms 1098, 1099, 5498, and W-2G Electronically or Magnetically.

The IRS prints and provides the forms on which various payments must be reported. Alternatively, filers may prepare substitute copies of these IRS forms and use such forms to report payments to the IRS.

The following changes have been made to this year's Revenue Procedure:

Paper substitutes for Form 1096 and Copy A of Forms 1098, 1099, 5498, W-2G, and 1042-S that totally 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 45 days for the IRS to respond.

You may also contact the Substitute Forms Program via e-mail at
*[email protected] . Please enter “Substitute Forms” on the Subject Line.

Forms 1096, 1098, 1099, 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. The specifications contained in this revenue procedure apply to 2005 forms only.

Proposed substitutes of Copy A must be an exact replica 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. Generally, the penalty is $50 for each return where such failure occurs (up to $250,000). No IRS office is authorized to allow deviations from this revenue procedure.

Caution: Overuse of proportional fonts may cause you to be subject to penalties and delays in processing.

Copies B and Copies 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:

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.

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 (“payer,” “borrower,” “student,” “debtor,” “policyholder,” “insured,” “transferor,” “recipient,” “participant,” “donor,” or, in the case of Form W-2G, the “winner”). See Section 1.2.3, earlier.

Filer means the person or organization required by law to file a form listed in Section 1.1.2 with the IRS. As outlined earlier, a filer may be a payer, creditor, recipient of mortgage or student loan interest payments, educational institution, broker, barter exchange, person reporting real estate transactions, trustee or issuer of any individual retirement arrangement or medical savings account, lender who acquires an interest in secured property or who has reason to know that the property has been abandoned, 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 totally conforms to the provisions in this revenue procedure.

Substitute form recipient statement means a paper statement of the information reported on a form listed in Section 1.1.2. 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.

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 OCR A font. The checkboxes to the right of the form identifying numbers must be 10-point boxes. The “VOID” checkbox is in print position 25. The “CORRECTED” checkbox is in position 33. Measurements are from the left edge of the paper, not including the perforated strip. See Exhibits E and N.

The substitute form 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 Z 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, optical character recognition (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. Hot wax and cold carbon spots are not permitted for Copy A. Interleaved carbon should be black and must be of good quality to assure legibility on all copies and to avoid smudging. Fading must be minimized to assure legibility.

All print on Copy A of Forms 1098, 1099, 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 statement and the following text 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.

Except for Form 1099-R and 1099-MISC, the numbered captions are printed as solid with no shaded background.

Other printing requirements are discussed below.

The contractor 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:

Type must be substantially identical in size and shape to the official form. All rules are either ¹/₂-point or ³/₄-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 Forms 1098, 1099, or 5498 (Copy A) are contained on a single page, 8 inches wide (without any snap-stubs and/or pinfeed holes) by 11 inches deep.

Exceptions. Forms 1098-C, 1099-B, 1099-DIV, 1099-MISC, 1099-R, and 1042-S contain two documents per page.

There is a .33 inch top margin from the top of the corrected box, and a .25 inch right margin. There is a ¹/₃₂ (0.0313) 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 Z in this publication for the correct form measurements.

These measurements are constant for all Forms 1098, 1099, and 5498. These measurements are shown only once in this publication, on Form 1098 (Exhibit B). Exceptions to these measurements are shown on the rest of the exhibits.

The depth of the individual trim size of each form on a page must be 3²/₃ inches, the same depth as the official form.

Exceptions. The depth of Forms 1098-C, 1099-B, 1099-DIV, 1099-MISC, 1099-R, and 1042-S is 5¹/₂ inches.

Copy A (three per page; two per page for Forms 1098-C, 1099-B, 1099-DIV, 1099-MISC, 1099-R, and 1042-S) of privately printed continuous substitute forms must be perforated at each 11" page depth. No perforations are allowed between the 3²/₃" forms (5¹/₂" for Forms 1098-C, 1099-B, 1099-DIV, 1099-MISC, or 1099-R) on a single copy page of Copy A.

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 forms (two for Forms 1098-C, 1099-B,  1099-DIV, 1099-MISC, or 1099-R).

Note. Perforations are required between all the other individual copies (Copies B and C, and Copies 1 and 2 for Forms 1099-R and 1099-MISC, and Copy D for Forms 1098-C, 1099-LTC and 1099-R) in the set.

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

The words “For Privacy Act and Paperwork Reduction Act Notice, see the 2005 General Instructions for Forms 1099, 1098, 5498, and W-2G” must be printed on Copy A; “For more information and the Privacy Act and Paperwork Reduction Act Notice, see the 2005 General Instructions for Forms 1099, 1098, 5498, and W-2G” must be printed on Form 1096.

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) of the forms printer must be entered in the bottom margin on the face of each individual form of Copy A, or on the bottom margin on the back of each Form 1096.

The Catalog Number (Cat. No.) shown on the 2005 forms is used for IRS distribution purposes and need 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, generally filers 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 in the middle of blocks well separated from other printing and guidelines, and take measures to guarantee clear, dark black, sharp images. Carbon copies and photocopies are not acceptable.

Use the account number box on all Forms 1098, 1099, 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 number 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 use window envelopes and a reduced rate to mail statements to recipients, be sure the account number does not appear in the window. Otherwise, the Postal Service may not accept them for mailing.

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

Machine-printed forms should be printed using a 6 lines/inch option, and should be printed in 10 pitch pica (10 print positions per inch) or 12 pitch elite (12 print positions per inch). Proportional spaced fonts are unacceptable.

Substitute forms prepared in continuous or strip form must be burst and stripped to conform to the size specified for a single sheet before they are filed with the IRS. The size specified does not include pin feed holes. Pin feed holes must not be present on forms filed with the IRS.

Do not:

Mail completed paper forms to the IRS service center shown in the Instructions for Form 1096 and in the 2005 General Instructions for Forms 1099, 1098, 5498, and W-2G. Specific information needed to complete the forms mentioned in this revenue procedure are given in the specific form instructions. A chart is included in the 2005 General Instructions for Forms 1099, 1098, 5498, and W-2G giving a quick guide to which form must be filed to report a particular payment.

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.

If you do not use the official IRS form to furnish statements to recipients, you must furnish an acceptable substitute statement. To be acceptable, your substitute statement must comply with the rules in this section. 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 4.5.1.

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.

The rules in this section apply to Form 1099-INT (except for interest reportable under section 6041), 1099-DIV (except for section 404(k) dividends), 1099-OID, and 1099-PATR only. You may furnish form recipients with Copy B of the official Form 1099 or a substitute Form 1099 (form recipient statement) if it contains the same language 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). Except for state income tax withholding information, information not required by the official form should not be included on the substitute form.

You may enter a total of the individual accounts listed on the form 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.

A substitute form recipient statement for Forms 1099-INT, 1099-DIV, 1099-OID, or  1099-PATR must comply with the following requirements:

Statements to form recipients for Forms 1098, 1098-C, 1098-E, 1098-T, 1099-A, 1099-B, 1099-C, 1099-CAP, 1099-G, 1099-H, 1099-LTC, 1099-MISC, 1099-Q, 1099-R, 1099-S, 1099-SA, 5498, 5498-ESA, 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 4.1.3.

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

A composite form recipient statement is permitted for reportable payments of interest, dividends, original issue discount, patronage dividends, and royalties (Forms 1099-INT (except for interest reportable under section 6041), 1099-DIV (except for section 404(k) dividends), 1099-MISC or 1099-S (for royalties only), 1099-OID, or 1099-PATR) 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, 1098 or 1099-A) on a composite statement with the information required on the forms listed in the preceding sentence.

Exception. A filer may include Form 1099-B information on a composite form with the forms listed above.

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

A composite form recipient statement for the forms specified in Section 4.1.3 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 and forms listed in Section 4.1.2.

Exceptions:

Although the composite form recipient statement may be on one sheet, the format of the composite form 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.

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

Form 5498 recipient statements (Copy B) must contain the following legends:

Copies B, C, and in some cases, D, 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 Copies 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 filer 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:

Perforations are required between forms on all copies except Copy A to make separating the forms easier. (Copy A of Form W-2G may be perforated.)

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-T, 1099-A, B, C, CAP, DIV, H, INT, G, LTC, MISC, OID, PATR, Q, R, S, SA, 5498, 5498-ESA, 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 can not furnish Form 1098-C electronically.

If you meet the requirements listed below, 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 Forms 1098-E and 1098-T, see Regulations section 1.6050S-2. For electronic furnishing of Forms 1099-R, 1099-SA, 1099-Q, 5498, 5498-ESA, and 5498-SA, see Notice 2004-10, 2004-1 C.B. 433.

Paper substitutes of Copy A for Form 1042-S, Foreign Person's U.S. Source Income Subject to Withholding, that totally conform to the specifications contained in this procedure may be privately printed without prior approval from the Internal Revenue Service. Proposed substitutes not conforming to these specifications must be submitted for consideration.

Note. Copies B, C, D, and E of Form 1042-S may contain multiple income entries for the same recipient, that is multiple rows of the top boxes 1-8 of the Form.

The request should be submitted by November 15 of the year prior to the year the form is to be used. This is to allow the Service adequate time to respond and the submitter adequate time to make any corrections. These requests should contain a copy of the proposed form, the need for the specific deviation(s), and the number of information returns to be printed.

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 (no carbon interleaves) of these forms. Continuous fan-fold/pin-fed forms are not provided.

Instructions for withholding agents:

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:

All substitute forms (Copy A only) must state “For Privacy Act and Paperwork Reduction Act Notice, see the 2005 General Instructions for Forms 1099, 1098, 5498, and W-2G.” (or “For Privacy Act and Paperwork Reduction Act Notice, see separate instructions.” for Copy A of Form 1042-S).

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.

You can order official IRS forms and publications 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, by calling 1-800-TAX-FORM (1-800-829-3676). Other ways to get federal tax material include:

Note. Several IRS forms are provided electronically on the IRS home page and on the Federal Tax Forms CD-ROM, but Copy A of Forms 1096, the 1098 series, 1099 series, and 5498 series cannot be used for filing with the IRS when printed from a conventional printer. These forms contain drop-out ink requirements as described in Part 2 of this publication.

You can download tax materials from the Internet by visiting the IRS web site at www.irs.gov .

The IRS also offers an alternative to downloading electronic files and provides current and prior-year access to tax forms and instructions through its Federal Tax Forms CD-ROM. The CD, Pub. 1796, Federal Tax Products on CD-ROM, will be available for the upcoming filing season. You may buy the CD-ROM on the Internet at www.irs.gov/cdorders or by calling 1-877-CDFORMS (1-877-233-6767).

The Government Printing Office (GPO) Superintendent of Documents Bookstores also sell individual copies of tax forms, instructions, and publications.

Revenue Procedure 2004-58, 2004-2 C.B. 602, which provides rules and specifications for private printing of 2004 substitute forms and statements to recipients, is superseded.

Exhibits A through Z 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 B shows 11.00" from the top edge to the bottom edge of Form 1098 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.

Keep in mind the following guidelines when printing substitute forms.