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Rev. Proc. 80-8


Rev. Proc. 80-8; 1980-1 C.B. 592

DATED
DOCUMENT ATTRIBUTES
  • Cross-Reference

    26 CFR 601.602: Forms and instructions.

    (Also Part I, Sections 3402, 6001, 6361; 31.3402(b)-1,

    31.3402(f)(5)-1, 31.3402(h)(4)-1, 31-3402(p)-1, 31.6001-5,

    31.6361-1.)

  • Language
    English
  • Tax Analysts Electronic Citation
    not available
Citations: Rev. Proc. 80-8; 1980-1 C.B. 592

Superseded by Rev. Proc. 84-41

Rev. Proc. 80-8

PART "A" GENERAL

Section 1. Purpose

.01 The purpose of this Revenue Procedure is to provide the requirements and conditions for submitting certain Forms W-4, Employee's Withholding Allowance Certificates, on magnetic tape instead of filing paper returns. All employers are required to send to the Internal Revenue Service copies of all Forms W-4 submitted by their employees who claim the following:

(a) 10 or more withholding allowances, or

(b) exempt status and usually earn more than $200 a week at the time the Form W-4 was filed.

Forms W-4 information may be filed on magnetic tape and sent quarterly to the Service beginning with the quarter ending June 30, 1980. The due date for the first submission of Forms W-4 on magnetic tape to the Internal Revenue Service is July 31, 1980.

Sec. 2. Application for Tape Reporting

.01 Tape reporting is not restricted to employers with the ability to submit all their information on magnetic tape; a combination of tape records and paper documents is acceptable as long as there is no duplication or omission of documents.

.02 Employers or transmitters who desire to file statements in the form of magnetic tape must first file a letter of application. This letter should be addressed to the attention of the magnetic media coordinator of one of the following service centers:

     (a) Internal Revenue Service

 

         Andover Service Center

 

         Post Office Box 311

 

         Andover, MA 01810

 

 

     (b) Internal Revenue Service

 

         Brookhaven Service Center

 

         Post Office Box 486

 

         Holtsville, NY 11742

 

 

     (c) Internal Revenue Service

 

         Philadelphia Service Center

 

         Post Office Box 245

 

         Bensalem, PA 19020

 

 

     (d) Internal Revenue Service

 

         Atlanta Service Center

 

         Post Office Box 47421

 

         Doraville, GA 30362

 

 

     (e) Internal Revenue Service

 

         Memphis Service Center

 

         Post Office Box 1900

 

         Memphis, TN 38101

 

 

     (f) Internal Revenue Service

 

         Cincinnati Service Center

 

         Post Office Box 267

 

         Covington, KY 41019

 

 

     (g) Internal Revenue Service

 

         Kansas City Service Center

 

         Post Office Box 5321

 

         Kansas City, MO 64131

 

 

     (h) Internal Revenue Service

 

         Austin Service Center

 

         Post Office Box 934

 

         Austin, TX 78767

 

 

     (i) Internal Revenue Service

 

         Ogden Service Center

 

         Post Office Box 9941

 

         Ogden, UT 84409

 

 

     (j) Internal Revenue Service

 

         Fresno Service Center

 

         Post Office Box 12866

 

         Fresno, CA 93779

 

 

The letter of request must contain the following:

(a) Name, address, and employer identification number of the person, organization, or entity making the request.

(b) Name, title, and telephone number of the person to contact regarding the request.

(c) Estimate of the number of Forms W-4 to be reported in tape format, and the number, if any, expected to be reported on copies of paper Forms W-4.

(d) Type and nature of equipment to be used to prepare the tape; i.e., manufacturer and model of the mainframe and tape drives, tape width (1/2", 3/4", etc.), density (characters per inch), recording code (BCD, Excess 3, Octal, etc.).

(e) Signature of the official responsible for the preparation and submission of Forms W-4 to the Service.

.03 The Service will act on applications and notify applicants of authorization to file or of disapproval within 30 days of receipt of an application. No magnetic tape returns may be filed with the Service until authorization to file is received.

.04 Only employers or transmitters using equipment compatible with the Service's equipment will have their applications approved. Compatible tape characteristics are shown in PART "B" Section 1.01.

.05 In general, once authorization to file on magnetic tape has been granted, such approval will continue in effect in succeeding years, providing that the requirements of this Revenue Procedure are met and there are no equipment changes by the employer or transmitter. However, new applications are required whenever any of the following situations arise:

(a) If the users change from equipment producing compatible tapes.

(b) If the users submit tapes that are not listed as compatible.

(c) If the users discontinue tape reporting for one or more years, then decide to resume this method of reporting.

Sec. 3. Filing Dates

.01 Magnetic tape reporting to the Service must be quarterly, following the quarter ending due dates below:

 Period Covered                         Due Date

 

 

 Jan. 1 thru March 31                   April 30

 

 Apr. 1 thru June 30                    July 31

 

 July 1 thru Sept. 30                   October 31

 

 Oct. 1 thru Dec. 31                    January 31

 

 

The first due date of either paper or tape Forms W-4 is July 31, 1980.

Sec. 4. Filing of Tape Reports

.01 Packaging, shipping, and mailing instructions will be provided by the Service to all approved filers within 45 days of the granting of approval. A magnetic tape reporting package, which includes all necessary transmittals and labels, will be mailed to all approved filers.

.02 Employers or transmitters may submit a portion of their Forms W-4 information on magnetic tape and the remainder on paper forms, provided there is NO DUPLICATE FILING. The magnetic tape records and paper forms must be filed at the same location, i.e., the appropriate service center, but in separate shipments. A Service-provided transmittal form must accompany all magnetic tape shipments to the service center. (For all paper Forms W-4 sent to IRS, employers or transmitters must supply a cover letter which includes the employer's name, address, employer identification number, and number of Forms W-4 being submitted.)

.03 The affidavit which appears on the Service-provided transmittal for tape submission must be signed by the employer, the transmitter, service bureau, or disbursing agent who must:

a. have the authority to sign the affidavit under an agency agreement (either oral, written, or implied) that is valid under State law; and

b. have the responsibility (either oral, written, or implied) conferred on it by the employer to request taxpayer identifying numbers of employees reported on magnetic tape or paper returns; and

c. sign the affidavit and add the caption "For: (name of employer)."

.04 Although a duly authorized agent signs the affidavit, the employer is held responsible for the accuracy of Forms W-4 contained on magnetic tape.

.05 The magnetic tape specifications contained in PART "B" of this Revenue Procedure must be strictly adhered to. Deviations will not be permitted under any circumstances. All magnetic tape filings will be reviewed for completeness of required fields and for proper format. Tapes failing to meet the specifications contained herein will not be processed but will be returned to the filer for either correction and resubmission of tapes or for submission of copies of paper Forms W-4.

Sec. 5. Processing of Tape Statements

.01 The Service will copy the information from the original tapes and will return the original tapes to the employer. Normally tapes will be returned either within three months after the quarterly due date for submission to the Service, or within three months after actual receipt of acceptable tapes, whichever is later.

Sec. 6. Effect on Paper Documents

.01 Magnetic tape reporting to the Internal Revenue Service eliminates the need for submission of copies of paper Forms W-4. However, employers must maintain the original Form W-4 for their records.

.02 If only a portion of the statements is reported on magnetic tape and the remainder is reported on paper forms, those paper statements must be filed on the prescribed forms.

Sec. 7. Additional Information Requests for additional copies of this Revenue Procedure or for additional information on tape reporting of Forms W-2, W-2P, 1099, 1087, or 1042S should be addressed to the attention of the magnetic media coordinator of the appropriate Internal Revenue Center listed in Section 2.02 above.

PART "B" MAGNETIC TAPE SPECIFICATIONS

SECTION 1. GENERAL

.01 These specifications prescribe the required format and content of the records to be included in the file, but not the methods or equipment to be used in their preparation. Usually, the Service will be able to process, without translation, any compatible tape file. To be compatible, a tape file must meet all of the following specifications:

(a) Type of Tape--1/2 inch Mylar base, oxide coated

(b) Recording Density--556 or 800 bits per inch (BPI)

(c) Parity--Even or Odd

(d) Interrecord gap--3/4 inch

(e) Recording Code--7 channel binary coded decimal (BCD)

.02 Conversion facilities are currently available for the following tapes:

(a) 9 channel EBCDIC (Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code) with

(1) Odd Parity

(2) 800, 1600, or 6250 Densities

(b) 9 channel ASCII (American Standard Coded Information Interchange) with

(1) Odd Parity

(2) 800, 1600, or 6250 Densities

.03 Although the Service can process after translation, tapes created at 6250 BPI, it is preferred that filers submit 1600 BPI tapes if possible.

.04 The employer or the transmitter must affix an external label to each tape with the following information:

(a) Name of Transmitter

(b) Number of data records on that reel

(c) Density (556, 800, 1600, or 6250 BPI)

(d) Channel (7 or 9)

(e) Parity (odd or even)

(f) Manufacturer and model of main frame and tape drives

(g) Sequence number of reel, and total number of reels in the file (i.e., 1 of 3, 2 of 4)

.05 All records, including Header and Trailer Labels (if used), must be transmitted at the same density.

.06 Do not submit an employee W-4 record without the required employer identification information. Every record must contain both employee and employer data.

SEC. 2. LABEL CONVENTIONS

.01 Header Labels, Trailer Labels, Record Marks, and Tape Marks are all optional. They may be used as required by the transmitter's equipment or programming. If used they must conform to the following standards:

(a) Header Labels

(1) Transmitters may use standard headers, provided they begin with 1HDR, HDR1, VOL1, or VOL2.

(2) Header labels may not exceed 80 characters in length.

(b) Trailer Labels

(1) Standard trailer labels may be used provided that they begin with 1EOR, 1EOF, EOR1, or EOF1.

(2) Trailer labels may not exceed 80 characters in length.

(c) Record Marks

(1) Special character used to separate blocked records on tape.

(2) Can be written only at the end of a record or block.

(3) For odd parity tapes, use BCD bit configuration of 011010; for even parity use 111010.

(4) All records are of uniform length; therefore, marks are not necessary on this file.

(d) Tape Marks

(1) Used to signify the physical end of the recording on tape.

(2) Tape marks, if used, must be BCD configuration 001111 in even parity.

(3) May follow the header label and precede and/or follow the trailer label.

SEC. 3. RECORD LENGTH AND BLOCKING

.02 Tape records prescribed in the specifications may be blocked or unblocked, subject to the following:

(a) All data records are of a fixed length of 400 positions.

(b) All records may be blocked, except header and trailer labels.

(c) If blocking is used (more than one record per block) the desired blocking factor is ten records per block. At no time may a block contain more than 4,000 characters, but a smaller blocksize may be used if necessary. If sufficient records are not available for a full block, the remainder should be "padded" with 9's to fill all unused positions. Do not pad the block with blanks, or create blank records.

                 RECORD NAME: W-4 MAGNETIC TAPE RECORD

 

 

 Tape

 

 Position   Field Title        Length   Description and Remarks

 

 --------------------------------------------------------------------

 

   1-9      Employee Social       9     Required. Must be the valid 9-

 

            Security Number             digit number assigned to the

 

            (SSN)                       employee. DO NOT ENTER

 

                                        HYPHENS, ALPHA CHARACTERS, ALL

 

                                        9's, or ALL ZEROES.

 

 

  10-44     Employee Name        35     Required. Enter the name of

 

            Line 1                      the employee whose SSN appears

 

                                        in tape positions 1-9. Enter

 

                                        the complete name in the

 

                                        following order: first name,

 

                                        middle name (if present), and

 

                                        surname. (Use initials for the

 

                                        first and middle names where

 

                                        necessary to insure that the

 

                                        entire employee surname fits

 

                                        in tape positions 10-44.) If

 

                                        fewer than 35 characters are

 

                                        required, left justify and

 

                                        fill unused positions with

 

                                        blanks. ALLOWABLE CHARACTERS

 

                                        ARE ALPHAS, HYPHENS, BLANKS, A

 

                                        MINIMUM OF ONE AND A MAXIMUM

 

                                        OF TWO CARETS (<).

 

                                        (1) Blanks must be surrounded

 

                                            by alphas or continued to

 

                                            the end of the field

 

                                            (e.g., ab b, aba).

 

                                        (2) Hyphens must never occur

 

                                            in the first position of a

 

                                            name, must not be

 

                                            surrounded by blanks, and

 

                                            must be followed by at

 

                                            least one alpha (e.g., a-

 

                                            aaa, aaa-a).

 

                                        (3) A caret is used to define

 

                                            an internal name control.

 

                                            It must immediately

 

                                            precede the employee

 

                                            surname in place of the

 

                                            blank. A second caret is

 

                                            used to separate a suffix

 

                                            from the surname (e.g.,

 

                                            JOHN J<BLACK; BILL<OAK<JR;

 

                                            AMY FERN<BROWN<DECD).

 

 

 45-79      Employee Name        35     Optional. This line is

 

            Line 2                      designated for an "in care of"

 

                                        (c/o) situation. Left justify

 

                                        with blanks. ALLOWABLE

 

                                        CHARACTERS ARE ALPHAS, BLANKS,

 

                                        HYPHENS, AND SLASHES.

 

 

 80-114     Employee Street      35     Required. Enter street address

 

            Address                     of employee. Left justify and

 

                                        fill unused positions with

 

                                        blanks. Fill with blanks if

 

                                        street address is unavailable.

 

                                        ALLOWABLE CHARACTERS ARE

 

                                        ALPHAS, NUMERICS, BLANKS,

 

                                        HYPHENS, SLASHES, AND NO MORE

 

                                        THAN ONE AMPERSAND.

 

 

 115-139    Employee City        25     Required. Enter city of

 

                                        employee. Left justify and

 

                                        fill unused positions with

 

                                        blanks. Fill with blanks if

 

                                        city is unavailable. If

 

                                        foreign address, enter city

 

                                        and country.

 

 

 140-141    Employee State        2     Required. Enter state of

 

                                        employee; must be one of the

 

                                        following:

 

 

                                        State                    Code

 

 

                                        Alabama                    AL

 

                                        Alaska                     AK

 

                                        Arizona                    AZ

 

                                        Arkansas                   AR

 

                                        California                 CA

 

                                        Colorado                   CO

 

                                        Connecticut                CT

 

                                        Delaware                   DE

 

                                        District of Columbia       DC

 

                                        Florida                    FL

 

                                        Georgia                    GA

 

                                        Guam                       GU

 

                                        Hawaii                     HI

 

                                        Idaho                      ID

 

                                        Illinois                   IL

 

                                        Indiana                    IN

 

                                        Iowa                       IA

 

 

                                        Kansas                     KS

 

                                        Kentucky                   KY

 

                                        Louisiana                  LA

 

                                        Maine                      ME

 

                                        Maryland                   MD

 

                                        Massachusetts              MA

 

                                        Michigan                   MI

 

                                        Minnesota                  MN

 

                                        Mississippi                MS

 

                                        Missouri                   MO

 

                                        Montana                    MN

 

                                        Nebraska                   NE

 

                                        Nevada                     NV

 

                                        New Hampshire              NH

 

                                        New Jersey                 NJ

 

                                        New Mexico                 NM

 

                                        New York                   NY

 

                                        North Carolina             NC

 

                                        North Dakota               ND

 

                                        Ohio                       OH

 

                                        Oklahoma                   OK

 

                                        Oregon                     OR

 

                                        Pennsylvania               PA

 

                                        Puerto Rico                PR

 

                                        Rhode Island               RI

 

                                        South Carolina             SC

 

                                        South Dakota               SD

 

                                        Tennessee                  TN

 

                                        Texas                      TX

 

                                        Utah                       UT

 

                                        Vermont                    VT

 

                                        Virgin Islands             VI

 

                                        Virginia                   VA

 

                                        Washington                 WA

 

                                        West Virginia              WV

 

                                        Wisconsin                  WI

 

                                        Wyoming                    WY

 

                                        Foreign Address            XX

 

 

                                          Fill with blanks if Employee

 

                                          State is unavailable and

 

                                          address is not "Foreign

 

                                          Address."

 

 

 142-146    Employee ZIP Code     5     Required. Enter ZIP Code of

 

                                        employee. Fill with blanks if

 

                                        unavailable. ALLOWABLE

 

                                        CHARACTERS ARE FIVE (5)

 

                                        NUMERICS OR FIVE (5) BLANKS.

 

 

 147        Marital Status        1     Required. Enter appropriate

 

                                        code from the table below:

 

 

                                        Marital Status Designated Code

 

                                         Single                     S

 

                                         Married                    M

 

                                         Married, withhold at       W

 

                                          single rate

 

                                         No marital status          A

 

                                          designated

 

 

 148        Exempt Status         1     Required. Enter "E" if

 

                                        employee claims exempt status;

 

                                        otherwise, enter blank.

 

 

 149        Student Status        1     Required. If full-time student

 

                                        status is claimed, enter "Y";

 

                                        if not, enter "N". If no

 

                                        entry, enter "B".

 

 

 150-151    Allowances            2     Required. Must be a two (2)

 

                                        digit numeric field

 

                                        corresponding to the number of

 

                                        allowances claimed by

 

                                        employee. (It is not necessary

 

                                        to file this W-4 with IRS if

 

                                        the number of allowances is

 

                                        less than ten (10) and exempt

 

                                        status is not claimed.) If no

 

                                        entry, enter zeroes.

 

 

 152-158    Additional Amount     7     Required. Enter numerics only.

 

            of Withholding              Enter the additional amount of

 

                                        withholding each pay period.

 

                                        Field is dollars and cents.

 

                                        Right-justify and zero-fill.

 

                                        Do not enter dollar signs,

 

                                        commas, decimal points, or

 

                                        negative numbers. If no entry,

 

                                        zero-fill.

 

 

 159-163    Number of W-4's       5     Required. This field is a

 

            Submitted                   running total of all W-4's

 

                                        submitted by the employer. The

 

                                        first W-4 on the file must

 

                                        start with the value of one

 

                                        (1); increment by one (1) for

 

                                        each subsequent W-4

 

                                        thereafter. Values should be

 

                                        right justified and zero

 

 

                                        filled.

 

 

 164-169    W-4 Date              6     Required. Enter date located

 

                                        on signature line of W-4. If

 

                                        no date entered, generate

 

                                        current system date. Format as

 

                                        MMDDYY where MM = 01-12, DD =

 

                                        01-31 and YY = 80, 81, etc.

 

 

 170-178    Employer              9     Required. The 9-digit number

 

            Identification              assigned to the employer by

 

            Number                      IRS. DO NOT ENTER HYPHENS,

 

                                        ALPHA CHARACTERS, ALL 9's, or

 

                                        ALL ZEROES.

 

 

 179-213    Employer Name        35     Required. Enter the name of

 

            Line 1                      the employer as it appears on

 

                                        your employment tax forms

 

                                        (e.g., Form 941). Any

 

                                        extraneous information must be

 

                                        deleted from this name line.

 

                                        Left justify and fill with

 

                                        blanks. ALLOWABLE CHARACTERS

 

                                        ARE ALPHAS, BLANKS, NUMERICS,

 

                                        AMPERSAND, AND HYPHENS.

 

 

 214-248    Employer Name        35     Optional. If the employer name

 

            Line 2                      requires more space than is

 

                                        available in Employer Name

 

                                        Line 1, enter the remaining

 

                                        portion of the name in this

 

                                        field. Left-justify and fill

 

                                        with blanks. ALLOWABLE

 

                                        CHARACTERS ARE ALPHAS, BLANKS,

 

                                        NUMERICS, AMPERSAND, HYPHENS,

 

                                        AND SLASHES.

 

 

 249-283    Employer Name        35     Optional. If the employer name

 

            Line 3                      requires more space than is

 

                                        available in Employer Name

 

                                        Lines 1 and 2, enter the

 

                                        remaining portion of the name

 

                                        in this field. Left-justify

 

                                        and fill with blanks.

 

                                        ALLOWABLE CHARACTERS ARE

 

                                        ALPHAS, BLANKS, NUMERICS,

 

                                        AMPERSAND, HYPHENS AND

 

                                        SLASHES.

 

 

 284-318    Employer Name        35     Optional. If the employer name

 

            Line 4                      requires more space than is

 

                                        available in Employer Name

 

                                        Lines 1, 2 and 3, enter the

 

                                        remaining portion of the name

 

                                        in this field. Left-justify

 

                                        and fill with blanks.

 

 

                                        ALLOWABLE CHARACTERS ARE

 

                                        ALPHAS, BLANKS, NUMERICS,

 

                                        AMPERSAND, HYPHENS, AND

 

                                        SLASHES.

 

 

 319-353    Employer Street      35     Required. Enter street address

 

            Address                     of employer. Left justify and

 

                                        fill unused positions with

 

                                        blanks. Fill with blanks if

 

                                        street address is unavailable.

 

                                        ALLOWABLE CHARACTERS ARE

 

                                        ALPHAS, NUMERICS, HYPHENS,

 

                                        AMPERSAND, SLASHES, AND

 

                                        BLANKS.

 

 

 354-378    Employer City        25     Required. Enter city of

 

                                        employer. Left justify and

 

                                        fill unused positions with

 

                                        blanks. ALLOWABLE CHARACTERS

 

                                        ARE ALPHAS, HYPHENS, AND

 

                                        BLANKS.

 

 

 379-380    Employer State        2     Required. Enter State Code of

 

                                        Employer. Must be one of the

 

                                        state abbreviations shown

 

                                        above in the state

 

                                        abbreviation table for

 

                                        Employee State (Tape Positions

 

                                        140-141).

 

 

 381-385    Employer ZIP Code     5     Required. Enter ZIP Code of

 

                                        Employer. ALLOWABLE CHARACTERS

 

                                        ARE FIVE (5) NUMERICS OR FIVE

 

                                        (5) BLANKS.

 

 

 386-390    Transmitter Control   5     Required. Enter 5-digit

 

            Code (TCC)                  Transmitter Control Code

 

                                        assigned by the IRS.

 

 

 391        "BLANK"               1     Required. Enter character used

 

            Representation              to represent a blank.

 

 

 392        "HYPHEN"              1     Required. Enter character used

 

            Representation              to represent a hyphen.

 

 

 393        "SLASH"               1     Required. Enter character used

 

            Representation              to represent a slash.

 

 

 394        "AMPERSAND"           1     Required. Enter character used

 

            Representation              to represent an ampersand.

 

 

 395        "CARET"               1     Required. Enter character used

 

            Representation              to represent a caret.

 

 

 396-400    IRS USE               5     Blanks.
DOCUMENT ATTRIBUTES
  • Cross-Reference

    26 CFR 601.602: Forms and instructions.

    (Also Part I, Sections 3402, 6001, 6361; 31.3402(b)-1,

    31.3402(f)(5)-1, 31.3402(h)(4)-1, 31-3402(p)-1, 31.6001-5,

    31.6361-1.)

  • Language
    English
  • Tax Analysts Electronic Citation
    not available
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