Rev. Proc. 79-56

Section 1. Purpose

The purpose of this revenue procedure is to state the requirements of the Internal Revenue Service relating to reproductions, private design, and printing of substitute federal tax return Form 1040ES, Declaration of Estimated Tax for Individuals, in lieu of the official form.

Sec. 2. General Instructions

.01 When filing reproduced or privately printed Form 1040ES, use the envelope enclosed with the taxpayer's 1040ES package except as provided for in Sec. 3. The envelope is coded to identify the contents, to accelerate the processing, and to re-reduce processing costs. Do not use this envelope for other correspondence with the Service as its misuse could delay the correspondence.

.02 Do not staple payment (check or money order, no cash) to the Form 1040ES because removing it could cause tearing.

Sec. 3. Physical Aspects

The conditions with respect to size, quality of paper, and color of both paper and ink are as follows:

1. No smaller than official Service trim size.

2. Largest size permitted is 8 X 33/4 inches.

3. White paper and black ink.

4. Form must fit in the envelope used for mailing to the Service without folding.

5. Paper weight must equal or exceed the Service's form.

6. If provided, private mailing must contain the label "Form 1040ES" on left center of envelope face (see official envelope for size and type of printing).

Sec. 4. Reproduction Proofs

.01 Specifications--Basic specifications such as margin, etc., will be printed in the top margin of the reproduction proofs and must be removed before printing. The official reproduction proof margins across the top, bottom, and sides must be maintained on all reproductions and privately printed Forms 1040ES.

.02 Printers and others wishing to obtain reproduction proofs may send their requests to the Commissioner, Internal Revenue Service, Washington, D.C. 20224, Attention: RM:FM:P. The request must include written agreement to pay charges upon receipt of an invoice. The Service mails invoices to requesters each July.

A charge of $1.00 per page will be made for each reproduction proof regardless of page size.

Sec. 5. Conditions

.01 Reproductions of Forms 1040ES must meet the following conditions:

(a) Must be exact facsimiles of the official forms. The private printing of these facsimiles must be produced by a photographic reproduction process.

(b) Must be on chemical wood writing paper equal to or better than the quality used for official forms. The thickness of the stock should not be less than 0.0039 inch. Carbon bonded paper is prohibited from use for forms filed with the Service. May be the same size as that of the official form, or as noted in Section 3.

(c) May be on white paper with black ink.

(d) Must have a high standard of legibility, both as to original form and as to fill-in matter. The Service may reject reproductions with poor legibility.

.02 Reproductions of the official form and substitute forms which do not meet the requirements of this revenue procedure may not be filed in lieu of the official form.

Sec. 6. Additional Instructions

.01 The Service does not approve or disapprove the specific equipment or process used in reproducing official forms, but requires only that the reproduced forms satisfy the conditions stated in this revenue procedure.

.02 Reproductions meeting the above conditions may be used without prior approval of the Service. However, specific approval of a reproduction or substitute which deviates from these requirements must be requested and a sample of the proposed reproduction should be forwarded, by letter, to the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, Attention: TX:R:I, 1111 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20224, for consideration. Include type of process and paper weight limits in your request.

.03 Determination of requests for approval of substitute Forms 1040ES will be made after the Service's copy is finalized, usually in mid-October. Requests received before December 1 will be answered within 30 days. However, the Service cannot assure that a determination on a form submitted after December 1 can be completed before the filing period begins.

.04 Once an approval is granted for the use of privately printed forms, eleven (11) copies of each approved form should be sent to the address shown in SEC. 6.02 above. Approval is for a one-year period only (January through December) and must be resubmitted each year even if no changes are made to the Form 1040ES.