SERVICE ISSUES GUIDANCE FOR MAGNETIC TAPE FILING OF FORMS W-4.
Rev. Proc. 90-9; 1990-1 C.B. 460
- Institutional AuthorsInternal Revenue Service
- Code Sections
- Index Termsmagnetic tape reportingForm W-4withholding allowanceinformation returns
- Jurisdictions
- LanguageEnglish
- Tax Analysts Electronic Citation90 TNT 17-16
Superseded by Rev. Proc. 92-80
CONTENTS
PART A. -- GENERAL
SECTION 1. PURPOSE
SECTION 2. NATURE OF CHANGES
SECTION 3. APPLICATION TO FILE ON MAGNETIC MEDIA
SECTION 4. FILING DATES
SECTION 5. FILING OF MAGNETIC MEDIA REPORTS
SECTION 6. PROCESSING OF MAGNETIC MEDIA RETURNS
SECTION 7. EFFECT ON PAPER DOCUMENTS
SECTION 8. HOW TO CONTACT THE MARTINSBURG COMPUTING CENTER
SECTION 9. DEFINITION OF TERMS
PART B. -- MAGNETIC TAPE SPECIFICATIONS
SECTION 1. GENERAL
SECTION 2. LABEL CONVENTIONS
SECTION 3. RECORD LENGTH AND BLOCKING
SECTION 4. EFFECT ON OTHER DOCUMENTS
PART A. -- GENERAL
SECTION 1. PURPOSE
.01 The purpose of this Revenue Procedure is to update Rev. Proc. 87-47, 1987-2 C.B. 635, (Publication 1245), which outlines the requirements and conditions for submitting certain Forms W-4, Employee's Withholding Allowance Certificate, on magnetic tape to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Martinsburg Computing Center (MCC).
.02 Employers may submit all information on magnetic tape; or a combination of tape records and paper documents is acceptable, provided there is no duplication or omission of documents.
.03 Employers are required to send to IRS quarterly copies of all Forms W-4 received during the quarter from employees still employed at the end of the quarter who claim the following:
(a) Eleven (11) or more withholding allowances, or
(b) Exempt status and who are expected to earn more than $200 a week.
Employers are not required to send any others unless notified by IRS in writing to do so. Employers are required also to notify certain employees not having income tax withheld that they may be eligible for a tax refund because of the Earned Income Credit (EIC) since the amount of EIC that exceeds the tax liability is refunded. Employers can notify these employees by giving them Notice 797 with their Forms W-2 (or within one week before or after giving the W-2).
SEC. 2. NATURE OF CHANGES
.01 For Tax Year 1990, the following changes have been included in this revenue procedure:
(a) All references to the National Computer Center have been changed to the Martinsburg Computing Center to reflect the name change of October 1, 1988.
(b) The "Allowances" field, tape positions 154-156, has been clarified to reflect that the necessary number of allowances that require filing is eleven (11) or more.
(c) The "W-4 Date" field tape positions 164-169, has been changed to concur with the appropriate line of the paper form. Any reference to line 6C on the paper Form W-4 has been changed to line 6.
(d) Additional territories and the corresponding codes have been added to the list of state codes for the convenience of the filers.
(e) Added a section on "Contacting the Martinsburg Computing Center"--Part A, Sec. 8.
(f) Deleted section on "Additional Information."
SEC. 3. APPLICATION TO FILE ON MAGNETIC MEDIA
.01 Employers or transmitters who wish to file on magnetic tape must submit a Form 4419, Application for Filing Information Returns on Magnetic Media. A copy of the form is included in this publication. Instructions for its completion are on the reverse of the form.
.02 Magnetic tape returns may not be filed with IRS until authorization to file is received. Requests will be approved or disapproved within 30 days of receipt.
.03 Only applications of those employers or transmitters whose files meet the specifications in Part B, Sec. 1, will be approved.
.04 Once authorization to file on magnetic tape has been granted, a five-character alpha/numeric Transmitter Control Code (TCC) will be assigned. Approval will continue in effect in succeeding years provided the requirements of the current revenue procedure are met and there are no equipment changes by the employer and transmitter. Although a TCC may have been already assigned to a transmitter for the filing of information returns other than W-4, the W-4 program requires a separate TCC of its own. This TCC must appear on all transmittal forms submitted with magnetic media files as well as other correspondence. The TCC will also be coded into positions 315-319 of the W-4 magnetic tape record. (See Part B, Sec. 3.)
.05 New applications are required whenever:
(a) You discontinue filing on magnetic media for a year, in which case your TCC may have been reassigned.
(b) You have used a service agency in the past to prepare your files but now have computer equipment compatible with that of IRS, in which case you must request your own TCC.
.06 It is necessary to notify MCC of software changes that would affect the characteristics of the magnetic media submission.
If any of the above conditions apply to you, contact IRS/MCC. For the address and telephone number of IRS/MCC, refer to Part A, Sec. 8.
SEC. 4. FILING DATES
Magnetic tape reporting of Forms W-4 to IRS must be at least quarterly (monthly reporting is encouraged) following the quarter end dates:
Period Covered Due Date
January 1 thru March 31 April 30
April 1 thru June 30 July 31
July 1 thru September 30 October 31
October 1 thru December 31 January 31
SEC. 5. FILING OF MAGNETIC MEDIA REPORTS
.01 A Magnetic Tape Reporting (MTR) package, which includes the current revenue procedure, packaging, shipping, and mailing instructions, and the necessary transmittals and labels, will automatically be mailed to approved filers each year.
.02 If the employer chooses to file paper copies (originals are for your records), then a cover letter which includes the employer's name, address, employer identification number (EIN), and the number of Forms W-4 being submitted must be sent to the service center where Forms 941 are filed. The paper copies may also be submitted as an attachment to Form 941.
If the employer chooses to file on magnetic media, then a Form 6466, Transmittal of Magnetic Tape of Form W-4, Employee's Withholding Allowance Certificate, must be sent to the IRS Martinsburg Computing Center (MCC) as prescribed in Part A, Sec. 3.
NOTE: MCC DOES NOT PROCESS ANY PAPER RETURNS. PAPER RETURNS MUST BE FILED WITH THE APPROPRIATE SERVICE CENTER.
.03 The affidavit appearing on Form 6466 should be signed by the employer(s); however, the transmitter, service bureau, or disbursing agent may sign the affidavit on behalf of the employer(s) if all the following conditions are met:
(a) The agent has the authority to sign the affidavit under an agency agreement (either oral, written, or implied) that is valid under the state law.
(b) The agent signs the form and adds the caption "For: (name of employer or other person required to file)."
.04 Although a duly authorized agent signs the affidavit, the employer(s) is held responsible for the accuracy of Forms W-4 contained on magnetic media.
.05 DO NOT REPORT THE SAME INFORMATION ON PAPER DOCUMENTS THAT YOU REPORT ON MAGNETIC TAPE. If you report part of your returns on paper and part on magnetic tape, be sure that duplicate returns are not included on both.
.06 Before submitting your magnetic tape file, include the following:
(a) A signed Form 6466.
(b) A Form 6467 if you submit data for multiple employers.
(c) The magnetic tape with an external identifying label (Form 6469).
(d) On the outside of the shipping container, include a Form 4801, or a substitute for the form which reads "DELIVER UNOPENED TO TAPE LIBRARY--MAGNETIC MEDIA REPORTING--BOX ____ OF ____." If there is only one container, mark the outside as Box 1 of 1. For multiple containers, include the sequence (e.g., Box 1 of 3, 2 of 3, 3 of 3).
SEC. 6. PROCESSING OF MAGNETIC MEDIA RETURNS
.01 THE MAGNETIC TAPE SPECIFICATIONS CONTAINED IN PART B OF THIS REVENUE PROCEDURE MUST BE STRICTLY ADHERED TO. If files are unprocessable, they will be returned to you for replacement and resubmission of tapes, or submission of paper Forms W-4. Replacement files must be resubmitted to IRS/MCC within 30 days of the date of the notice. The data should be identified as replacement data by writing, typing, or printing "Magnetic Media Replacement" on the external label used on the magnetic tape, on the Forms 6466/6467, and any other label used in the magnetic tape shipment.
.02 IRS will process the information from the original tapes and will return the original tapes to the employer. Normally tapes will be returned within three months of the date of receipt.
.03 IRS cannot accept any Cash-On-Delivery (COD) or Charged-to-IRS shipments of reportable tax information that an individual or organization is legally required to submit. Because of the high volume of data received and shipping cost involved, special shipping containers will not be returned to you.
SEC. 7. EFFECT ON PAPER DOCUMENTS
.01 Magnetic tape reporting to IRS eliminates the need to submit copies of paper Forms W-4. However, employers must maintain the original Forms W-4, either on magnetic media or on paper for their records; or they must have the ability to reconstruct the data for four (4) years.
.02 If part of the Forms W-4 are reported on magnetic tape and the remainder are reported on paper forms, the paper returns must be filed on the prescribed forms as stated in Part A, Sec. 5.02, with the appropriate service center.
SEC. 8. HOW TO CONTACT THE MARTINSBURG COMPUTING CENTER
.01 Magnetic media covered under this revenue procedure and all requests for IRS magnetic media related publications, information and forms must be directed to the following addresses:
If by Postal Service:
IRS-Martinsburg Computing Center
Post Office Box 1359
Martinsburg, WV 25401-1359
If by Land Carrier:
IRS-Martinsburg Computing Center
Magnetic Media Reporting Section
Route 9 & Needy Road
Martinsburg, WV 25401
.02 Hours of operation are 8:30 a.m. until 6 p.m. Eastern Time Zone. The telephone number is (304) 263-8700.
.03 Requests for paper returns, publications, or forms not related to magnetic media processing should be requested by calling the IRS toll-free number in your area.
SEC. 9. DEFINITION OF TERMS
Employer Generally, an employer is a person or organization
for whom a worker performs a service as an
employee. The employer usually gives the worker
the tools and place to work and has the right to
hire the worker. A person or organization paying
wages to a former employee after the work ends is
also considered an employer.
Employee One employed by another usually for wages or
salary and in a position below the executive
level.
Independent People in business for themselves are not
Contractor employees. For example, doctors, lawyers,
veterinarians, construction contractors, and
others in an independent trade in which they offer
their services to the public are usually not
employees, but are independent contractors.
Common Law Anyone who performs services is an employee if
Employees you, as an employer, can control what will be done
and how it will be done. This is so even when you
give the employee freedom of action. What matters
is that you have the legal right to control the
method and result of the services.
Statutory If someone who works for you is not an employee
Employee under the common law rules explained above, do not
withhold Federal income tax from his or her pay.
While the person may not be a common law employee,
he/she is considered an employee for social
security purposes. (See Circular E, Employer's Tax
Guide, for a more thorough explanation.)
b Denotes a blank position. Enter blank(s) when this
symbol is used ("b"). This notation appears
throughout the record descriptions.
EIN Employer Identification Number that has been
assigned by IRS.
File For purposes of this procedure, a file consists of
all magnetic tape records submitted by an employer
or transmitter.
Special Character Any character that is not a numeral, a letter, or
a blank.
SSA Social Security Administration.
SSN Social Security Number.
Taxpayer May be either an EIN or SSN.
Identification
Number (TIN)
Transmitter Person or organization preparing magnetic tape
file(s).
Transmitter A five-character alpha/numeric assigned by IRS to
Control the transmitter prior to actual filing on magnetic
Code (TCC) media. This number is inserted in Positions 315-
319 of your files and must be present before the
file can be processed. An application Form 4419
must be filed with IRS to receive this number.
Invalid W-4 Any unauthorized changes or additions to Form W-4
makes it invalid. (See Page 7, Circular E,
Employer's Tax Guide.)
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. If you are unable to use the special characters specified in this revenue procedure, please contact us to let us know what characters you will be using as substitutes. Usually, IRS will be able to process any compatible tape file. To be compatible, tape files must meet all the following specifications:
(a) Type of tape--1/2 inch Mylar base, oxide coated
(b) Interrecord Gap:
(1) .6-inch for 800 or 1600 BPI (bits per inch) density 9 track
(2) .3-inch for 6250 BPI density 9 track
(c) Recording Code--9 track ASCII (American Standard Coded Information Interchange) with:
(1) Odd parity, and
(2) A density of 800, 1600, or 6250 BPI.
.02 Conversion facilities are currently available for the following tapes:
Recording Code--9 track EBCDIC (Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code) with:
(1) Odd parity, and
(2) A density of 800, 1600, or 6250 BPI.
.03 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) Recording Code (ASCII, EBCDIC, or BCD)
(d) Density (800, 1600, or 6250 BPI)
(e) Track (9)
(f) Parity (odd)
(g) Manufacturer and model of main frame and tape drives
(h) Sequence number of reel and total number of reels in the file (e.g., 1 of 3, 2 of 3, etc.)
.04 All records, including Header and Trailer Labels (if used) must be transmitted using the same density.
.05 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) All records are of uniform length; therefore, record marks are not necessary on this file.
(d) Tape Marks:
(1) Used to signify the physical end of the recording on tape.
(2) May follow the Header Label and precede and/or follow the Trailer Label.
SEC. 3. RECORD LENGTH AND BLOCKING
.01 Tape records prescribed in the specifications may be blocked or unblocked, subject to the following:
(a) All data records are a fixed length of 320 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 (10) records per block. At no time may a block contain more than 3,200 characters; however, a smaller block size may be used if necessary. If sufficient records are not available for a full block, the remainder should be either "padded" with 9s to fill all unused positions or truncated. 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
9s 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),
surname, and suffix (if
present). (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) A blank must be surrounded
by alphas or continued to
the end of the field
(e.g., ab...b, aba).
(2) Hyphens must be surrounded
by alphas and must never
occur in the first
position of a name unless
immediately followed by a
caret. A hyphen in the
first position is to
identify an employee with
surname only.
(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<MD).
45-79 Employee Name 35 Optional. This line is
Line 2 designated for an "in care of"
(c/o) situation. Left-justify
and fill unused positions with
blanks. ALLOWABLE CHARACTERS
ARE ALPHAS, BLANKS, NUMERICS,
AMPERSANDS, HYPHENS, SLASHES,
AND PERCENTS (%).
Hyphens and slashes must be
surrounded by alphas or
numerics; ampersands must be
surrounded by blanks; blanks
must be surrounded by alphas
or numerics or continued to
the end of the field (e.g.,
ab...b, aba).
Note: The same exceptions
apply as set forth in
"Employee Name Line 1" plus
the use of a percent sign (%)
is not valid--use c/o, if
necessary.
80-114 Employee Street 35 REQUIRED. Enter street address
Address of employee. Left-justify and
fill unused positions with
blanks. ALLOWABLE CHARACTERS
ARE ALPHAS, BLANKS, NUMERICS,
AMPERSANDS, HYPHENS, AND
SLASHES.
Position one is an alpha or
numeric; hyphens and slashes
must be surrounded by alphas
or numerics; ampersands must
be surrounded by blanks;
blanks must be surrounded by
alphas or numerics or
continued to the end of the
field (e.g., ab...b, aba).
115-139 Employee City 25 REQUIRED. Enter city of
employee. Left-justify and
fill unused positions with
blanks.
If foreign address, enter city
and country. ALLOWABLE
CHARACTERS ARE ALPHAS, BLANKS,
NUMERICS, AND HYPHENS.
Position one is an alpha or
numeric; hyphens must be
surrounded by alphas or
numerics; ampersands must be
surrounded by blanks; blanks
must be surrounded by alphas
or numerics or continued to
the end of the field (e.g.,
ab...b, aba).
140-141 Employee State 2 REQUIRED. Enter the two-
character state code 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
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 MT
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
Rhode Island RI
South Carolina SC
South Dakota SD
Tennessee TN
Texas TX
Utah UT
Vermont VT
Virginia VA
Washington WA
West Virginia WV
Wisconsin WI
Wyoming WY
142-150 Employee ZIP Code 9 REQUIRED. Enter nine-digit ZIP
Code of employee. Fill with
blanks if unavailable.
ALLOWABLE CHARACTERS ARE NINE
(9) NUMERICS OR NINE (9)
BLANKS.
IF YOU ONLY HAVE FIVE (5)
DIGITS AVAILABLE, LEFT-JUSTIFY
AND ZERO FILL. Blank fill only
if you are unable to ascertain
the employee's ZIP Code.
151 Marital Status 1 REQUIRED. Enter appropriate
code from the table below:
Marital Status
Designated Code
Single S
Married M
Married, withhold
at single rate W
No marital status
designated A
152 Exempt Status 1 REQUIRED. Enter "E" if
employee claims exempt status;
otherwise, blank.
153 Student Status 1 REQUIRED. If full-time student
status is claimed, enter the
alpha "Y"; if not, or no
entry, enter blank.
154-156 Allowances 3 REQUIRED. Must be a three (3)
digit numeric field
corresponding to the number of
allowances claimed by
employee. (It is necessary to
file this W-4 with IRS if the
number of allowances is eleven
(11) or more and exempt status
is claimed.) Field must be
right justified and zero
filled. If no entry, or
employee claimed exempt
status, enter blanks.
157-163 Additional Amount 7 REQUIRED. Enter numerics only.
of Withholding Enter the additional amount of
withholding, if any, the
employee wants deducted from
each pay. 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.
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 = 90 (or
subsequent years). Exempt
Status W-4 (1983 and
subsequent)--Compare "year
effective date" on Line 6 to
signature date. If year
entered on Line 6 is later
than signature date, use W-4
date as a 01/01 receipt for
subsequent calendar year
(e.g., Line 6 of Form W-4
shows an exempt status date of
1989 but signature date is
10/30/88, use 01/01/89 as Form
W-4 date.)
170-178 Employer 9 REQUIRED. The 9-digit number
Identification assigned to the employer by
Number IRS. DO NOT ENTER HYPHENS,
ALPHA CHARACTERS, ALL 9s OR
ALL ZEROES.
179-213 Employer Name 35 REQUIRED. Enter the name of
Line 1 the employer as it appears on
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,
AMPERSANDS, HYPHENS AND
SLASHES.
Position one is an alpha or
numeric; hyphens and slashes
must be surrounded by alphas
or numerics; ampersands must
be surrounded by blanks;
blanks must be surrounded by
alphas or numerics or
continued to the end of the
field (e.g., ab...b, aba).
214-247 Employer Name 34 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, AMPERSANDS, HYPHENS,
SLASHES, AND PERCENTS (%).
Position one is an alpha or
numeric; hyphens and slashes
must be surrounded by alphas
or numerics; ampersands must
be surrounded by blanks;
blanks must be surrounded by
alphas or numerics or
continued to the end of the
field (e.g., ab...b, aba).
248-282 Employer Street 34 REQUIRED. Enter street address
of employer. Left-justify and
fill unused positions with
blanks. ALLOWABLE CHARACTERS
ARE ALPHAS, BLANKS, NUMERICS,
AMPERSANDS, HYPHENS, AND
SLASHES.
Position one is an alpha or
numeric; hyphens and slashes
are surrounded by alphas--
ampersands are surrounded by
blanks.
283-307 Employer City 25 REQUIRED. Enter city of
employer. Left-justify and
fill unused positions with
blanks. If foreign address,
enter city and country.
ALLOWABLE CHARACTERS ARE
ALPHAS, BLANKS, NUMERICS, AND
HYPHENS.
Position one is an alpha or
numeric; hyphens and slashes
must be surrounded by alphas
or numerics; ampersands must
be surrounded by blanks;
blanks must be surrounded by
alphas or numerics or
continued to the end of the
field (e.g., ab...b, aba).
308-309 Employer State 2 REQUIRED. Enter State Code of
employer. Must be one of the
state abbreviations shown in
the state abbreviation table
for Employee State (tape
positions 140-141).
310-314 Employer ZIP Code 5 REQUIRED. Enter ZIP Code of
Employer. ALLOWABLE CHARACTERS
ARE FIVE (5) NUMERICS OR FIVE
(5) BLANKS.
Enter first five (5) digits if
more than five digits are
present. Blank fill only if
you are unable to ascertain
Employer's ZIP Code.
315-319 Transmitter 5 REQUIRED. Enter 5-character
Control Code Transmitter Control Code (TCC)
assigned by IRS.
320 "BLANK" 1 REQUIRED. Enter character used
Representation to represent a blank.
SEC. 4. EFFECT ON OTHER DOCUMENTS
Rev. Proc. 87-47, 1987-2 C.B. 635, is superseded.
- Institutional AuthorsInternal Revenue Service
- Code Sections
- Index Termsmagnetic tape reportingForm W-4withholding allowanceinformation returns
- Jurisdictions
- LanguageEnglish
- Tax Analysts Electronic Citation90 TNT 17-16
