Rev. Proc. 70-13

Section 1. Purpose.

The purpose of this Revenue Procedure is to state the practice of the Internal Revenue Service relative to the acceptance of substitutes for Form 1042S, U.S. Annual Statement of Income Paid to Nonresident Aliens, Etc., under Chapter 3, Internal Revenue Code, for filing purposes in lieu of the official form furnished by the Service.

Sec. 2. Specifications.

.01 Substitutes for Form 1042S may be privately printed with slight variations in format, and used without specific approval of the Internal Revenue Service, if the conditions enumerated in Section 3 below are met.

.02 The assembly of the official form includes a fourth copy for the withholding agent. Since this copy must be retained by the withholding agent, a fourth copy should be included as a part of the substitute assembly.

Sec. 3. Conditions.

.01 Quality of paper.--The substitute forms must be printed on paper of substantially the same weight and texture as that used by the Government in the official form.

.02 Typography.--The type may not be smaller than the corresponding type on the official forms and must be as nearly as possibly of the same font.

.03 Format.--The substitute forms must provide spaces for all items (numbered 1-16) that are provided on Form 1042S.

.04 Dimensions.--The official form is eight inches wide by three and one-half inches deep, exclusive of a five-eighths-inch snap stub on the left side of the form. Three such detachable forms are contained on an eight inch wide by ten and one-half inch deep sheet. The substitute forms may vary in width from seven to eight and one-half inches (exclusive of snap-stub), and in depth from three and one-third inches to three and two-thirds inches. The snap feature is not required on substitutes and they may be printed separately, or in sheets if readily detachable (perforated at proper dimensions).

.05 Carbonized forms or "spot carbons."--Carbonized forms and "spot carbons" are not permissible. Interleaved carbon, if used, must be of good quality (preferably, black) to preclude smudging, and, if sheets are used, carbons should be readily detachable with each form.

.06 The Government Printing Office symbols.--The Government Printing Office symbols appearing in the lower left hand corner of the official form must be omitted.

Sec. 4. Additional Instructions

.01 Arrangement of Assembly.--The parts of the assembly shall be arranged as follows: Original; duplicate, "Copy For Internal Revenue"; triplicate Copy For Payee"; and the quadruplicate "Copy For Withholding Agent."

.02 Copy For Payee.--The reverse side of the substitute triplicate, "Copy For Payee," must contain the "U.S. Income Tax Filing Requirements" information found on the reverse side of the official Form 1042S. If complete information as to the amount of income paid and tax withheld has been furnished to the payee with the payment of the income, or in any other manner, it will not be necessary to furnish the triplicate copy of Form 1042S to the payee. However, if this option is exercised, there must be printed on the document furnishing such information to the payee the "U.S. Income Tax Filing Requirements" information referred to above.

.03 Substitutes previously approved.--Substitute forms that conform to the provisions of this Revenue Procedure and which have been previously approved by the Internal Revenue Service for prior years will be accepted without further approval. Previously approved substitutes that do not comply with the provisions of this Revenue Procedure will not be accepted.

Sec. 5. Alternative Methods.

Listing all investment income for one payee on one sheet for custodial accounts will be permitted without prior approval until December 31, 1970, provided the following conditions are met:

(a) Not more than one payee's income may be covered by one sheet. The payee's name and address must be listed at the top of each sheet.

(b) All of the information required on Form 1042S must be furnished and the gross amount of income paid and the tax withheld must be indicated.

(c) The name of the foreign country, the nature of the income, and the withholding rate must be clearly shown.

(d) The total width of the sheet must not exceed eight and one-half inches.

(e) The list shall be submitted to the Internal Revenue Service, in duplicate, and treated as a Form 1042S for summarizing and filing purposes.

No such listings will be permitted after December 31, 1970.

Sec. 6. Substitutes Not Meeting Above Conditions.

Requests for approval of proposed substitute forms that do not meet the conditions stated above should be forwarded by letter to the Director of International Operations, Internal Revenue Service, Attention CP:IO: 512, Washington, D.C. 20225.

Sec. 7. Effect on Other Documents.

Revenue Procedure 57-4, C.B. 1957-1, 725, is hereby superseded.