Glossary

Term

Definition

Alpha Block Control (ABC)

A three-character code assigned to each block of documents for submission processing control purposes. It is normally pre-printed in the upper left corner of the control document (e.g., Form 813, Form 1332, or Form 3893). However, it may be hand printed, and appear in another location, i.e., in the box entitled "Block Control Number" .

Batch Number

A number assigned to a group of blocks to aid in the control of documents during subsequent processing.

Blank Section

A Blank Section is a section where only the Must Enter fields are entered.

Block Out of Balance (BOB)

A condition exists in a given block of documents that creates an out-of-balance condition. Common examples of BOB conditions are: the sum of money amounts in each document does not match the Block Header total for the block or the actual count of documents within the block may be different than the count from the Block Header. A KV EOP may BOB a block by overlaying the Section Number with "BB" .

Calendar Year

Twelve (12) consecutive months ending December 31.

Check Digit

Two alpha characters, A to Z (excluding E, G, and M) that are derived by applying a mathematical formula to the EIN or SSN at the National Computing Center.

Document Locator Number (DLN)

A fourteen (14) digit number assigned to each document for control purposes. The computer-generated fourteenth (14th) digit may be changed on re-input or prior year documents as needed. The number is made up as follows:

Digits 1-2 — File Location Code (Submission Processing Site or D.O.)

Digit 3 — Tax Class

Digits 4-5 — Document Code

Digits 6-8 — Julian Date (numeric day of the year)

Digits 9-11 — Block Number

Digits 12-13 — Serial Number

Digit 14 — Year Digit (ISRP will generate the current processing year as the year digit. Re-input and prior year documents may require manual entry of the year digit.)

Edited Data

Colored pencil and/or ink entries and alterations to existing entries on documents by other IRS functional areas, such as Code and Edit, Entity, etc., Examples include colored pencil and/or ink circling, X-ing, underlining and changing of existing entries, and new entries.

Element

An item of information that is to be transcribed. Each element has been clearly identified on the ISRP Transcription Operation Sheets to indicate its location on the document, the sequence of transcription, and the instructions for transcription.

End of Block (EB)

"EB" must be entered if the block does not contain 100 documents. The OE EOP will overlay the Section Number with "EB" . The block will automatically end after 100 documents are entered.

Entity Area

The face of a document where the name, address, and Taxpayer Identification Number may appear.

Field

Where data is entered for each element within a section, (e.g., SSN, Name Control, etc.). A field may be either fixed or variable in length.

Field Termination Keys

or <-> (MINUS) keys. identifies a positive field or indicates that no data was present for the field. <-> (MINUS) identifies negative amounts.

, or <*> on the numeric keypad may be used as a field termination key when used to move to the next MUST ENTER field.

Filling Periods

In fixed-length elements, all positions must be filled (except in the Primary Name Control) to assure proper processing. If data is not present or is incomplete, filling periods are entered in the blank positions.

Fiscal Year

Twelve (12) consecutive months ending on the last day of any month other than December or a 52-53-week year.

Fixed Length Element

An element of data that does not require the use of a field termination key. Every position allocated to the element must be filled. When data for a position is not available, periods must be inserted, except for the Primary Name Control (NC). When the Primary Name Control is less than 4 characters, filling periods are not required, but pressing is necessary. This procedure assures that the data is sequenced in a manner that the system can recognize for subsequent processing.

Intermediate Entity

A document entered with a Name Control/Check Digit, TINs, and the full address. Used to update the address on accounts already established on the Masterfile.

Log On/Log Off

The procedures used to log on and off the ISRP system.

Long Entity

A document entered with the TINs, full name, AIL, and address. Used to establish accounts on the Masterfile and to update accounts already established.

Missing Section Indicator

A section was present and transcribed by the OE EOP, but the document was physically missing at KV is indicated by the KV EOP overlaying the Section Number with "MS" .

Mixed Data

An EOP has transcribed the entity from one document and the remaining information from another document.

Negative Entries

Data Conversion will transcribe entries as negative if bracket(s) are pre-printed on the form, bracketed or otherwise indicated as negative by the taxpayer, or edited by IRS personnel. If the field does not accept minus in the field termination column (Fld. Term.) of the IRM, enter the amount and press unless otherwise instructed.

Non-Compute

A tax return on which the taxpayer reported all income items but did not compute the tax.

Partial Entity

A document entered with TINs, name line, and/or AIL. Used to update the name line or AIL on accounts already established on the Masterfile.

Positive Entries

Line entries on a return that are not negative entries. These fields will be terminated with .

Prior Year

A tax return with a due date prior to the current processing year.

Prompt

A word, phrase, or instruction that appears on the screen to indicate what should be entered by the EOP or what action should be taken.

Record

A structured unit of data shown on the workstation display, one screen at a time.

Re-entry Blocks

Re-entry blocks contain documents that were incorrectly processed initially and must be re-entered in ISRP. They consist of three types, depending on the point at which they fall out:

Documents that fall out during submission processing (for example, during Error Resolution) are classified as "SC Reinputs" , and are identified with Re-entry Source Code "4" .

A document that falls out during Master File processing as Unpostable is classified as a "Reinput of Unpostable Document" and is identified with Re-entry Source Code "N" .

A document that has posted incorrectly to the Master File is called a "Reprocessable" , and is identified with Re-entry Source Code "R" .

The generated year digit and the year digit in box 12 on Form 3893 must be the same.

Section

A series of fields that have been grouped together for processing purposes and assigned an identifying Section Number.

Serial Number

The last two digits before the year digit of the Document Locator Number (DLN). The year digit is the last digit of the DLN and may be after a hyphen, or in a larger size font than the serial numbers.

Short Entity

A document entered with Check Digit/Name Control and TINs. Used for accounts already established on the Masterfile with no entity change.

Special Characters

Special Characters are any keyboard characters that are not alpha or numeric. Enter a space for a special character unless otherwise instructed. When the "Instructions" column of the program-specific IRMs indicate to "ignore" or "omit" special characters, do not enter a space.