SEC. 1. GENERAL — Internal Revenue Bulletin 1996-2

NOTE: The specifications which follow for requesting an extension of time magnetically or electronically DO NOT APPLY to Form 1042. Form 1042 is not an information return.

.01 The specifications in Part E include the required 200-byte record format for extension of time to file requests submitted on magnetic media or via IRP–BBS. Also included are the instructions for the information that is to be entered in the record. Withholding Agents are advised to read this section in its entirety to ensure proper filing.

.02 Requests for extensions of time may be made for Form 1042–S.

.03 For Tax Year 1995 (returns due to be filed in 1996), transmitters requesting an extension of time to file for

more than 50 withholding agents are required to file the extension request on magnetic media or via IRP–BBS.

Transmitters requesting an extension of time for 10 or more withholding agents are encouraged to file the

request magnetically or electronically. Acceptable types of media are tape, tape cartridge, and 5 ¹ ⁄4- and 3 ¹ ⁄2-inch diskette .

.04 For an extension request filed on magnetic media, the transmitter must send the completed, signed Form 8809, Request for Extension of Time to File Information Returns, in the same package as the corresponding media. For extension requests filed electronically, the transmitter must send the Form 8809 the same day the transmission is made .

.05 Withholding Agents, or Transmitters submitting a request for extension of time for multiple withholding agents, should not submit a list of agent’s names and TINS with the Form 8809 with the magnetic media or electronic files.

.06 To be considered, an extension request must be postmarked or transmitted by the due date of the return; otherwise, the request will be denied.

.07 The extension record format is also on the IRP–BBS and can be downloaded. See Part D for more information on how to contact the IRP–BBS .

.08 A magnetically-filed request for an extension of time should be sent using the following addresses: If by Postal:

IRS-Martinsburg Computing Center ATTN: Extension of Time Coordinator P O Box 879, MS-360 Kearneysville, WV 25430 If by truck or air freight:

IRS-Martinsburg Computing Center ATTN: Extension of Time Coordinator Route 9 and Needy Road, MS-360 Martinsburg, WV 25401

Note: Due to the large volume of mail received by IRS/MCC and the time factor involved in processing the Form 8809, it is imperative that the attention line be present on all envelopes or packages containing Extension of Time (EOT) requests.

.09 If using a delivery service other than postal service, the actual date of receipt by IRS/MCC will be used as the

received date. This should be considered in meeting filing requirements timely.

.10 Withholding Agents who submit their extension of time requests magnetically or electronically will receive a letter from IRS/MCC with an attached list of multiple withholding agents and their TINs (EIN or SSN) specifying approval and/or denial.

.11 Do not submit tax year 1995 extension of time to file requests on magnetic media or electronically before January 1, 1996 . .12 Filers may request an extension of time as soon as they are aware that an extension is necessary but not later than

the due date of the return. It will take a minimum of 30 days for IRS/MCC to respond to an extension request. Under

certain circumstances a request for an extension of time could be denied. In such cases, the withholding agent receives

a denial letter. When this denial letter is received, the transmitter has 20 days to provide the additional or necessary

information and resubmit the extension request to IRS/MCC .

.13 Each piece of magnetic media must have an external label containing the following information: (a) Withholding agent’s name (Transmitter’s name if reporting for multiple withholding agents) (b) Transmitter Control Code (TCC) beginning with the numbers ‘‘22.’’ (c) Tax year (d) The words ‘‘Extension of Time’’ (e) Record count Form 5064 (Media Label) or transmitter generated substitute may be used. .14 A request for an extension of time to file is not automatically granted. Approval or denial is dependent on information provided on the Form 8809.

.15 If an additional extension of time is needed, a second Form 8809 may be submitted before the end of the initial extension. Line 7 on the form should be checked to indicate that the original extension has been received and the additional extension is being requested. A second 30-day extension will be approved only in cases of extreme hardship or catastrophic event .

.16 See Part A. Sec. 11, for complete information on requesting an extension of time to file information returns. If there are additional questions or concerns, contact IRS/MCC.

SEC. 2 MAGNETIC TAPE, TAPE CARTRIDGE, 5 ¹ ⁄4- AND 3 ¹ ⁄2-INCH DISKETTE, AND IRP–BBS SPECIFICATIONS

.01 Tape specifications are as follows: (a) 9 track. (b) EBCDIC (Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code) or ASCII (American Standard Coded Information Interchange) recording mode.

(c) 1600 or 6250 BPI. (d) Fixed block size of 4000 bytes. (e) Record length of 200 bytes. (f) Labeled or unlabeled tapes may be submitted. .02 Tape cartridge specifications are as follows: (a) Must be IBM 3480, 3490 or AS400 compatible. (b) Must meet American National Standard Institute ANSI) standards and have the following characteristics: (1) Tape cartridges will be ¹ ⁄2 inch tape contained in plastic cartridges which are approximately 4 inches by 5 inches by 1 inch in dimension.

(2) Magnetic tape will be chromium dioxide particle based ¹ ⁄2 inch tape. (3) Cartridges will be 18-track or 36-track parallel. Indicate on Form 5064, Media Label, in the box ‘‘Operating System/ Hardware,’’ whether the tape cartridge is 18- or 36-track.

(4) Mode will be full function. (5) The data may be compressed using EDRC (Memorex) or IDRC (IBM) compression. (6) Either EBCDIC or ASCII. (c) Fixed block size of 4000 bytes. (d) Record length of 200 bytes. (e) Labeled or unlabeled tape cartridges may be submitted. .03 Diskette specifications are as follows: (a) 5 ¹ ⁄4- or 3 ¹ ⁄2-inches in diameter. (b) ASCII recording mode only . Additional specifications may be found in Part B. Sec. 4, of this revenue procedure. (c) Record length of 200 bytes. (d) Diskettes must be created using the MS/DOS operating system. (e) Filename of IRSEOT must be used. No other filenames are acceptable. If a file will consist of more than one diskette, the filename IRSEOT will contain a three-digit extension. This extension will indicate the sequence of the diskettes within the file. For example, the first diskette will be named IRSEOT.001, the second diskette will be name IRSEOT.002, etc.

(f) Delimiter character commas (,) must not be used. (g) Positions 199 and 200 of each record have been reserved for use as carriage return/line feed (cr/lf) characters, if applicable.

.04 IRP–BBS specifications include: (a) Transmitter must have Transmitter Control Code Number (TCC). (Be sure to use the TCC assigned for submitting 1042–S information.) (b) IRP–BBS access phone number is (304) 26 4-7070 .

No parity
Eight date bits
One stop bit
Full duplex (d) Access speeds from 1,200 to 28,800 bps. (e) Data compression is encouraged. See Part D, IRP–BBS Electronic Filing Specifications, for detailed information on filing with IRS/MCC via IRP/BBS.