Introduction›Part III. Administrative, Procedural, and Miscellaneous
SEC. 17. PAPER SUBSTITUTES FOR
Internal Revenue Bulletin 1996-39 · 2026-10-03 edition · updated 2026-10-04 · United States
FORM 1042–S
.01 Paper substitutes for Form 1042–S, Foreign Person’s U.S. Source Income Subject to Withholding, that totally conform to the specifications contained in this procedure may be privately printed without prior approval from the Internal Revenue Service. Proposed substitutes not conforming to these specifications must be submitted for consideration.
1 The request should be submitted by November 15 of the year prior to the year the form is to be used. This is to allow the Service adequate time to respond and the submitter adequate time to make any corrections. These requests should contain a copy of the proposed form, the need for the specific devia
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played in positions 19, 37, 56, and 74 for columns (a) through (d), respectively.
.05 Schedule B (Form 941) (a) Display the ID Code (5151) on print line 6, position 20. Display the name (positions 9–49), EIN (53–66), and quarter ended (69–78) on print line 9. (b) The daily amounts appear on the following print lines: First month - lines 15, 17, 19, 21, 23,
25, and 27 Second month - lines 31, 33, 35, 37,
39, 41, and 43 Third month - lines 47, 49, 51, 53, 55,
57, and 59 Subtotal A - line 28 Subtotal B - line 44 Subtotal C - line 60 Total D - line 61
tion(s), and the number of information returns to be printed.
2 Form 1042–S is subject to annual review and possible change. Withholding agents and form suppliers are cautioned against overstocking supplies of the privately printed substitutes.
3 Copies of the official form for the reporting year may be obtained from most Service offices. The Service provides only cut sheets (no carbon interleaves) of these forms. Continuous fanfold/pin-fed forms are not provided. .02 Instructions for Withholding Agents
1 Only original copies may be filed with the Service. Carbon copies and reproductions are not acceptable.
2 The term ‘‘Recipient’s U.S. taxpayer identification number,’’ for an individual means the social security number (SSN) or individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN), consisting of nine digits separated by hyphens as follows: 000–00–0000. For all other recipients, the term means employer identification number (EIN). The EIN consists of nine digits separated by one hyphen as follows: 00–0000000. The taxpayer identification number must be in one of these formats.
3 Withholding agents are requested to type or machine print whenever possible, provide quality data entries on the forms (that is, use black ribbon, insert data in the middle of blocks well separated from other printing and guidelines), and take other measures to guarantee a clear, sharp image. Withholding agents are not required, however, to acquire special equipment solely for the purposes of preparing these forms.
4 On corrected returns, the words CORRECTED RETURN must be typed in all capital letters in the top 1 ⁄4 inch, right of center margin. All required information must be completed on a corrected return since it replaces and supersedes the information return previously filed.
5 Substitute forms prepared in continuous or strip form must be burst and stripped to conform to the size specified for a single form before they are filed with the Service. The dimensions are found below.
(a) Computer cards are acceptable, provided they meet all requirements regarding layout, content, and size.
.03 Substitute Forms Format Requirements.
1 Privately printed substitute Forms 1042–S must be exact replicas of the official forms with respect to layout and
contents. Only the dimensions of the substitute form may differ and the printing of the Government Printing Office symbol must be deleted. The exact dimensions are found below.
2 Line 1 must be present, line 2 may be omitted if it is not needed. If line 2 is omitted, also omit line 3.
3 None of the boxes can be omitted. Each box (a through h) must be present and in the exact order. The box for each payment amount must contain the appropriate caption.
4 Color and Quality of paper. (a) Paper for Copy A must be white chemical wood bond, or equivalent, 20 pound (basis 17 x 22–500), plus or minus 5 percent; or offset book paper, 50 pound (basis 25 x 38–500). No optical brighteners may be added to the pulp or paper during manufacture. The paper must consist of principally bleached chemical woodpulp or recycled printed paper. It also must be suitably sized to accept ink without feathering.
(b) Copies B, C, D (for Recipient), and E (for Withholding Agent) are provided in the official assembly solely for the convenience of the withholding agent. Withholding agents may choose the format, design, color and quality of the paper used for these copies.
5 Color and Quality of Ink—All printing must be in a high quality non-gloss black ink. Bar codes should be free from picks and voids.
6 Typography—Type must be substantially identical in size and shape to corresponding type on the official form. All rules on the document are either 1 point (0.015 inch) or 3 point (0.045 inch). Vertical rules must be parallel to the left edge of the document; horizontal rules, parallel to the top edge.
7 Dimensions—The official form is 8 inches wide X 5 1 ⁄2 inches deep, exclusive of a 1 ⁄2 snap stub on the left side of the form. The snap feature is not required on substitutes.
(a) The width of a substitute Copy A must be a minimum of 7 inches and a maximum of 8 inches, although adherence to the size of the official form is preferred. If the width of the substitute Copy A is reduced from that of the official form, the width of each field on the substitute form must be reduced proportionately. The left margin must be 1⁄2 inch and free of all printing other than that shown on the official form.
(b) The depth of a substitute Copy A must be a minimum of 5 1 ⁄6 inches and a maximum of 5 1 ⁄2 inches.
8 Carbonized forms or ‘‘spot carbons’’ are not permissible. Interleaved carbons, if used, must be of good quality to preclude smudging and should be black.
9 Other Copies—Copies B, C, and D are required to be furnished for the convenience of payees who are required to send a copy of the form with other federal and state returns they file. Copy E may be desired as a withholding agent’s record/copy.
.04 Additional Instructions 1 Arrangement of Assembly—If all five parts are present, the parts of the assembly shall be arranged from top to bottom as follows: Copy A (Original) ‘‘For Internal Revenue Service,’’ Copies B, C, and D ‘‘For Recipient,’’ and Copy E ‘‘For Withholding Agent.’’
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