bulletin Internal Revenue›Introduction›Part III. Administrative, Procedural, and Miscellaneous
Chapter 3 Physical Aspects and Requirements General Guidelines for Substitute Forms
Internal Revenue Bulletin 1997-50 · 2026-10-03 edition · updated 2026-10-04 · United States
General The Official Form is the Standard. Because a substitute form is a variation from the official form, you Information should know the requirements of the official form for the year of use before you modify it to meet your needs. The Internal Revenue Service provides several means of obtaining the most frequently used tax forms. These include the Internet, fax-on-demand, CD-ROM and an electronic forms bulletin board (see chapter 4).
Design Each form must follow the design of the official form as to format arrangement, item caption, line numbers, line references, and sequence.
State Tax State tax information must not appear (be visible) on the federal tax return or associated form or schedule Information which is filed with the Internal Revenue Service, except where amounts are claimed on or required by the Prohibited federal return, e.g., state and local income taxes, Schedule A (Form 1040).
Vertical Alignment of Amount Fields
| If | Then |
|---|---|
| a form is to be manually prepared | • the federal column must have a vertical line or some type of indicator in the amount field to separate dollars from cents if the official form has a vertical line. • the cents column must be at least 2/10” wide. • vertically align the amount entry fields where possible. • use one of the following amount formats: • 0,000,000. • 0,000,000.00 • you may remove the vertical line in the amount field that separates dollars from cents. • use one of the following amount formats: • 0,000,000. • 0,000,000.00 |
| a form is to be computer-generated | a form is to be computer-generated |
| a form is to be computer-prepared | a form is to be computer-prepared |
Attachment - Most individual income tax forms have a required “attachment sequence number” located just below Sequence Number the year designation in the upper right corner of the form. The Internal Revenue Service uses this number to indicate the order in which forms are to be attached to the tax return so they may be processed in that order. Some of the attachment sequence numbers may change each year.
On Computer-prepared forms:
It must be printed in no less than 12-point boldface type and centered below the form’s year designation.
The sequence number must be placed following the year designation for the tax form and separate with an
asterisk.
- It is not necessary to duplicate the “Attachment Sequence Number” wording, except for the actual number.
Paid Preparer’s On Forms 1040EZ, 1040A, 1040, and 1120, etc., the “Paid Preparer’s Use Only” area may not be reInformation and arranged or relocated. You may, however, add three extra lines to the paid preparer’s address area without Signature Area prior approval. This applies to other tax forms as well. Please note that the preparer’s area on Form 1040EZ is on the bottom of page 2. Substitute Forms 1040EZ with the preparer area in any location other than the bottom of page 2 will not be accepted.
Assembly of Forms If developing software or forms for use by others, please inform your customers/clients that the order in which the forms are arranged may affect the processing of the package. A return must be arranged in this order:
1997–50 I.R.B. 23 December 15, 1997
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