SEC. 2. NATURE OF CHANGES

Numerous editorial changes have been made to the revenue procedure. Please read the publication carefully and in its entirety before attempting to prepare your magnetic/electronic file for submission. Major changes are italicized. The changes are as follows:

.01 Part B, Sec. 2, Beginning in calendar year 2003 for Tax Year 2003, IRS/MCC will no longer accept 9 track tapes for the filing of Forms W-4. This restriction will apply to fourth quarter 2002 Forms W-4 filed in January 2003. See Part B, Sec. 2.

.02 Electronic filing specifications are in Part C. Numerous changes have been made to these instructions. Please read this part carefully.

.03 Part D is new and contains information on contacting IRS/MCC in a centralized location within the publication. .04 Beginning in calendar year 2002 for Tax Year 2001, IRS/MCC will no longer return problem media in need of replace- ment. Filers will continue to receive a tracking form, listing and letter detailing the reason(s) their media could not be processed. Filers will be expected to send in replacement media within the prescribed time frame. This makes it imperative that filers maintain backup copies and/or recreate capabilities for their information return files.