SECTION 2. NEW REPORTING

REGIME.

.01. New Form . Under the authority of section 6001 of the Internal Revenue Code, Treasury and the IRS are designing a new form that a U.S. citizen or resident alien who holds an interest in an RRSP or RRIF must complete and attach to his or her Form 1040. The new form also will coordinate the reporting rules with the procedure set forth in section 4 of Revenue Procedure 2002–23, 2002–1 C.B. 744, for making the election under Article XVIII(7) of the U.S.-Canada income tax

convention to defer U.S. income taxation of income accrued in the RRSP or RRIF.

.02. Interim Reporting Rules for Bene- ficiaries Making the Election to Defer U.S. Income Taxation on Income of an RRSP or RRIF . Until the form referred to in section 2.01 of this notice is available, any U.S. citizen or resident alien who is a beneficiary (as defined in section 2.06 of this notice) of an RRSP or RRIF and who has made the election described in section 4 of Revenue Procedure 2002–23 with respect to the RRSP or RRIF, or who is making such election effective for the 2003 taxable year and subsequent taxable years, must

i. attach a copy of each such election to his or her Form 1040;

ii. indicate the balance in each RRSP or RRIF at the end of the taxable year either on the copy of the election or by attaching a copy of a statement issued by the custodian of the RRSP or RRIF; and

iii. comply with section 2.05 of this no tice if he or she has received any distributions during the taxable year from such RRSP or RRIF. .03. Interim Reporting Rules for Ben- eficiaries Not Making the Election to De- fer U.S. Income Taxation on Income of an RRSP or RRIF . Until the form referred to in section 2.01 of this notice is available, any U.S. citizen or resident alien who is a beneficiary (as defined in section 2.06 of this notice) of an RRSP or RRIF and who has not made the election described in section 4 of Revenue Procedure 2002–23 with respect to the RRSP or RRIF, and who is not making such election for the 2003 taxable year, must attach a statement to his or her Form 1040 that includes the following information:

i. The caption “CANADIAN RRSP” or “CANADIAN RRIF,” whichever is applicable;

ii. The taxpayer’s name and taxpayer identification number;

iii. The taxpayer’s address;

iv. The name and address of the custodian of the RRSP or RRIF and the plan account number, if any;

v. The amount of contributions to the RRSP or RRIF during the taxable year;

vi. The undistributed earnings of the

RRSP or RRIF during the taxable year in each of the following categories: interest, dividends, capital gains, and other;

vii. The total amount of distributions re ceived from the RRSP or RRIF during the taxable year; and

viii. The balance in the RRSP or RRIF at

the end of the taxable year. The taxpayer must provide a separate statement for each RRSP or RRIF of which he or she is a beneficiary. In addition to attaching the statement described in this section 2.03 to his or her Form 1040, the taxpayer must report the undistributed earnings for that taxable year of all such RRSPs and RRIFs on Schedule B (Interest and Ordinary Dividends) or D (Capital Gains and Losses), as appropriate, and on line 8a, 9, 13, or 21 of the Form 1040. The taxpayer must also comply with section 2.05 of this notice if the taxpayer has received any distributions during the taxable year from such RRSP or RRIF.

.04. Interim Reporting Rules for An- nuitants of RRSPs and RRIFs . Until the form referred to in section 2.01 of this notice is available, if a U.S. citizen or resident alien is an annuitant (as defined in section 2.06 of this notice) under an RRSP or RRIF that has no beneficiary (as defined in section 2.06 of this notice), and the annuitant receives a distribution from the RRSP or RRIF, the annuitant must in the year of distribution attach a statement to his or her Form 1040 that includes the following information:

i. The caption “ANNUITANT UNDER CANADIAN RRSP” or “ANNUITANT UNDER CANADIAN RRIF,” whichever is applicable;

ii. The annuitant’s name and taxpayer identification number;

2003-50 I.R.B. 1204 December 15, 2003

of taxpayers who hold interests in RRSPs and RRIFs. Under the prior regime, the average estimated reporting burden was more than 50 hours per Form 3520 (more than 100 hours per respondent). In addition, the new simplified reporting regime eliminates the requirement to file Form 3520–A, reducing the burden of a custodian by more than 40 hours per RRSP or RRIF.

Books or records relating to a collection of information must be retained as long as their contents may become material in the administration of any internal revenue law. Generally, tax returns and tax return information are confidential, as required by 26 U.S.C. 6103.