SECTION 6. BARCODES

1 The Service cannot grant final approval of any substitute form until the official form has been published. However, the Service releases advance proof copies of selected major tax forms that are subject to further changes and OMB approval before their release in final format for printing and distribution to the public. We encourage submission of proposed substitutes of these advance proof forms, and will grant conditional approval based solely on these early proofs. These advance proofs are subject to significant change before forms are finalized. If these advance proofs are used as the basis for your substitute forms, you will be responsible for subsequently updating your final forms to agree with the final official version before use.

2 When specific approval of Form 1040A and related forms/schedules is desired, forward three original copies of the proposed substitutes to:

Internal Revenue Service Attention: Substitute Forms Program Coordinator, T:FP:S 1111 Constitution Avenue N.W. Room 2712 IR Washington, DC 20224

This applies to all forms listed in Exhibit 1, whether or not the form is to include a barcode. If the entity area on your forms is not an exact graphical representation of the official form ( i.e ., it is missing horizontal and vertical lines), submit a fourth copy of the form. On this copy of the forms, display non-sensitive data to aid in recognizing the data capture areas. To expedite this approval for DPS, please submit the proposed substitute Form 1040A and related forms separately from other substitute forms.

3 As no Service office except the one specifically mentioned above in Section 8.01.2, is authorized to approve substitute Form 1040A for DPS, unnecessary delay may result if forms are sent elsewhere for approval. All forms submitted to any other office must be forwarded to the appropriate office for formal control, review, and official approval. No IRS office is authorized to allow deviations from this revenue procedure.

4 The Service does not review or approve the logic of specific software programs, nor confirm the calculations entered on forms output from these programs that are submitted for approval. The accuracy of the program itself remains the responsibility of the

1995–2 C.B. 415

.01 Barcodes for returns and attachments, other than Forms W–2 and the Form 1099 family, will be either seven in length using the 3 of 9 (or 39) format. The barcode must be positioned at least .5 inches from any edge of the paper. If possible, display the characters represented by the barcode. If these characters cannot be produced, display your three-character source code in the lower left corner on the first page of each document submitted for approval.

.02 A barcode is required on Forms 1040A and 8888 and Schedules 1, 2, 3, and EIC. The algorithm for the barcode is shown in Exhibit 1. A company that is not creating a substitute Form 1040A need not barcode Form 8888 or Schedule EIC for filing with Form 1040. Barcodes for Forms W–2 and the Form 1099 family are not required for tax year 1995 and will be covered in the appropriate revenue procedures.

.03 Barcodes will not appear for tax year 1995 on the official versions of other forms and schedules which may be associated with Form 1040A. However, we encourage creators of substitute forms to include barcodes on these forms as shown in Exhibit 1. Barcodes on these forms may be placed anywhere in the data capture area either horizontally or vertically. The Service prefers placement in the lower left corner as shown on Form 1040A.

.04 The barcode will be seven digits long as follows:

Digit 1 – version year and front or back of form

Digits 2 and 3 – form type Digit 4 – version month or period

Digit 5 through 7 – source code .05 The combination of digits 1 and 4 will indicate which version of a form is being used. If the form is reissued annually, i.e., it has the tax year in the upper right corner, the first digit will indicate the tax year and the fourth digit will be ‘‘5’’.

.06 If the form has a revision date under the form number, the first digit represents the year of revision and the fourth digit indicates the month. For example, the barcode for the front

[page of a form revised in October 1995 will have a first digit of ‘‘5’’ and a fourth digit of ‘‘J’’.

.07 Digits 5 through 7, the source code, replace the Forms Approval Number previously used by the Substitute Forms Program.

.08 An eighth digit, a page number code, will be used only for documents with more than two pages. This does not apply for tax year 1995 Forms 1040A as the forms scheduled for bar coding consist of no more than two pages.