Publication 1516›Part A›Introduction and General Information
Sec. 1 Introduction
Publication 1516 — Specifications for Electronic Filing of Forms 8596, Information Returns for Federal Contracts · 2026-10-03 edition · updated 2026-10-04 · United States
This publication outlines the procedures, record format, validation criteria, and errors associated with the electronic filing of Form 8596, Information Returns for Federal Contracts, and Form 8596-A, Quarterly Transmittal of Information Returns for Federal Contracts with the Internal Revenue Service. The publication must be used to prepare current and prior quarter information returns to be transmitted to the Filing Information Returns Electronically (FIRE) System.
The file specifications and record format should be used in conjunction with the following:
Form 8596, Information Return for Federal Contracts, and instructions; Form 8596-A, Quarterly Transmittal of Information Returns for Federal Contracts, and instructions.
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