Current through Register Vol. 63, No. 9, September 1, 2024
(1)
Definitions. For purposes of this rule:
(a)
Official form. An
official form is any payroll, income, excise tax, or corporate activity tax
form prepared, printed, and distributed by or on behalf of the department
pursuant to Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS) Chapters 310, 314, 315, 316, 317,
317A, 318, Lane Transit District (LTD) Ordinance 51, and Tri-County
Metropolitan Transportation District (TRIMET) Ordinance 92.
(b)
Substitute form. A
substitute form is any payroll, income, excise tax, or corporate activity tax
form authorized under ORS Chapters 310, 314, 315, 316, 317, 317A, 318, LTD
Ordinance 51, or TRIMET Ordinance 92 that is intended to replace the official
form.
(c)
Tax
Return. A tax return is a payroll, income, excise tax, or corporate
activity tax form filed with the department by or on behalf of a taxpayer under
the provisions of ORS Chapter 310, 314, 315, 316, 317, 317A, 318, LTD Ordinance
51, or TRIMET Ordinance 92.
(2) A tax return must be made on the
department-prescribed forms, which may be obtained upon request from the
department. Such forms are widely distributed, but a failure to receive any
forms does not relieve the taxpayer from the responsibility to file any return
required by statute.
(3) The
department may accept a substitute form filed in lieu of an official form if
the substitute form meets the standards set forth in this rule. It is the
intent of the department to follow the National Association of Computerized Tax
Processors (NACTP) standards as closely as is practical.
(4)
Substitute form
standards. A substitute form with or without optical character
readable (OCR) scan lines must be a duplicate of the official form unless the
variation is within the exceptions listed in section (5) of this rule. The
overall format of substitute forms must match the format of official forms.
Overall format includes text size and placement, graphics, location of lines,
boxes, data entry symbols, spacing, 2-D barcode placement, and OCR scan line.
(a) A substitute form must be on paper of the
same overall dimension (size) and weight and of a quality equal to or better
than that used for the official form.
(b) Substitute forms and the filled-in data
must be legible and must not have extra text or marks that do not appear on the
official forms.
(c) The social
security number on substitute forms must be separated by hyphens after the
third and fifth digits.
(d) If the
substitute form has OCR scan lines, black nonreflective ink in OCR-A font must
be used for printing the scan line.
(e) Substitute forms must contain a 2-D
barcode for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2006 if the substitute
form is:
(A) Software generated; and
(B) Used for personal income tax purposes
under ORS Chapters 314, 315, or 316.
(5)
Exceptions. The
substitute form may differ from the official form with respect to the
exceptions listed in this section. However, the difference may delay processing
of the tax return.
(a) Official forms that are
printed on colored paper may be reproduced in black ink on white
paper.
(b) Official forms that use
both sides of the paper may be reproduced on one side only of two successive
pages.
(c) Gray boxes that are
intended to drop out during imaging do not need to be printed on the reproduced
forms.
(d) Substitute forms that
the department does not support in 2-D barcode format may be printed without
2-D barcode.
(6)
Photocopies of official forms may be filed if the official form does not
contain OCR printing.
(7)
(a) Substitute forms must be approved by the
department prior to use. Substitute forms that do not meet the requirements of
this rule may not be filed in lieu of the official forms. The department may
reject and return to the taxpayer tax returns using substitute forms that do
not meet the requirements of this rule.
(b) A tax return that has been rejected under
this rule does not meet the filing requirement of the applicable program. The
taxpayer must file a tax return using an official form or a substitute form
that meets the requirements of this rule in order to meet the filing
requirement under the provisions of the personal income tax, corporate income
tax, corporate excise tax, and corporate activity tax programs; the filing
requirement under the TRIMET self-employment tax and LTD programs; or the
filing requirement under ORS
314.724 for partnership returns.
If the return is rejected, the taxpayer may be assessed penalty for failure to
file a tax return as provided under ORS
314.400,
314.724 or as otherwise provided
under Oregon law.
(8) If
the department receives payment with a substitute form that does not meet the
requirements of this rule, the department will treat the payment as an
estimated tax payment under the provisions of ORS Chapters 314, 316, or
317A.
Publications: Publications referenced are available from the
agency.
Statutory/Other Authority: ORS
305.100
Statutes/Other Implemented: ORS
314.385 &
317A.149
