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Wisconsin Department of Revenue

 Guidelines for Reproduced and Substitute Tax Forms

News

Certain guidelines must be followed for reproduced or substitute Wisconsin tax forms (including schedules). The purpose of these guidelines is to ensure that the reproduced or substitute forms are compatible with the Department's processing system, and that they present information in a uniform manner.

A reproduced tax form is a facsimile of the official form produced by photo-offset, photo-engraving, photocopying, or other similar process. Reproduced tax forms that deviate from the official forms are considered substitute tax forms. If the guidelines are followed, the Department will accept reproductions of official forms without prior approval, except as indicated below.

Exceptions - The following forms may not be reproduced without prior approval by the Department: * = New for 2008

Form 1
Form 1A
Form 1-ES
Form 1NPR
Form 1X
Form 2
Form 3
Form 3S
Form 4		 Form 401T
Form 4-ES
Form 4H
Form 4I
Form 4T
Form 5
Form 5S
Form DRY-012
Form EPV
Form EX-012 		Form PRA-012
Form PW-1
Form PW-2
Form RV-012
Form ST-12
Form TPV
Form UT-5
Form W706
Form W-RA
Form WI-Z

Form WT-6
Form WT-7
Schedule CC
*Schedule 1 -CNP
*Schedule 1 CNS
*Schedule CR
Schedule CT
Schedule FC
Schedule H
Schedule H-EZ
*Schedule RT
Schedule V
Schedule W
Schedule Y

 

A substitute tax form is a form, other than the official Department form, that is commercially typeset and printed or computer produced or computer programmed. Substitute tax forms must be submitted to the Department for approval each year before release to users. Submit one blank and ten variable data filled copies of all 1-D bar code documents for approval. One of the ten variable data filled copies must have an entry on every line. Please see the following link for specific 1-D bar code specifications: http://www.revenue.wi.gov/eserv/08e-bar.html

Approval for 1-D bar code forms must be obtained before 2-D bar code submissions. Please see the following link for specific 2-D bar code specifications for forms 2007 :    http://www.revenue.wi.gov/taxpro/2dbar/index.html

The following are guidelines for substitute and reproduced tax forms and schedules. Following these guidelines will help speed the approval process and will speed processing of taxpayer forms. All 2008 tax forms with a 1D and 2D bar code must be submitted no later than December 31st and all other forms must be submitted for approval by January 19th, 2008. It is also recommended that submission be made using .pdf files as e-mail attachments.

Printing Forms: Software must inform taxpayer to send the originally printed form, not a photocopy, for processing. Printed forms from software should require the taxpayer to select the following printing choices before the printing option can be chosen. “Shrink to fit” must be unchecked. “No graphics” must be unchecked. Inform taxpayers that black ink should be used and that their ink cartridge should be capable of producing a solid image. Software should be set to print Courier 12 pt. Taxpayer should not be able to change font style or font size.

Size: Reproduced or substitute forms must be the same size as the official forms, except that official forms that are 8" x 10 7/8" should be printed on 8 1/2" x 11" paper.

Grade of Paper: Reproduced or substitute forms must be on paper of substantially the same weight and texture, and of a quality at least as good as that used in the official form. We recommend 20# paper be used by taxpayers.

Color of Paper and Ink: White paper may be used for any official form printed on colored paper. Black ink may be substituted for colored ink. Forms that are scanned may require shading when using black ink. This will be addressed during the approval process if applicable.

Font Size: The preferred font and size to use for all entries is Courier 12 pt. Use font size smaller than 12-point for line instructions on the form. Data entered on tax forms must be printed in font size 12-point or larger. Ensure that end-users cannot change font size of the data they enter on the forms.

Two-Sided Forms: Reproduced or substitute forms may be printed on one side or both sides of the paper.

Rounding and Number formatting: Wisconsin income tax forms that have preprinted decimal points and zeros in the cents area must be reproduced accordingly. All amounts filled in on these forms should be rounded to the nearest dollar (drop amounts under 50¢ and increase amounts that are 50¢ or more to the next dollar). For example, $203.39 becomes $203 and $203.59 becomes $204. In dollar amount entries do not include a dollar symbol, a cent symbol or any commas. For example, $2,033.00 becomes 2033.00. Negative numbers should be designated using a dash - . Do not use parentheses for negative numbers.

Spacing: Substitute forms must be arranged in the same manner with the same spacing as the official forms. There must be a 1/2" margin on all sides of each page of each scanned form. The official forms leave a specific amount of white space at the bottom of the forms. This space is used by the Department and must be maintained on all substitute forms. The brackets, located at the top right of page 1 of most documents must now be 2 inches apart when space is available and no less then 1 5/8" apart when space is limited. The bottom of the brackets must be 3/4" from the top of the page. The dimensions, configuration, and placement of the "For Department Use Only" boxes on some forms must be the same as the official forms.

Vendor Identification: On all substitute documents, the vendor's name must appear at the bottom of each page. The preferred location on page 1 of each document is in the lower left hand corner.

Check Digit for WTN for Forms WT-6 and WT-7

Signature: When returns are reproduced, all required signatures on returns filed with the Department must be original, affixed subsequent to the reproduction process. (Under certain conditions a fiduciary may use a facsimile signature.)

OCR Forms: Although the Department will approve substitute estimated tax vouchers (Forms 1-ES and 4-ES), it is preferred that taxpayers use the preprinted vouchers sent by the Department. The Department-printed vouchers reduce the chance of error in posting payments to the taxpayer's account and cost less to process than substitute forms.

  1. Form WT-6 Check Digit Specifications for WTN

  2. OCR Scan Line Specifications for WT-6

    1. The OCR scan line must be printed in OCR "A" font at a pitch of 10 characters per inch.
    2. The software should default to omit the scan line altogether if the customer is unable to print in OCR "A" font.
    3. The OCR scan line must be printed on each form.
    4. The right edge of the last character in the OCR scan line must be 1/2 inch from the right-hand edge of the form.
    5. The bottom of the OCR print line must be 1/2 inch above the bottom edge of the form and must be parallel to the bottom edge of the form.
    6. The OCR scan line must center in a "clear band" 1/2 inch high centered on the OCR print line, which must be free of extraneous print, dirt, carbon residue, and all foreign matter.
    7. The line of characters to be read must be printed within the "printing band," which is located in the center of the clear band. The printing band is 0.22 inches high.
    8. The ink in the printed character must absorb light in the 550 to 950 nm wavelength range. The ink must not spatter or smear.
    9. The OCR print line should read:

      Form WT-6: 931 9999999999999999 999999

    10. For Form WT-6 the set of sixteen "9"s is replaced with the taxpayers Wisconsin Tax Number (WTN) plus the check digit for the WTN. The WTN is 15-digits and the check digit is the 1-digit. The second set of six "9"s is replaced with the filing frequency. See the attached link for these digits at www.revenue.wi.gov/taxpro/wt-6-09.html.

  3. OCR Scan Line Specifications for Form 1-ES, Form 4-ES, Form EPV, and Form TPV
The following guidelines would be utilized by Preparer or Internet Generated Returns in the printing of the scan line on the documents
  1. Document Specifications
    1. Size: Form 1-ES, Form 4-ES, Form 3S-ES, Form EPV and Form TPV must be 8 1/2" x 3 2/3".
    2. Paperweight must be 20 pounds/500 sheets.
    3. Smoothness - between 65 and 200 Sheffield units on both sides. Unacceptable coatings include carbon coating and no-carbon required coatings. The coupon must be free of foreign matter such as staples, paper clips, adhesive tape or glue, etc. There can be no holes in the coupon.
    4. Bottom edge must be perpendicular to within 2 degrees to the right-hand and left-hand edges.
    5. No tears are allowed on the right-hand and bottom edges. Any perforations for a stub must be on the topside or left-hand edges of the document.
    6. The paper must be white, highly opaque and have a flat finish.
    7. It is essential that the remitter’s name appear on the coupon. It is advisable to duplicate all scan line information fields elsewhere on the remittance coupon to facilitate any necessary data entry correction.

  2. OCR Scan Line Specifications
    1. The OCR scan line must be printed in OCR "A" font at a pitch of 10 characters per inch.
    2. The software should default to omit the scan line altogether if the customer is unable to print in OCR "A" font.
    3. The OCR scan line must be printed on each form.
    4. The right edge of the last character in the OCR scan line must be 1/2 inch from the right-hand edge of the form.
    5. The bottom of the OCR print line must be 1/2 inch above the bottom edge of the form and must be parallel to the bottom edge of the form.
    6. The OCR scan line must center in a "clear band" 1/2 inch high centered on the OCR print line, which must be free of extraneous print, dirt, carbon residue, and all foreign matter.
    7. The line of characters to be read must be printed within the "printing band," which is located in the center of the clear band. The printing band is 0.22 inches high.
    8. The ink in the printed character must absorb light in the 550 to 950 nm wavelength range. The ink must not spatter or smear.
    9. The OCR print line should read:

      Form EPV: 2080164013999999999999999999020061259199$$$$$$$$cc

      Form TPV: 2080164013999999999999999999020061259199$$$$$$$$cc

      Form 1-ES for Trusts: 2080164012999999999999999999020070629199$$$$$$$$cc

      Form 1-ES for Estates: 208016403999999999999999999020070639199$$$$$$$$cc

      Form 1-ES for Individuals: 2080164013999999999999999999020070619199$$$$$$$$cc

      Form 1-ES for Joint Filers: 2080164013999999999999999999020070649199$$$$$$$$cc

      Form 4-ES for Corporations: 2080254012000000999999999mmddccyy0609199$$$$$$$$cc

      Form 3-ES for Partnerships: 2081201012000000999999999mmddccyy0609199$$$$$$$$cc

    10. For Form EPV, Form TPV and Form 1-ES the first set of nine "9"s is replaced by the taxpayer's social security number. The second set of nine "9"s is replaced by the spouse's social security number. For Form 4-ES, the first set of nine “9”s is replaced by the taxpayers FEIN number. The first “9” in the series “9199” is replaced by the check digit that is derived from positions 10 through 36. The last two "9"s in the series "9199" are replaced by the software developer's department-assigned two-digit vendor identification number.

Corporation

Position 1 - 3 Drawer Number "208"
Position 4 - 8 Tax Type Code "02540" - Corporation
Position 9 Posting Code "1" - Automatic Posting
Position 10 Tax Account Identifier "2" - FEIN
Position 11 - 16 Filler "000000"
Position 17- 25 Account Number 9 character FEIN
Position 26 - 33 Period End date 8 digit period end date (mmddccyy)
Position 34 - 35 Payment Type "06" - Estimated Tax Payment
Position 36 Filler "0"
Position 37 Check Digit "#" (See calculation instructions below)
Position 38 Voucher Type "1" - New
Position 39 - 40 Preparer ID "##" - Assigned by business staff
Position 41 - 50 Amount Paid $$$$$$$$cc

Partnership Recycling Surcharge

Position 1 - 3 Drawer Number "208"
Position 4 - 8 Tax Type Code "12010" – Partnership Recycling
Position 9 Posting Code "1" - Automatic Posting
Position 10 Tax Account Identifier "2" - FEIN
Position 11 - 16 Filler "000000"
Position 17- 25 Account Number 9 character FEIN
Position 26 - 33 Period End date 8 digit period end date (mmddccyy)
Position 34 - 35 Payment Type "06" - Estimated Tax Payment
Position 36 Filler "0"
Position 37 Check Digit "#" (See calculation instructions below)
Position 38 Voucher Type "1" - New
Position 39 - 40 Preparer ID "##" - Assigned by business staff
Position 41 - 50 Amount Paid $$$$$$$$cc

Individual

Position 1 - 3 Drawer Number "208"
Position 4 - 8 Tax Type Code "01640" - Individual Income
Position 9 Posting Code "1" - Automatic Posting
Position 10 Tax Account Identifier

"2" - FEIN
"3" - SSN
Position 11 - 19 Account Number 9 character Primary SSN or FEIN for Trusts
Position 20 - 28 Account Number 9 character spouse SSN or "999999999", if single account
Position 29 Filler "0" fill
Position 30 - 33 Period End Year "2007" - CCYY
Position 34 - 35 Payment Type "06" - Estimated Tax Payment
Position 36 Id/Est/Trst Identifier

"1" - Individual
"2" - Trust
"3" - Estate
"4" - Joint
"5" - Return Payment (EPV and TPV)

Position 37 Check Digit "#" (See calculation instructions below)
Position 38 Voucher Type "1" - New
Position 39 - 40 Preparer ID

"##" - Assigned by business staff

Position 41 - 50 Amount Paid

$$$$$$$$cc

  1. Modulus 10 – Check Digit Calculation
  1. The check digit calculation utilizes position number 10 through 36 of the CRP scan line. Fields within these character positions include tax account identifying numbers, Period end dates, and payment types.
  2. Multiply the number in positions 36, 34, 32, 30, 28, 26, 24, 22, 20, 18, 16, 14, 12, and 10 by 2. (This is every other position starting with the right most position)
  3. Add the digits in the products to the digits in the base number that were not multiplied.
  4. Subtract the sum from the next highest multiple of 10.
  5. The difference is the Check Digit.
  6. Example:

Scan Line: 20801640112000000215783910000200706141990000001300

Positions 10 – 36: 120000002157839100002007061

Right most position and every other position:

1, 0, 0, 0, 2, 5, 8, 9, 0, 0, 2, 0, 0, 1

Multiply by 2: 2, 0, 0, 0, 4, 10, 16, 18, 0, 0, 4, 0, 0, 2

Digits not multiplied (From right to left): 6, 7, 0, 0, 0, 1, 3, 7, 1, 0, 0, 0, 2

Add the digits: 1st number 2nd Number

{2+0+0+4+0+0+(1+8)+(1+6)+(1+0)+4+0+0+0+2} + {6+7+0+0+0+1+3+7+1+0+0+0+2} =

Sum: 56

Next highest multiple of 10 = 60

Subtract: 60 – 56

Check Digit: 4

  1. Miscellaneous

    Snap-sets are acceptable, provided the carbon interleaf (or carbonless treatment) does not extend into the bottom one inch of the document and all other specifications are met. For Department approval of carbon interleaf and carbonless copy forms, we will require five sets of the intact proposed form to determine whether standards have been met.

  2. Required Testing

    Documents with an OCR scan line require testing at our depository bank. Twenty to thirty unique data-filled forms containing the approved OCR scan line must be submitted to the department for testing on our bank's OCR processing equipment. The forms submitted for testing must be actual printed copies or .pdf files (photocopies are not acceptable). Test forms should be submitted to the appropriate addresses as listed under "Approval of Substitute Forms." Actual data must be submitted.

    Approval of Substitute Forms Substitute forms with 1D and 2D bar codes must be submitted to the Department for approval no later than December 28th. All other substitute forms must be submitted for approval no later than January 14th, 2008. It is also recommended that submission be made using .pdf files as e-mail attachments. Hard copy substitute forms submissions, including the OCR forms required for testing, should be mailed to the Wisconsin Department of Revenue as follows:

    Note: Overnight carriers will not deliver to a Post Office box so the physical address of 2135 Rimrock Rd Madison WI 53713 must be used in those cases.

Individual Forms
Don Holec
Processing Bureau, 3-418
2135 Rimrock Rd.
P.O. Box 8903
Madison, WI 53708-8903
Telephone: (608) 266-2588
Fax: (608) 264-6884		 Fiduciary Forms
Melanie Olson
Audit Bureau, 5-144
2135 Rimrock Rd.
P.O. Box 8904
Madison, WI 53708-8904
Telephone: (608) 266-3303
Fax: (608) 267-0834		 Corporation, Partnership and Withholding Tax Forms
Fred Bahr
Processing Bureau 3-14
2135 Rimrock Rd.
P.O. Box 8908
Madison, WI 53708-8908
Telephone: (608) 266-3120
Fax: (608) 264-6884
Forms 1CNP, 1CNS
Don Holec
Processing Bureau, 3-418
2135 Rimrock Rd.
P.O. Box 8903
Madison, WI 53708-8903
Telephone: (608) 266-2588
Fax: (608) 264-6884		 Sales Tax Forms
Michael O'Connor
Customer Service and Education Bureau 5-77
2135 Rimrock Rd.
P.O. Box 8949
Madison, WI 53708-8949
Telephone: (608) 267-1347
Fax: (608) 267-1030		  

Last updated December 30, 2008