Administrative Procedure  AP 603: Filing and Tax Forms

Date:	02/08/2022
Organization:	Massachusetts Department of Revenue
Referenced Sources:	Massachusetts General Laws

603.1. Filing Requirements in General

Chapter 62C and other chapters of the Massachusetts General Laws require taxpayers to file returns and other documents with the Massachusetts Department of Revenue (DOR).  Any return required to be filed under these chapters must include a signed statement that the return is made under the penalties of perjury.  In addition, certain corporations, companies, organizations and associations must have returns signed by the treasurer or assistant treasurer or, in their absence, any principal officer of the corporation, company, organization, or association.

For more information on filing requirements by tax type, see the appropriate chapters and sections of Massachusetts General Laws and applicable regulations as listed below.

Tax Type	General Law	Regulation
Income	c. 62C, §§ 6,7
Withholding	c. 62C, §§ 8,10	830 CMR 62B.2.1 830 CMR 62C.8.1
PFML contribution	c. 175M	830 CMR 175M.8.1
Corporate Excise (including Insurance premium and financial institution excise)	c. 62C, §§ 11,12,13,14,15 c. 176l, § 11	830 CMR 62C.11.1 830 CMR 176I.1.1
Sales, Use, Meals Tax (including marijuana retailers)	c. 62C, §§ 8A, 16(h), (i)	830 CMR 62C.16.2 830 CMR 64N.1.1
Gasoline Excise	c. 62C, § 16(a)	830 CMR 64A.4.1
Cigarette Excise (including vaping products)	c. 62C, § 16(c), (c1/2), (d)
Special Fuels	c. 62C, § 16(e)	830 CMR 64E.4.1
Imported Fuels	c. 62C, § 16(f)	830 CMR 64F.6.1
Room Occupancy Excise	c. 62C, § 16(g)	830 CMR 62C.16.1
Jet Fuel	c. 62C, § 16(j)	830 CMR 64J.4.1
Alcoholic Beverage Excise	c. 62C, § 16(k)
Direct Broadcast Satellite Service Provider	c. 62C, § 16(l)
Estate Tax	c. 62C, § 17

603.2. Tax Forms

DOR is charged with the preparation and distribution of tax forms, but it is ultimately the taxpayer's responsibility to obtain and file the proper return.  DOR makes every effort to provide accurate forms, but recognizes that errors may occur.  Therefore, nothing contained in a tax form supersedes, alters or otherwise affects the provisions of the Massachusetts General Laws or any other source of the law.  Information regarding errors is communicated to taxpayers and tax practitioners through DOR’s website or other published documents.

Forms, instructions and schedules needed for filing may be obtained from:

• DOR’s website at www.mass.gov/dor or

• toll-free in Massachusetts at 1(800) 392-6089

During the filing season, individual income tax booklets are available at many libraries. Please note, any updates and corrections to the booklets will be published on DOR’s website at www.mass.gov/dor.

603.3. Reproduction of Tax Forms

DOR will accept reproductions of most tax forms and supporting schedules except forms designed to be readable by optical character recognition (OCR) equipment or that will be imaged. Generally, reproductions must be:

• facsimiles of the official forms produced by photo‑offset, photoengraving, photocopying or other similar reproduction process; either in black ink on white paper or of the same paper and ink color as the original form;
• legible in terms of the actual reproduction and the filled‑in data; and substantially the same size as the original form.

For further guidelines on reproducing forms, schedules and supporting statements and obtaining prior approval from DOR when needed, see Technical Information Release (TIR) 95-8 Reproduction of Department of Revenue Forms; Handbook for Reproduction of Department of Revenue Forms (for current year) and DOR E-File Information Guide on DOR’s website at www.mass.gov/dor.

DOR reserves the right to reject any form that does not comply with these specifications.  Such rejection may subject the taxpayer to late penalties and/or interest charges.

603.4. Electronic Filing Requirements

The Commissioner is authorized to prescribe the manner, format and medium in which any return, document, or tax payment is filed with or transmitted to DOR.  Accordingly, the Commissioner has issued and periodically updates and expands electronic filing requirements applicable to specified taxpayers.  A list of electronic filing requirements is available in the DOR E-File Information Guide, which can be found on DOR’s website at the following link: https://www.mass.gov/info-details/dor-e-filing-and-payment-requirements.

603.5. Electronic Signature and Storage of Taxpayer Declaration for Electronic Filing

DOR will permit a taxpayer’s Declaration for Electronic Filing, the Form M-8453 series, to be signed electronically by the taxpayer and stored electronically by the electronic return originator (ERO) if the ERO’s electronic signature and storage procedures meet the following technical standards and security provisions:

1.  Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Rev. Proc. 97-22 or its successors;

2.  Standards established by the IRS for electronic signature and storage of the comparable federal Declaration for Electronic Filing;

3.  DOR Directive (DD) 95-2, Electronic Storage and Reproduction of Taxpayer Records, or its successors;

4.  Massachusetts Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (G.L. c. 110G);

5.  Protection of Massachusetts tax return information under G.L. c. 62C, § 74;

6.  The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants auditing standards applicable to service organizations; and

7.  Any other applicable federal and state laws and regulations relating to electronic signature and storage of personally identifiable information.

As required in DD 99-13, Declaration for Electronic Filing Forms, Forms 8453 must be retained by the ERO on the ERO’s business premises for a period of three years from the date the return to which the Form M-8453 relates was filed.  Additionally, these forms must be accessible according to their Document Control Number for easy retrieval, and must be available for inspection and examination at any reasonable time by the Commissioner or the Commissioner’s duly appointed representative. The Commissioner reserves the right to make future modifications, effective prospectively, to requirements affecting taxpayer declaration forms. 

In addition, DOR recently issued DD 20-1: Acceptance of Electronic Signatures, which provides additional guidance with respect to the Department’s practices and procedures concerning acceptance of electronic signatures on various administrative forms received by the Department.

 

REFERENCES:
G.L. c. 62C, §§ 5, 6, 7, 8, 8A, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16(a), (c), (c1/2), (d), (e), (f), (g), (h), (i), (j), (k), (l), 17, 74
G.L. c. 110G
G.L. c. 175M
G.L. c. 176l, § 11
830 CMR 62B.2.1
830 CMR 62C.8.1
830 CMR 62C.11.1
830 CMR 62C.16.1
830 CMR 62C.16.2
830 CMR 64A.4.1
830 CMR 64E.4.1
830 CMR 64F.6.1
830 CMR 64J.4.1
830 CMR 64N.1.1
830 CMR 175M.8.1
830 CMR 176I.1.1
TIR 95-8
TIR 16-9
DD 95-2
DD 99-13
DD 20-1