26 U.S.C. § 6011 — General requirement of return, statement, or list

(a) General rule.—When required by regulations prescribed by the Secretary any person made liable for any tax imposed by this title, or with respect to the collection thereof, shall make a return or statement according to the forms and regulations prescribed by the Secretary. Every person required to make a return or statement shall include therein the information required by such forms or regulations.

(b) Identification of taxpayer.—The Secretary is authorized to require such information with respect to persons subject to the taxes imposed by chapter 21 or chapter 24 as is necessary or helpful in securing proper identification of such persons.

(c) Returns, etc., of DISCS and former DISCS.—

(1) Records and information.—A DISC, a former DISC, and persons holding (directly or indirectly) stock in a DISC or former DISC shall keep such records, and shall file such information, as the Secretary shall prescribe by regulations.

(2) Returns.—A DISC shall file for each taxable year such returns as the Secretary shall prescribe by regulations.

(e) Regulations requiring returns by electronic filing.—

(1) In general.—The Secretary shall prescribe regulations providing standards for determining which returns must be filed on magnetic media or in other machine-readable form. The Secretary may not require returns of any tax imposed by subtitle A on individuals, estates, and trusts to be other than on paper forms supplied by the Secretary.

(2) Requirements of regulations.—In prescribing regulations under paragraph (1), the Secretary—

(A) shall not require any person to file returns on magnetic media unless such person is required to file at least 10 returns during the calendar year, and

(B) shall take into account (among other relevant factors) the ability of the taxpayer to comply at reasonable cost with the requirements of such regulations.

(3) Special rule for tax return preparers.—

(A) In general.—The Secretary shall require than any individual income tax return prepared by a tax return preparer be filed on magnetic media if—

(i) such return is filed by such tax return preparer, and

(ii) such tax return preparer is a specified tax return preparer for the calendar year during which such return is filed.

(B) Specified tax return preparer.—For purposes of this paragraph, the term "specified tax return preparer" means, with respect to any calendar year, any tax return preparer unless such preparer reasonably expects to file 10 or fewer individual income tax returns during such calendar year.

(C) Individual income tax return.—For purposes of this paragraph, the term "individual income tax return" means any return of the tax imposed by subtitle A on individuals, estates, or trusts.

(4) Partnership returns.—Notwithstanding paragraph (2)(A), the Secretary shall require partnerships having more than 100 partners to file returns on magnetic media.

(f) Promotion of electronic filing.—The Secretary is authorized to promote the benefits of and encourage the use of electronic tax administration programs, as they become available, through the use of mass communications and other means.

(g) Disclosure of reportable transaction to tax-exempt entity.—Any taxable party to a prohibited tax shelter transaction (as defined in section 4965(e)) shall by statement disclose to any tax-exempt entity (as defined in section 4965(c)) which is a party to such transaction that such transaction is such a prohibited tax shelter transaction.

(h) Income, estate, and gift taxes.—For requirement that returns of income, estate, and gift taxes be made whether or not there is tax liability, see subparts B and C.

Editorial note. Source credits are preserved as editorial metadata derived from the official Office of the Law Revision Counsel publication.

Editorial note. Aug. 16, 1954, ch. 736, 68A Stat. 732; as amended through Pub. L. 116–25, title II, § 2301(a), July 1, 2019, 133 Stat. 1012, and subsequent amendments.