Iowa Admin. Code r. 701-8.2 - [Effective 3/26/2025] Department forms

(1) Generally. Department forms may be available in electronic format, on paper, or in other formats as prescribed by the director. Communications with the department, for which department forms have been created, shall be carried out using those forms or substitute forms.

(2) Compliance with department forms. Each direction of every instruction contained within or accompanying department forms shall be followed, and each question within or accompanying every form shall be answered as if the instructions and forms were contained in these rules.

(3) Obtaining department forms. Department forms and instructions may be obtained from Taxpayer Services, Iowa Department of Revenue, Hoover State Office Building, P.O. Box 10457, Des Moines, Iowa 50306-0457; by telephoning 800.367.3388 or 515.281.3114; or on the department's website at revenue.iowa.gov.

(4) Filing department forms. A department form may be filed with the department as directed on the department form or in the corresponding instructions. Filing a department form using any other method requires prior approval from the department. Attempting to file a department form using an unapproved method may, at the discretion of the director, result in the rejection of the form and all information contained therein.

(5) Electronic reporting. No prior approval is necessary for electronic reporting when the reporting is in accordance with department policy. Any other electronic reporting of a department form requires department approval unless otherwise authorized. Electronic reporting may be required for certain taxpayers and tax types. Additional information regarding electronic reporting for income taxes is available at iowaforms.gov. Electronic forms for other tax types administered by the department are available through GovConnectIowa.

(6) Signatures.

a. Paper filings. Unless expressly prohibited by state or federal law, a return, application, or other form may be submitted using an original signature, or a copy or facsimile of a signature. For purposes of this rule, "copy or facsimile of a signature" may be a copy or facsimile of an original signature or a copy or facsimile of an electronic signature.

b. Electronic filings. For income tax returns submitted through the IRS e-file program, see rule 701-8.5 (422). For all other returns, applications, or other documents, the following applies. Unless expressly prohibited by state or federal law, a return, application or other form accepted by the department as filed by email or other electronic means may be submitted using an electronic signature or a signature designated by the department in lieu of a handwritten signature. For purposes of this rule, "electronic signature" means an electronic sound, symbol, or process attached to or logically associated with a tax return, application, or other document filed with the department and executed or adopted by a person with the intent to sign the return, application, or other document filed with the department. Electronic signatures appear in many forms and may be created by many different technologies. No specific technology is required. For purposes of this rule, "signature designated by the department" means a symbol or other information that is provided by the department to the taxpayer or the taxpayer's representative and is to serve instead of the handwritten signature of the taxpayer. In a situation where the taxpayer or the taxpayer's representative has submitted a return, application, or other document to the department by email, GovConnectIowa, or other electronic means with an electronic signature or signature designated by the department, the department will collect information from the signator to establish the signator's identity.

This rule is intended to implement Iowa Code sections 421.14, 422.13, 422.14, 422.16, 422.36, 423.31, 450.53, 452A.60, and 453A.14.

Notes

Iowa Admin. Code r. 701-8.2

ARC 9875B, IAB 11/30/11, effective 1/4/12; ARC 0398C, IAB 10/17/12, effective 11/21/12; ARC 1303C, IAB 2/5/14, effective 3/12/14; ARC 2915C, IAB 1/18/17, effective 2/22/17; ARC 5291C, IAB 12/2/20, effective 11/10/20

Adopted by IAB February 19, 2025/Volume XLVII, Number 17, effective 3/26/2025