18- 125 C.M.R. ch. 102, § .01 - DEFINITIONS

As used in this rule, the following terms have the following meanings:

A. "Automated Clearing House" (ACH) means a central distribution and settlement point for the electronic clearing of debits and credits between financial institutions. An automated clearing house may be a federal reserve bank or any organization that operates as a processing agent for ACH transactions between financial institutions pursuant to an operating agreement with the North American Clearing House Association.

B. "ACH credit method" mean an electronic funds transfer using the ACH network that is initiated by a taxpayer through its financial institution to credit (i.e., deposit) a payment amount to a designated State of Maine bank account and debit (i.e., withdraw) that amount from the taxpayer's bank account for a payment amount.

C. "ACH debit method" means an electronic funds transfer using the ACH network that is initiated by MRS, upon taxpayer instruction, to debit a taxpayer's designated bank account for a payment amount and credit that amount to a designated State of Maine bank account.

D. "ACH network" means the electronic funds transfer system governed by the rules of the North American Clearing House Association.

E. "Addendum record" means an ACH record type that carries the supplemental data needed to completely identify an electronic payment to the receiving financial institution and the payee.

F. "Cash Concentration or Disbursement Plus Addendum" (CCD+) means a standard ACH transaction format that is accompanied by one addendum record.

G. "Customer Initiated Entry" (CIE+) means a standard ACH transaction format. A CIE entry is a credit entry that is initiated by or on behalf of the holder of a consumer account to effect a transfer of funds to the deposit account of a receiver. It is accompanied by one addendum record in the CCD+. CIE+ entries were created for electronic funds transfer for consumer bill payments.

H. "Combined annual tax liability" means a taxpayer's tax liability for the prior calendar year for all taxes administered by MRS. The tax liability is measured as tax reported by the taxpayer, or as adjusted by MRS, and includes estimated tax liabilities required to be paid. For example, the combined annual tax liability for an individual income tax return equals the tax liability on Form 1040ME after application of non-refundable tax credits, either as reported by the taxpayer or as subsequently adjusted by MRS, less Maine income tax withheld and any applicable refundable tax credits. Any tax liability that is under reconsideration or judicial review and any assessment of tax for which the reconsideration period under 36 M.R.S. § 151 has not yet expired as of the last day of the prior calendar year is not considered part of the combined annual tax liability.

I. "Corporate Trade Exchange" (CTX) means a standard ACH transaction format that accommodates multiple addenda records.

J. "Electronic Funds Transfer" (EFT) means a standard ACH funds transfer to credit or debit a bank account or wire transfer. EFT does not include payments by check, draft, or similar paper instrument.

K. "Intra-bank transfer" means the transfer of funds from a depositor's account to a State of Maine bank account within the same financial institution.

L. "Maine Revenue Services" (MRS) means the Maine Bureau of Revenue Services.

M. "North American Clearing House Association" (NACHA) means the national regulatory body that establishes the standards, rules, and procedures governing the ACH Network.

N. "Prenotification" means a zero-dollar entry that may be sent through the ACH at least six (6) business days prior to live entries affecting an account at a financial institution.

O. "Routing Transit Number" (RTN) means the 9-digit identification number assigned to a financial institution by the American Banking Association.

P. "Service provider" means a person that performs accounting, tax preparation, or other similar services and remits tax payments on behalf of its clients. Examples of service providers are payroll processors as that term is defined in Title 10, chapter 222; accountants; third-party withholders such as banks; and bill-paying services.

Q. "Settlement date" means the date an electronic payment is deposited in a bank account designated by the State of Maine for deposit of electronic tax payments or the date a prenotification transaction occurs.

R. "Standard EFT payment methods" means the ACH credit method or the ACH debit method of electronic funds transfer.

S. "Taxpayer identification number" means the account number assigned by MRS to a person's tax account.

T. "Tax Payment convention" (TXP) means the standard format approved by the Bankers EDI Council of NACHA that identifies tax payments in the addendum record portion of a CCD+ transaction.

U. "Wire transfer" means the same-day transfer of funds from a depositor's account to a State of Maine bank account using a wire transfer payment system such as Fedwire. Wire transfers do not contain a standard addendum record and may be used only in an emergency situation.

Notes

18- 125 C.M.R. ch. 102, § .01