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Can U.S. Tax Forms Be Legally HTMLified?
H&R Block gave me someone else's personal info by mistake. What do I do?Financial privacy (U.S.) when using paid tax preparer or tax prep softwarecan small loans be considered gifts for tax purposes?In practice, how bad can this get?Income tax from digital goodsCan people use an LLC in Delaware to legally avoid tax in his home country?Can an employer owe money for an employee's income tax?sole proprietorship tax questionEffect of SCOTUS sales tax decision on origin-tax statesIs Indonesia tax based on residency?
If I want to have a U.S. government tax form, like a W-9, be able to be filled out on my website, can I convert it to html (so that it looks as identical as possible to the original form), have the user fill it out, and then export the results to a pdf or image to submit to the IRS? Or does the thing that I submit to the IRS have to be a scan or physical copy of the pdf that the IRS provides?
software tax-law
asked Jun 4 at 20:12
kloddantkloddant
17315
New contributor
kloddant is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
|
show 5 more comments
If I want to have a U.S. government tax form, like a W-9, be able to be filled out on my website, can I convert it to html (so that it looks as identical as possible to the original form), have the user fill it out, and then export the results to a pdf or image to submit to the IRS? Or does the thing that I submit to the IRS have to be a scan or physical copy of the pdf that the IRS provides?
software tax-law
asked Jun 4 at 20:12
kloddantkloddant
17315
New contributor
kloddant is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
3
Generally speaking, you should be VERY careful when submitting to the IRS other people's forms. I would recommend you talk to your lawyer and explain exactly what you intend to do.
– Jack Fleeting
Jun 4 at 20:58
Just so you know "so that it looks as identical as possible to the original form" - HTML is notoriously terrible for standing in for a typesetting system.
– whatsisname
Jun 5 at 5:08
@whatsisname I am curious what features of a W-9 cannot be replicated in html. All it has is some text, some borders, and two places with background color. Since it would not have to be responsive, I could measure out the exact distances between everything and absolute position everything. Would this not make it look indistinguishable, provided that I use a good reset.css script and the right font? Per the answer below, I am probably not going to go with this option anyway, but I'd still like to know. Are you saying the form would have weird letter spacing and/or line height?
– kloddant
Jun 5 at 13:04
I actually think the best solution for me might be to render the form inside an html canvas as an image and then have the user be able to write text on top of the image and then combine the text and image when the user clicks the save button. That is probably what I'll go with.
– kloddant
Jun 5 at 13:10
1
@kloddant: and the clients browsers will happily ignore those positioning, use client specified fonts, and your overall system won't be ADA complaint. It's a fools errand. You can however make an HTML form look similar, then use the entered data in a proper typesetting system to make PDFs of the forms.
– whatsisname
Jun 5 at 13:59
|
show 5 more comments
If I want to have a U.S. government tax form, like a W-9, be able to be filled out on my website, can I convert it to html (so that it looks as identical as possible to the original form), have the user fill it out, and then export the results to a pdf or image to submit to the IRS? Or does the thing that I submit to the IRS have to be a scan or physical copy of the pdf that the IRS provides?
software tax-law
asked Jun 4 at 20:12
kloddantkloddant
17315
New contributor
kloddant is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
If I want to have a U.S. government tax form, like a W-9, be able to be filled out on my website, can I convert it to html (so that it looks as identical as possible to the original form), have the user fill it out, and then export the results to a pdf or image to submit to the IRS? Or does the thing that I submit to the IRS have to be a scan or physical copy of the pdf that the IRS provides?
software tax-law
software tax-law
asked Jun 4 at 20:12
kloddantkloddant
17315
New contributor
kloddant is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked Jun 4 at 20:12
kloddantkloddant
17315
New contributor
kloddant is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked Jun 4 at 20:12
kloddantkloddant
17315
New contributor
kloddant is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked Jun 4 at 20:12
kloddantkloddant
17315
asked Jun 4 at 20:12
kloddantkloddant
17315
17315
New contributor
kloddant is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
New contributor
kloddant is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
3
Generally speaking, you should be VERY careful when submitting to the IRS other people's forms. I would recommend you talk to your lawyer and explain exactly what you intend to do.
– Jack Fleeting
Jun 4 at 20:58
Just so you know "so that it looks as identical as possible to the original form" - HTML is notoriously terrible for standing in for a typesetting system.
– whatsisname
Jun 5 at 5:08
@whatsisname I am curious what features of a W-9 cannot be replicated in html. All it has is some text, some borders, and two places with background color. Since it would not have to be responsive, I could measure out the exact distances between everything and absolute position everything. Would this not make it look indistinguishable, provided that I use a good reset.css script and the right font? Per the answer below, I am probably not going to go with this option anyway, but I'd still like to know. Are you saying the form would have weird letter spacing and/or line height?
– kloddant
Jun 5 at 13:04
I actually think the best solution for me might be to render the form inside an html canvas as an image and then have the user be able to write text on top of the image and then combine the text and image when the user clicks the save button. That is probably what I'll go with.
– kloddant
Jun 5 at 13:10
1
@kloddant: and the clients browsers will happily ignore those positioning, use client specified fonts, and your overall system won't be ADA complaint. It's a fools errand. You can however make an HTML form look similar, then use the entered data in a proper typesetting system to make PDFs of the forms.
– whatsisname
Jun 5 at 13:59
|
show 5 more comments
3
Generally speaking, you should be VERY careful when submitting to the IRS other people's forms. I would recommend you talk to your lawyer and explain exactly what you intend to do.
– Jack Fleeting
Jun 4 at 20:58
Just so you know "so that it looks as identical as possible to the original form" - HTML is notoriously terrible for standing in for a typesetting system.
– whatsisname
Jun 5 at 5:08
@whatsisname I am curious what features of a W-9 cannot be replicated in html. All it has is some text, some borders, and two places with background color. Since it would not have to be responsive, I could measure out the exact distances between everything and absolute position everything. Would this not make it look indistinguishable, provided that I use a good reset.css script and the right font? Per the answer below, I am probably not going to go with this option anyway, but I'd still like to know. Are you saying the form would have weird letter spacing and/or line height?
– kloddant
Jun 5 at 13:04
I actually think the best solution for me might be to render the form inside an html canvas as an image and then have the user be able to write text on top of the image and then combine the text and image when the user clicks the save button. That is probably what I'll go with.
– kloddant
Jun 5 at 13:10
1
@kloddant: and the clients browsers will happily ignore those positioning, use client specified fonts, and your overall system won't be ADA complaint. It's a fools errand. You can however make an HTML form look similar, then use the entered data in a proper typesetting system to make PDFs of the forms.
– whatsisname
Jun 5 at 13:59
3
3
Generally speaking, you should be VERY careful when submitting to the IRS other people's forms. I would recommend you talk to your lawyer and explain exactly what you intend to do.
– Jack Fleeting
Jun 4 at 20:58
Generally speaking, you should be VERY careful when submitting to the IRS other people's forms. I would recommend you talk to your lawyer and explain exactly what you intend to do.
– Jack Fleeting
Jun 4 at 20:58
Just so you know "so that it looks as identical as possible to the original form" - HTML is notoriously terrible for standing in for a typesetting system.
– whatsisname
Jun 5 at 5:08
Just so you know "so that it looks as identical as possible to the original form" - HTML is notoriously terrible for standing in for a typesetting system.
– whatsisname
Jun 5 at 5:08
@whatsisname I am curious what features of a W-9 cannot be replicated in html. All it has is some text, some borders, and two places with background color. Since it would not have to be responsive, I could measure out the exact distances between everything and absolute position everything. Would this not make it look indistinguishable, provided that I use a good reset.css script and the right font? Per the answer below, I am probably not going to go with this option anyway, but I'd still like to know. Are you saying the form would have weird letter spacing and/or line height?
– kloddant
Jun 5 at 13:04
@whatsisname I am curious what features of a W-9 cannot be replicated in html. All it has is some text, some borders, and two places with background color. Since it would not have to be responsive, I could measure out the exact distances between everything and absolute position everything. Would this not make it look indistinguishable, provided that I use a good reset.css script and the right font? Per the answer below, I am probably not going to go with this option anyway, but I'd still like to know. Are you saying the form would have weird letter spacing and/or line height?
– kloddant
Jun 5 at 13:04
I actually think the best solution for me might be to render the form inside an html canvas as an image and then have the user be able to write text on top of the image and then combine the text and image when the user clicks the save button. That is probably what I'll go with.
– kloddant
Jun 5 at 13:10
I actually think the best solution for me might be to render the form inside an html canvas as an image and then have the user be able to write text on top of the image and then combine the text and image when the user clicks the save button. That is probably what I'll go with.
– kloddant
Jun 5 at 13:10
1
1
@kloddant: and the clients browsers will happily ignore those positioning, use client specified fonts, and your overall system won't be ADA complaint. It's a fools errand. You can however make an HTML form look similar, then use the entered data in a proper typesetting system to make PDFs of the forms.
– whatsisname
Jun 5 at 13:59
@kloddant: and the clients browsers will happily ignore those positioning, use client specified fonts, and your overall system won't be ADA complaint. It's a fools errand. You can however make an HTML form look similar, then use the entered data in a proper typesetting system to make PDFs of the forms.
– whatsisname
Jun 5 at 13:59
|
show 5 more comments
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
There are no copyright restrictions, since tax forms are government works and statutorily not protected. The IRS in fact says that you can use a substantially identical form for W9, as long as you don't do certain things and do do other required things. You do not submit W-9 to the IRS, but they provide a document describing substitute tax forms. Basically, they say "The IRS accepts quality substitute tax forms that are consistent with the official forms and have no adverse impact on processing". You can't "just do it", without approval, but you might be able to get approval if your document follows the rules. If the output exactly reproduces the official form except for the parts which you must remove, then it would probably pass muster and it would not matter that the engine that you use is HTML. You can also remove the color screening -- read the rules to see what all is immutable vs. changeable.
answered Jun 4 at 20:31
user6726user6726
64.7k463119
Okay, thanks! If I cannot "just do it" without approval, then I probably won't, but it is good to know that requesting approval is an option if I cannot think of a better solution to this problem.
– kloddant
Jun 5 at 12:58
You probably do not need approval, quoted from the linked document (section 2.1.1) "If you produce any substitute tax forms that fully comply or follow the changes specifically outlined by the Program, then you can generate your own substitute forms without further approval. "
– Justin Ohms
Jun 5 at 21:05
See also p2 of the W-9 instructions. Like the other forms you solicit from someone else (W-8 series and W-4 series), the 'declare under penalty of perjury' element must specify exactly the same content -- not less and not more (you can't use IRS as a 'lever' to demand things from your employees, customers, partners, etc).
– dave_thompson_085
Jun 5 at 23:19
add a comment |
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There are no copyright restrictions, since tax forms are government works and statutorily not protected. The IRS in fact says that you can use a substantially identical form for W9, as long as you don't do certain things and do do other required things. You do not submit W-9 to the IRS, but they provide a document describing substitute tax forms. Basically, they say "The IRS accepts quality substitute tax forms that are consistent with the official forms and have no adverse impact on processing". You can't "just do it", without approval, but you might be able to get approval if your document follows the rules. If the output exactly reproduces the official form except for the parts which you must remove, then it would probably pass muster and it would not matter that the engine that you use is HTML. You can also remove the color screening -- read the rules to see what all is immutable vs. changeable.
answered Jun 4 at 20:31
user6726user6726
64.7k463119
Okay, thanks! If I cannot "just do it" without approval, then I probably won't, but it is good to know that requesting approval is an option if I cannot think of a better solution to this problem.
– kloddant
Jun 5 at 12:58
You probably do not need approval, quoted from the linked document (section 2.1.1) "If you produce any substitute tax forms that fully comply or follow the changes specifically outlined by the Program, then you can generate your own substitute forms without further approval. "
– Justin Ohms
Jun 5 at 21:05
See also p2 of the W-9 instructions. Like the other forms you solicit from someone else (W-8 series and W-4 series), the 'declare under penalty of perjury' element must specify exactly the same content -- not less and not more (you can't use IRS as a 'lever' to demand things from your employees, customers, partners, etc).
– dave_thompson_085
Jun 5 at 23:19
add a comment |
There are no copyright restrictions, since tax forms are government works and statutorily not protected. The IRS in fact says that you can use a substantially identical form for W9, as long as you don't do certain things and do do other required things. You do not submit W-9 to the IRS, but they provide a document describing substitute tax forms. Basically, they say "The IRS accepts quality substitute tax forms that are consistent with the official forms and have no adverse impact on processing". You can't "just do it", without approval, but you might be able to get approval if your document follows the rules. If the output exactly reproduces the official form except for the parts which you must remove, then it would probably pass muster and it would not matter that the engine that you use is HTML. You can also remove the color screening -- read the rules to see what all is immutable vs. changeable.
answered Jun 4 at 20:31
user6726user6726
64.7k463119
Okay, thanks! If I cannot "just do it" without approval, then I probably won't, but it is good to know that requesting approval is an option if I cannot think of a better solution to this problem.
– kloddant
Jun 5 at 12:58
You probably do not need approval, quoted from the linked document (section 2.1.1) "If you produce any substitute tax forms that fully comply or follow the changes specifically outlined by the Program, then you can generate your own substitute forms without further approval. "
– Justin Ohms
Jun 5 at 21:05
See also p2 of the W-9 instructions. Like the other forms you solicit from someone else (W-8 series and W-4 series), the 'declare under penalty of perjury' element must specify exactly the same content -- not less and not more (you can't use IRS as a 'lever' to demand things from your employees, customers, partners, etc).
– dave_thompson_085
Jun 5 at 23:19
add a comment |
There are no copyright restrictions, since tax forms are government works and statutorily not protected. The IRS in fact says that you can use a substantially identical form for W9, as long as you don't do certain things and do do other required things. You do not submit W-9 to the IRS, but they provide a document describing substitute tax forms. Basically, they say "The IRS accepts quality substitute tax forms that are consistent with the official forms and have no adverse impact on processing". You can't "just do it", without approval, but you might be able to get approval if your document follows the rules. If the output exactly reproduces the official form except for the parts which you must remove, then it would probably pass muster and it would not matter that the engine that you use is HTML. You can also remove the color screening -- read the rules to see what all is immutable vs. changeable.
answered Jun 4 at 20:31
user6726user6726
64.7k463119
There are no copyright restrictions, since tax forms are government works and statutorily not protected. The IRS in fact says that you can use a substantially identical form for W9, as long as you don't do certain things and do do other required things. You do not submit W-9 to the IRS, but they provide a document describing substitute tax forms. Basically, they say "The IRS accepts quality substitute tax forms that are consistent with the official forms and have no adverse impact on processing". You can't "just do it", without approval, but you might be able to get approval if your document follows the rules. If the output exactly reproduces the official form except for the parts which you must remove, then it would probably pass muster and it would not matter that the engine that you use is HTML. You can also remove the color screening -- read the rules to see what all is immutable vs. changeable.
answered Jun 4 at 20:31
user6726user6726
64.7k463119
edited Jun 5 at 1:27
answered Jun 4 at 20:31
user6726user6726
64.7k463119
answered Jun 4 at 20:31
user6726user6726
64.7k463119
answered Jun 4 at 20:31
user6726user6726
64.7k463119
64.7k463119
Okay, thanks! If I cannot "just do it" without approval, then I probably won't, but it is good to know that requesting approval is an option if I cannot think of a better solution to this problem.
– kloddant
Jun 5 at 12:58
You probably do not need approval, quoted from the linked document (section 2.1.1) "If you produce any substitute tax forms that fully comply or follow the changes specifically outlined by the Program, then you can generate your own substitute forms without further approval. "
– Justin Ohms
Jun 5 at 21:05
See also p2 of the W-9 instructions. Like the other forms you solicit from someone else (W-8 series and W-4 series), the 'declare under penalty of perjury' element must specify exactly the same content -- not less and not more (you can't use IRS as a 'lever' to demand things from your employees, customers, partners, etc).
– dave_thompson_085
Jun 5 at 23:19
add a comment |
Okay, thanks! If I cannot "just do it" without approval, then I probably won't, but it is good to know that requesting approval is an option if I cannot think of a better solution to this problem.
– kloddant
Jun 5 at 12:58
You probably do not need approval, quoted from the linked document (section 2.1.1) "If you produce any substitute tax forms that fully comply or follow the changes specifically outlined by the Program, then you can generate your own substitute forms without further approval. "
– Justin Ohms
Jun 5 at 21:05
See also p2 of the W-9 instructions. Like the other forms you solicit from someone else (W-8 series and W-4 series), the 'declare under penalty of perjury' element must specify exactly the same content -- not less and not more (you can't use IRS as a 'lever' to demand things from your employees, customers, partners, etc).
– dave_thompson_085
Jun 5 at 23:19
Okay, thanks! If I cannot "just do it" without approval, then I probably won't, but it is good to know that requesting approval is an option if I cannot think of a better solution to this problem.
– kloddant
Jun 5 at 12:58
Okay, thanks! If I cannot "just do it" without approval, then I probably won't, but it is good to know that requesting approval is an option if I cannot think of a better solution to this problem.
– kloddant
Jun 5 at 12:58
You probably do not need approval, quoted from the linked document (section 2.1.1) "If you produce any substitute tax forms that fully comply or follow the changes specifically outlined by the Program, then you can generate your own substitute forms without further approval. "
– Justin Ohms
Jun 5 at 21:05
You probably do not need approval, quoted from the linked document (section 2.1.1) "If you produce any substitute tax forms that fully comply or follow the changes specifically outlined by the Program, then you can generate your own substitute forms without further approval. "
– Justin Ohms
Jun 5 at 21:05
See also p2 of the W-9 instructions. Like the other forms you solicit from someone else (W-8 series and W-4 series), the 'declare under penalty of perjury' element must specify exactly the same content -- not less and not more (you can't use IRS as a 'lever' to demand things from your employees, customers, partners, etc).
– dave_thompson_085
Jun 5 at 23:19
See also p2 of the W-9 instructions. Like the other forms you solicit from someone else (W-8 series and W-4 series), the 'declare under penalty of perjury' element must specify exactly the same content -- not less and not more (you can't use IRS as a 'lever' to demand things from your employees, customers, partners, etc).
– dave_thompson_085
Jun 5 at 23:19
add a comment |
kloddant is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
kloddant is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
kloddant is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
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3
Generally speaking, you should be VERY careful when submitting to the IRS other people's forms. I would recommend you talk to your lawyer and explain exactly what you intend to do.
– Jack Fleeting
Jun 4 at 20:58
Just so you know "so that it looks as identical as possible to the original form" - HTML is notoriously terrible for standing in for a typesetting system.
– whatsisname
Jun 5 at 5:08
@whatsisname I am curious what features of a W-9 cannot be replicated in html. All it has is some text, some borders, and two places with background color. Since it would not have to be responsive, I could measure out the exact distances between everything and absolute position everything. Would this not make it look indistinguishable, provided that I use a good reset.css script and the right font? Per the answer below, I am probably not going to go with this option anyway, but I'd still like to know. Are you saying the form would have weird letter spacing and/or line height?
– kloddant
Jun 5 at 13:04
I actually think the best solution for me might be to render the form inside an html canvas as an image and then have the user be able to write text on top of the image and then combine the text and image when the user clicks the save button. That is probably what I'll go with.
– kloddant
Jun 5 at 13:10
1
@kloddant: and the clients browsers will happily ignore those positioning, use client specified fonts, and your overall system won't be ADA complaint. It's a fools errand. You can however make an HTML form look similar, then use the entered data in a proper typesetting system to make PDFs of the forms.
– whatsisname
Jun 5 at 13:59