WASHINGTON — Issuers of two kinds of direct-pay bonds will have to file separate 8038-CP forms for each maturity of their bonds, the Internal Revenue Service said in revisions to the forms released Wednesday.
The two types of direct-pay bonds are qualified energy conservation bonds and new clean renewable energy bonds.
But the issuers of qualified school construction bonds and qualified zone academy bonds, who issue these bonds with multiple maturities, can now file for refundable credit payments for all of the maturities on one form.
The IRS announced last April that they would make the changes to the 8038-CP and included those changes in the form’s instructions on Wednesday.
“The new requirement carries out the IRS’ interpretation of the code and calculations of the tax credit,” said Rick Ballard, a partner at Ballard Spahr. “It affects dollars and cents on the bottom line.”
The IRS makes calculations of payments on the basis of the interest costs of each maturity. As a result, by filing separately, the issuer may potentially receive lower subsidy payments from the government than it would have if the calculations were figured for the whole issue, Ballard said.
However, the IRS said the form change will not affect how the tax credit is calculated or the amount of the subsidy payment to issuers.
The last time the 8038-CP form and instructions were changed was in June 2010 to include the tax credit bonds that issuers were permitted to issue as direct-pay bonds under the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act, according to Sandra Westin, a tax law specialist with the IRS.
The IRS also made minor changes to the 8038-GC return form, which is for small tax-exempt governmental bond issues, leases and installment sales.
