IRS e-file Transmission Packaging Strategy

1. IRS e-fileTransmission PackagingStrategy Based on exploratory work by IBM and IRS Presented by Glenda Hayes/MITRE International Tax Agencies Conference April 29, 2002

2. eFile Transport and Packaging Objectives • Define standard wire format and protocol for business return submission and acknowledgements • Support any return type (e.g. 1120, 941) • Rely on standards whenever possible • lower risk/development costs • leverage existing tools • reduce training costs • Support XML and binary data • Usable over multiple communication channels (e.g. dial-up, Internet, FTP, HTTP)

3. eFile Return Packaging Objectives • Specify standard mechanism for structuring return components • supports any return type • consistent with eFile Transport and Packaging • simplifies XML schema definition and instance creation • facilitates development of standard return processing applications • provides flexibility to return storage and access

4. eFile Transport and Packaging Proposal • Defines the message enveloping and header document schema used to transfer IRS return submissions and acknowledgements over a communication protocol such as FTP, HTTP, etc. • Defined as a set of layered extensions to the base SOAP v1.1 and SOAP with Attachments standards. • Foundation for current W3C XML Protocol (SOAP 1.2) • Does not override any SOAP semantics • Underlying transport based on MIME/multipart message standard. • Allows binary content

5. eFile Transport and Packaging

6. Acknowledgement Packaging

7. eFile Return Packaging Proposal • Defines the structure of any return • for use in transmission and storage • Each return and all its components is defined as one complete XML document • Return is defined as a set of “documents,” each with a standard type (e.g. form, schedule, statement, etc.) • Return provides a “manifest” for listing included documents along with identifying information • Individual documents may be prepared separately and then combined into return

8. SOAP Overview • W3C (http://www.w3.org) message protocol standards • SOAP 1.1http://www.w3.org/TR/SOAP/ • SOAP Messages with Attachmentshttp://www.w3.org/TR/SOAP-attachments • W3C is working on SOAP 1.2, which is based on these two standardshttp://www.w3.org/TR/soap12/

9. SOAP Overview • A lightweight XML message transport protocol for exchange of information in a decentralized, distributed environment • Defines an envelope-and-attachments structure • Allows for easy extension with your own content models • Allows for binary content, e.g. Excel spreadsheets, Word documents, etc.

10. SOAP Envelope & Attachments • SOAP Envelope • optional Header content model • mandatory Body content model • SOAP Attachments • defined as MIME/Multipart message often used in e-mail messages

11. MIME Boundary &Content Header • MIME Boundary • separates the SOAP envelope and each SOAP attachment • MIME Content Header • Content-Type: text/xml; charset=UTF-8 • Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit • Content-Location: XXXXX

12. Message Packaging • Defines the message envelope and header document schemas used to transfer IRS return submissions and acknowledgements over a dedicated line, dial-up, or other common communication protocols such as HTTP.

13. Message Packaging • Defined as a set of layered extensions to the SOAP 1.1 and SOAP Messages with Attachments standards • Does not override any SOAP semantics. The standard SOAP schema (http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/envelope/) is used “as-is” • Replaces proprietary TRAN A, TRAN B, RECAP, SUMMARY records

14. Message Packaging • An e-file transmission file contains one or many origins (a.k.a. batches) • Each origin contains one or many returns • Each return contains many return documents

15. Return Packaging • Each return, including all of its components, is defined as one common XML structure • A return header schema is defined for elements common across return documents, e.g. taxpayer EIN, address, etc. • Separate XML schema defined for each form, schedule, supporting info, election, etc.

16. Return Packaging • A return is defined as a set of “return documents” • Each with a standard type • Within each return, each return document has an unique document ID • All return documents are contained in a “ReturnData” structure, which is a SOAP attachment

17. Return Documents • Form • e.g. Form 1120, Form 4797, ... • Schedule • e.g. Schedule D, Itemized Other Income Schedule, ... • Supporting Info • e.g. Tax Shelter Disclosure, miscellaneous explanations, ... • Election • e.g. Securities or Commodities Held by a Trader - Mark-to-Market, ... • Payment

18. SOAP Envelope SOAP Header SOAP Body MIME Boundary & Content Header MIME Boundary & Content Header MIME Boundary & Content Header MIME Boundary & Content Header MIME Content Header MIME Boundary SOAP Attachment SOAP Attachment SOAP Attachment SOAP Attachment Transmission File • Based on SOAP 1.1 with Attachments • SOAP envelope • SOAP Header • SOAP Body • SOAP attachment • Return document(s) • MIME boundaries and content headers Transmission File

19. Sample Transmission File

20. SOAP Header SOAP Body Transmission Envelope • SOAP Header • Transmission Header • Transmission header elements • One or many return origin headers • SOAP Body • FileReturn (a process handler) • One or many 1120x return headers SOAP Envelope

21. Sample Transmission Envelope

22. Origin & Return Manifests • Transmission Manifest references origins by the Origin ID • Origin Manifest references the return headers by an Item ID, which is unique within the transmission file • The return header references the return data by its Content-Location (MIME content header)

23. Sample Transmission Envelope - Header & Body Header Body

24. Sample Return Data

25. Sample Return Data

26. SOAP Envelope SOAP Body Acknowledgement Packaging • SOAP envelope with SOAP Body but no SOAP • Transmission Acknowledgement • Origin Acknowledgement(s) • Item (Return) Acknowledgement(s) Acknowledgement File

27. SampleAcknowledgement File

28. SampleAcknowledgement File

29. Sample Item Error& Error Codes 100 - Missing return 150 - Duplicate return 200 - Missing return document 250 - Duplicate return document 280 - The maximum number of occurrences for this return document is exceeded 300 - Missing field 350 - Duplicate field 400 - Incorrect data type 420 - Data out of range 440 - Incorrect data format 460 - Invalid data value 500 - Data cannot be validated against other data on the same return document 550 - Data cannot be validated against other data on another return document

30. References • IRS 1120/941 eFile Transport and Packaging Proposal • http://www.taxadmin.org/fta/edi/XMLpkg01.pdf • Tax Information Group for ECommerce Requirements Standardization (TIGERS) • http://xml.coverpages.org/tigers.html