Instructions For Form 720 - Quarterly Federal Excise Tax Return

1. Go out of business or

recent list of designated private delivery services was

2. Will not owe excise taxes that are reportable on

published by the IRS in September 2002. The list

Form 720 in future quarters.

includes only the following:

•

Airborne Express (Airborne): Overnight Air Express

Service, Next Afternoon Service, and Second Day

If you are only filing to report zero tax and you will

Service.

TIP

not owe excise tax in future quarters, check the

•

DHL Worldwide Express (DHL): DHL “Same Day”

final return box above Part I on page 1 of Form

Service and DHL USA Overnight.

720. The IRS will then stop sending Package 720 to you

•

Federal Express (FedEx): FedEx Priority Overnight,

each quarter.

FedEx Standard Overnight, FedEx 2Day, FedEx

Recordkeeping

International Priority, and FedEx International First.

•

United Parcel Service (UPS): UPS Next Day Air, UPS

Keep copies of your tax return, records, and accounts of

Next Day Air Saver, UPS 2nd Day Air, UPS 2nd Day Air

all transactions to show that the correct tax has been

A.M., UPS Worldwide Express Plus, and UPS Worldwide

paid. Keep records to support all claims and all

Express.

exemptions at least 4 years from the latest of the

The private delivery service can tell you how to get

following dates:

•

written proof of the mailing date.

When the tax became due,

•

When you paid the tax, or

Private delivery services cannot deliver items to

•

When you filed a claim.

P.O. boxes. You must use the U.S. Postal Service

to mail any item to an IRS P.O. box address.

CAUTION

Penalties and Interest

Avoid penalties and interest by filing returns and

Unresolved Tax Issues

depositing and paying taxes when due. The law provides

If you have attempted to deal with an IRS problem

penalties for filing a return late; depositing taxes late;

unsuccessfully, you should contact the Taxpayer

paying taxes late; willfully failing to collect and pay tax or

Advocate. The Taxpayer Advocate independently

file a return; negligence; and fraud. These penalties are

represents your interests and concerns within the IRS by

in addition to the interest charge on late payments. The

protecting your rights and resolving problems that have

penalty for filing a return late will not be imposed if you

not been fixed through normal channels.

can show that the failure to file a timely return is due to

reasonable cause. Those filing after the due date must

While Taxpayer Advocates cannot change the tax law

attach an explanation to the return to show reasonable

or make a technical tax decision, they can clear up

cause.

problems that resulted from previous contacts and

Trust fund recovery penalty. If communications and air

ensure that your case is given a complete and impartial

transportation taxes are collected but not paid over to the

review.

United States Treasury or are willfully not collected, the

Your assigned personal advocate will listen to your

trust fund recovery penalty may apply. The penalty is the

point of view and will work with you to address your

full amount of the unpaid trust fund tax.

concerns. You can expect the advocate to provide you

The trust fund recovery penalty may be imposed on all

with:

persons who are determined by the IRS to be

•

A ‘‘fresh look’’ at your new or on-going problem.

responsible for collecting, accounting for, and paying

•

Timely acknowledgment.

over these taxes, and who acted willfully in not doing so.

•

The name and phone number of the individual

A responsible person can be an officer or employee

assigned to your case.

•

of a corporation, a partner or employee of a partnership,

Updates on progress.

•

an employee of a sole proprietorship, an accountant, or a

Timeframes for action.

•

volunteer director/trustee. A responsible person may also

Speedy resolution.

•

include one who signs checks for the business or

Courteous service.

otherwise has authority to cause the spending of

When contacting the Taxpayer Advocate, you should

business funds.

provide the following information:

•

Your name, address, and employer identification

Willfully means voluntarily, consciously, and

number.

intentionally. A responsible person acts willfully if he or

•

The name and telephone number of an authorized

she knows the required actions are not taking place.

contact person and the hours he or she can be reached.

•

The type of tax return and year(s) or period(s) (for

Additional Information

quarterly returns) involved.

•

You may find the following publications helpful when

A detailed description of the problem.

•

preparing Form 720 and the attachments:

Previous attempts to solve the problem and the office

•

Pub. 510, Excise Taxes for 2002, contains definitions

you contacted.

•

and examples that will help you prepare Form 720.

A description of the hardship you are facing (if

•

Pub. 378, Fuel Tax Credits and Refunds, has

applicable).

information on nontaxable uses of fuels.

You may contact a Taxpayer Advocate by calling a

•

Pub. 509, Tax Calendars for 2003, has deposit and

toll-free number, 1-877-777-4778. Persons who have

payment due dates for all Federal excise taxes.

access to TTY/TDD equipment may call 1-800-829-4059

and ask for Taxpayer Advocate assistance. If you prefer,

Private Delivery Services

you may call, write, or fax the Taxpayer Advocate office

You can use certain private delivery services designated

in your area. See Pub. 1546, The Taxpayer Advocate

by the IRS to meet the “timely mailing as timely filing/

Service of the IRS, for a list of addresses and fax

paying” rule for tax returns and payments. The most

numbers.

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Instructions For Form 720 - Quarterly Federal Excise Tax Return - 2002 Page 2

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