Form  8596                                                                                                         Submit with  
(Rev. August 2013)                 Information Return for Federal Contracts                                        Form 8596-A. 
Internal Revenue Service  
Department of the Treasury 
1  Name and address of contractor                                             2  Contractor’s taxpayer identification number

3  Name of common parent, if applicable (See instructions.)                   4  Common parent’s employer identification number, 
                                                                                 if applicable (See instructions.) 

5  Name of Federal executive agency                                           6  Federal executive agency’s employer  
                                                                                 identification number 

7  Date of contract action         8  Expected date of contract completion    9  Total amount obligated under the contract 
                                                                                 $ 
10  Contract number               11  Agency code                           12  Contract office           13  Contract modification 
                                                                                 number                       number 

General Instructions                                               Where to file. File Forms 8596 and 8596-A with Internal 
                                                                   Revenue Service, Attn: 8596, Enterprise Computing Center at 
Section references are to the Internal Revenue Code unless         Martinsburg, (IRS/ECC-MTB), 230 Murall Drive, P.O. Box 1359, 
otherwise noted.                                                   Kearneysville, West Virginia 25430.
Future developments. For the latest information about              Who must file. The head of every Federal executive agency or 
developments related to Form 8596 and its instructions, such as    his or her delegate must file Forms 8596 and 8596-A to report 
legislation enacted after they were published, go to               federal contracts. 
www.irs.gov/form8596.                                              Federal executive agency.A Federal executive agency is (a) 
Purpose of form. Section 6050M and Regulations section             any executive agency, as defined in 5 U.S.C. 105, other than the 
1.6050M-1 require certain Federal executive agencies to file a     Government Accountability Office, (b) any military department, 
return to report information about persons with whom they          as defined in 5 U.S.C. 102, and (c) the United States Postal 
have entered into contracts. If you are not filing electronically  Service and the Postal Rate Commission. 
and you have not made the Federal Procurement Data Center          Special rules.If a subcontract is entered into by the Small 
(FPDC) election, explained later, use Forms 8596 and 8596-A,       Business Administration (SBA) under a prime contract between 
Quarterly Transmittal of Information Returns for Federal           the SBA and a procuring agency under section 8(a) of the Small 
Contracts, to furnish the required information.                    Business Act, the procuring agency, not the SBA, must file 
How to file. If you file 250 or more reportable contracts during a Forms 8596 and 8596-A. 
1-year period, you must file Form 8596 electronically for each     A Federal Supply Schedule Contract or an Automated Data 
quarter of that 1-year period. For information on filing           Processing Schedule Contract entered into by the General 
electronically, see Pub. 1516, Specifications for Filing Form      Services Administration (GSA), or a schedule contract entered 
8596, Information Return for Federal Contracts, Electronically. If into by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) on behalf of one 
you expect to enter into fewer than 250 reportable contracts       or more Federal executive agencies, is not to be reported by the 
during a 1-year period, you may file paper Forms 8596 and          GSA or the VA at the time of execution. Rather, when a Federal 
8596-A.                                                            executive agency, including the GSA or the VA, places an order 
                                                                   under a schedule contract, then the Federal executive agency 
          The IRS encourages you to file electronically even       must file Forms 8596 and 8596-A. 
TIP       though you have fewer than 250 reportable contracts.     FPDC election. In complying with the requirements of the 
                                                                   Federal Procurement Data System, if you are required to submit 
When to file. You must file Forms 8596 quarterly. The due          to the FPDC the same contract information that is required by 
dates for each quarter are shown below. Do not file before the     Forms 8596 and 8596-A, you may elect to have the FPDC file 
end of the quarter.                                                Forms 8596 and 8596-A on your behalf for contracts required to 
Quarter                            Due Date                        be reported to the FPDC. If you make the election, your agency 
January, February, March           April 30                        must not file directly with the IRS to report those contracts 
April, May, June                   July 31                         required to be submitted to the FPDC. However, you must file 
                                                                   with the IRS for any contracts  that are required to be reported 
July, August, September            October 31                      to the IRS but are not required to be submitted to the FPDC.
October, November, December        January 31                      To make this election, attach to your FPDC submission for  
If the regular due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal      the quarter a signed statement that (a) the Director of the FPDC 
holiday, file by the next business day.                            (or his or her delegate) is authorized, in accordance with an 
                                                                   election made under 26 CFR 1.6050M-1(d)(5), on the agency’s 
                                                                   behalf, to make the required returns for that quarter and (b) 
                           Cat. No. 12306H                                    www.irs.gov/form8596               Form 8596 (Rev. 8-2013) 

Form 8596 (Rev. 8-2013)                                                                                                       Page  2 
under penalties of perjury, you have examined the information to  12. Contract with a person who is not required to have a  
be submitted by your agency to the FPDC for use in making         taxpayer identification number, such as a nonresident alien,  
those returns and it is certified to be, to the best of your      foreign corporation, or foreign partnership any of which does  
knowledge and belief, a compilation of agency records             not have income effectively connected with the conduct of a  
maintained in the normal course of business for the purpose of    trade or business in the United States and does not have an  
providing the information necessary for making true, correct,     office or place of business or a fiscal or paying agent in the  
and complete returns as required by section 6050M.                United States. 
Contract. A contract is an obligation of a Federal executive      13.  Confidential or classified contracts that meet the  
agency to pay money or other property to a person in return for   requirements of section 6050M(e). 
the sale of property, the rendering of services, or other         14.  Contract that provides that all payments made after the 
consideration. A contract includes a written agreement            120th day after the date of the contract action will be made by 
between the agency and the contractor, an award or notice of      someone other than a Federal executive agency or its agent; for 
award, a job order or task letter issued under a basic ordering   example, a contract under which the contractor will collect 
agreement, a letter contract, an order that is effective only on  amounts owed to a Federal executive agency from the agency’s 
written acceptance or performance, or certain increases in the    debtor and will remit to the agency the money collected minus 
amount obligated.                                                 an amount for the contractor’s consideration under the contract. 
Increases in contracts. If the amount obligated under a           15.  Contract entered into using nonappropriated funds. 
contract is increased by more than $25,000 in one contract  
action through the exercise of an option contained in the         Specific Instructions 
original contract or under any other contract law rule, then that 
action is treated as a new contract and must be reported on       Box 1.  Enter the full name and address of the contractor. If the 
Form 8596 for the quarter in which the increase occurs.           contractor is a sole proprietor, enter the name of the sole  
                                                                  proprietor first, then the business name (if any). 
Exceptions. You need not file Forms 8596 and 8596-A for any: 
                                                                  Box 2.  Enter the contractor’s taxpayer identification number  
1. Contract for $25,000 or less.                                  (TIN). For an individual, including a sole proprietor, the TIN is  
2. Contract that provides for all payments to be made within      the social security number. For all others, the TIN is the  
120 days following the date of the contract action if it is       employer identification number (EIN). 
reasonable to expect that all amounts will be paid.               Box 3.  If the contractor is a member of an affiliated group of  
3. License granted by a Federal executive agency.                 corporations that files its federal income tax returns on a  
                                                                  consolidated basis, enter the name of the common parent of  
4. Obligation of a contractor (other than a Federal executive     the affiliated group. 
agency) to a subcontractor. 
                                                                  Box 4.  If the name of the common parent is entered in box 3, 
5. Debt instrument of the U.S. Government or a Federal            enter the EIN of the common parent. 
agency, such as a Treasury note, Treasury bond, Treasury bill,  
U.S. Savings Bond, or similar instrument.                         Boxes 5 and 6.  Enter the name and EIN of the Federal  
                                                                  executive agency that entered into the contract. If one central 
6. Obligation of a Federal executive agency to lend money,        office is responsible for filing for the entire agency, use only one 
lease property to someone, or sell property.                      name and EIN when filing Forms 8596 and 8596-A. 
7. Blanket purchase agreement. However, when an order is          Box 7.  Enter the date of the contract action. If you are  
placed under a blanket purchase agreement, then a contract        reporting an increase in the amount obligated under a contract, 
exists and Forms 8596 and 8596-A must be filed.                   enter the date of such increase, not the original contract date. 
8. Contract with a contractor who, in making the agreement,       Box 8.  Enter the expected date of completion of the contract. 
is acting in his or her capacity as an employee of a Federal      To determine this date, use any reasonable method, such as the 
executive agency; for example, any employment contract under      expected contract delivery date under the contract schedule. 
which the employee is paid wages subject to federal income tax 
withholding.                                                      Box 9.  Enter the total amount obligated to the contractor under 
                                                                  the terms of the contract. 
9. Contract between a Federal executive agency and another 
Federal Government unit, or any subsidiary agency.                If you are reporting an increase in the amount obligated  
                                                                  under a contract, enter only the amount of the increase. 
10. Contract with a foreign government or agency or any  
subsidiary agency.                                                Boxes 10, 11, 12, and 13.  Enter the contract number, agency 
                                                                  code, contract office number, and contract modification 
11. Contract with a state or local government or agency or        number, if available. These numbers will help identify the 
any subsidiary agency.                                            contract if the IRS requests a levy.