Form 8281 Information Return for Publicity Offered Original Issue

Form

8281

Information Return for Publicly Offered
Original Issue Discount Instruments

(Rev. October 2010)

OMB No. 1545-0887

Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service

Part I

Issuer Information

1a Issuer’s name

2

Issuer’s taxpayer identification number

1b Present address (number, street, apt. or suite no., or P.O. box)

1c City

1d State

1e ZIP code

3a Name of representative (see instructions)

3b Telephone number
(

)

3c Present address (if different from issuer’s)

3d City

Part II

3e State

3f ZIP code

5

6

Debt Instrument Information

4

CUSIP number

7

Type of instrument (see instructions)
Fixed rate

Inflation-indexed

Variable rate

Contingent payment

8

Issue date

Issue price (percent of principal amount)

Maturity date

9a Stated interest rate (see instructions)

9b

Variable

9c

Contingent

10

Interest payment dates

11

Amount of OID for entire issue

14

Description of debt instruments

15

Attach a schedule of OID per $1,000 principal amount for the life of the instrument. If the principal amount is other than $1,000, indicate the
actual OID per principal amount per year. The schedule must be based on a 6-month accrual period. It must show the daily portion of OID for
each accrual period and the total OID for each calendar year. For additional requirements, see the instructions.

12

Yield to maturity

13

Stated redemption price at maturity of the entire issue. If the redemption price of each
debt instrument within the issue is other than $1,000, indicate the stated redemption
price of each debt instrument.

Part III Signature. Within 30 days after the date of issuance of an OID debt instrument, send two copies of
Form 8281 and any attachments to: IRS Form 8281 Project, SE:W:CAR:MP:T, 1111 Constitution Ave.
NW, IR-6526, Washington, DC 20224-0002.

Please
Sign
Here

Under penalties of perjury, I declare that I have examined this return, including accompanying schedules and statements, and to the best of my knowledge
and belief, it is true, correct, and complete.

©

Signature

For Paperwork Reduction Act Notice, see instructions.

©

Title
Cat. No. 62024G

Form

Date

8281

(Rev. 10-2010)

Form 8281 (Rev. 10-2010)

General Instructions
Section references are to the Internal Revenue Code unless
otherwise noted.

Purpose of Form
If you are the issuer of publicly offered debt instruments
having original issue discount (OID), file Form 8281 to
provide the information required by section 1275(c). The
reporting requirements of section 1275(c) were designed to
facilitate the IRS’s collection and publication of the OID
information needed by brokers and middlemen in order for
them to provide information returns to holders of OID debt
instruments. Since 1984, the IRS has compiled the OID
information reported by the issuer on Form 8281 and made
that information available to the public in the OID tables to
Publication 1212.

Use and Availability of Information on This Form
For each year a debt instrument is outstanding, the following
information reported on Form 8281 will be published in the
OID tables to Publication 1212, which is available at
www.irs.gov.
1. The issuer’s name.
2. The CUSIP number.
3. The issue date.
4. The maturity date.
5. The issue price.
6. The annual stated interest rate.
7. The yield to maturity.

Page

2. Instruments on which OID is de minimis, as defined in
section 1273(a)(3) and Regulations section 1.1273-1(d).
3. Tax-exempt obligations (interest on them is not taxable).
4. Short-term obligations (those that mature in 1 year or
less from their issue date).
5. Certificates of deposit (CDs) issued by banks or other
financial institutions.
6. CDs that are sold by brokers or other middlemen.
7. A public offering of stripped bonds or stripped coupons,
including instruments issued under the Department of the
Treasury’s STRIPS program and instruments that constitute
ownership interests in U.S. Treasury securities.

When To File
File two Forms 8281 and any attachments within 30 days
after the date of issuance of an OID debt instrument. File a
separate Form 8281 for each issue.

Definitions
Original issue discount means the excess of the stated
redemption price at maturity over the issue price.
Stated redemption price at maturity means the sum of all
payments provided by the debt instrument other than
qualified stated interest payments. Generally, qualified stated
interest is stated interest unconditionally payable in cash at
least annually at a single fixed rate.
Issue price, in the case of publicly offered instruments not
issued for property, means the first price at which a
substantial amount of such instruments was sold to the
public (excluding bond houses and brokers).

8. The daily OID per $1,000 of maturity value for each
accrual period.

For more information about OID instruments and the OID
reporting requirements, see Pub. 1212, Guide to Original
Issue Discount (OID) Instruments.

9. The OID per $1,000 of maturity value for each calendar
year.

Penalty

10. The total OID as of the beginning of the calendar year.

Who Must File
An issuer of a publicly offered debt instrument (obligation)
having OID, such as a bond, debenture, or note, must file
Form 8281. Publicly offered debt instruments also may
include:
1. Serial obligations.
2. Debt instruments issued in exchange for other debt
instruments or for stock.
3. A debt instrument sold together with options or warrants
(an investment unit).
4. Sinking fund instruments.
5. Convertible instruments.
An obligation registered with the Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC) is a publicly offered debt instrument. An
obligation exempt from SEC registration may be publicly
offered. See Regulations section 1.1275-1(h).
Exceptions. Do not file this form for the following:
1. Regular interests of a real estate mortgage investment
conduit (REMIC) or collateralized debt obligations (CDOs).
REMICs and issuers of CDOs must file Form 8811,
Information Return for Real Estate Mortgage Investment
Conduits (REMICs) and Issuers of Collateralized Debt
Obligations.

2

An issuer who fails to timely file Form 8281 will be subject to
a penalty of 1% of the aggregate issue price of the debt
instruments, unless such failure is due to reasonable cause
and not to willful neglect. The maximum penalty with respect
to any issue is $50,000.

Specific Instructions
Part I. Issuer Information
For serial obligations, complete boxes 1 through 3 and
attach a list showing the information for boxes 4 through 15
for each obligation within the series. For all other obligations,
complete all boxes.
To revise a form, write “Revised” across the top of this form
and staple a copy of the previously filed form to this form.
Complete all boxes on this form.
Boxes 3a-3f. Enter the name, address, and telephone number
of an official or representative of the issuing company who has
personal knowledge of this offering and who can be contacted
if additional information is needed.

Part II. Debt Instrument Information
Box 4. Enter the Committee on Uniform Security
Identification Procedures (CUSIP) number assigned to the
instruments.
Box 5. Enter the date the issue was first sold to the public at
the issue price.

Form 8281 (Rev. 10-2010)

Box 7. Check the appropriate box for type of instrument.
● A fixed rate debt instrument (including a zero coupon debt
instrument),
● A variable rate debt instrument,
● A contingent payment debt instrument, or
● An inflation-indexed debt instrument.
Box 8. Enter the issue price as a percentage of the principal
amount. For example, XYZ bonds were first offered to the
public at $900 with a principal amount of $1,000. The issue
price of $900 expressed as a percentage of principal is 90. If
the percentage is 100 or more, explain in box 14.
If the instrument is part of an investment unit or exchange
offering, attach a description of the method used to
determine the issue price.
Box 9. Enter the annual stated interest rate or coupon rate. If
zero, enter “0.” If the interest rate is variable or contingent,
check the appropriate box and explain in box 15 how the
rate will be determined.
Box 10. Enter the interest payment dates. Attach additional
information as necessary.
Box 11. Enter the amount of OID for the entire issue. For
example, if the issue price for the entire issue totals
$890,000, and the stated redemption price at maturity totals
$1 million, the OID for the entire issue is $110,000.
Box 12. Enter the yield to maturity as a percentage rounded
to two decimal points. For example, if the yield to maturity is
9.5784%, enter 9.58%. The yield to maturity should be
based on semiannual compounding. If the debt instrument is
a variable rate debt instrument, enter the yield to maturity of
the equivalent fixed rate debt instrument. If the debt
instrument is a contingent payment debt instrument, enter
the comparable yield.
Box 14. Provide a complete description of the instrument,
including any terms and conditions (for example, put or call
options) that could affect the stated payment schedule of the
instrument. For a contingent payment debt instrument,
provide the projected payment schedule. In addition, indicate
whether the instrument is:
● Part of an investment unit,
● Issued in an exchange offering described in section
368(a), or
● Part of a serial issue.
You may provide two copies of the prospectus or offering
circular instead of the required description.

Page

3

Box 15. You must attach two copies of the schedule of OID
per $1,000 principal amount for the life of the instrument.
However, if the principal amount is other than $1,000,
indicate the actual OID per principal amount per year and
specify the actual principal amount. The schedule must be
based on a 6-month accrual period. It must show the daily
portion of OID for each accrual period and the total OID for
each calendar year. Also, if you checked box 9b (Variable) or
box 9c (Contingent), explain how the interest rate will be
determined.
To compute the OID allocable to a short accrual period for
a debt instrument, you may use any reasonable method.
Indicate what method you used.
Paperwork Reduction Act Notice. We ask for the
information on this form to carry out the Internal Revenue
laws of the United States. You are required to give us the
information. We need it to ensure that you are complying
with these laws and to allow us to figure and collect the right
amount of tax.
You are not required to provide the information requested
on a form that is subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act
unless the form displays a valid OMB control number. Books
or records relating to a form or its instructions must be
retained as long as their contents may become material in
the administration of any Internal Revenue law. Generally, tax
returns and return information are confidential, as required by
section 6103.
The time needed to complete and file this form will vary
depending on individual circumstances. The estimated
average time is:
Recordkeeping

5 hr., 1 min.

Learning about the
law or the form

30 min.

Preparing, copying,
assembling, and
sending the form to the IRS

37 min.

If you have comments concerning the accuracy of these
time estimates or suggestions for making this form simpler,
we would be happy to hear from you. You can write to the
Internal Revenue Service, Tax Products Coordinating
Committee, SE:W:CAR:MP:T:T:SP, 1111 Constitution Avenue,
NW, IR-6526, Washington, DC 20224. Do not send this form
to this address. Instead, send Form 8281 to the address
shown on the form.