2018-09-06_SS_1545-1924rSC

SUPPORTING STATEMENT

Internal Revenue Service

Form 8864, Biodiesel and Renewable Diesel Fuels Credit

OMB Control Number 1545-1924

1. CIRCUMSTANCES NECESSITATING COLLECTION OF INFORMATION

The American Jobs Creation Act, section 302, added code section 40A, credit for biodiesel used as a fuel. Form 8864 has been developed to allow taxpayers to compute the biodiesel fuels credit. Section 38(b)(17) allows the biodiesel credit to be taken as a credit against income tax for businesses that sell or use biodiesel mixed with other fuels or sold as straight biodiesel.

2. USE OF DATA

Use the 2018 Form 8864 to report any biodiesel and renewable fuels credit you received from a fiscal year partnership, S corporation, cooperative, estate, or trust whose tax year began in 2017 (when the credit was still available) and ends during your 2018 tax year. Form 8864 provides the IRS with the information necessary to determine whether the credit was figured correctly.

3. USE OF IMPROVED INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY TO REDUCE BURDEN

The Internal Revenue Service offers electronic filing of Form 8864 as an attachment to an income tax return.

4. EFFORTS TO IDENTIFY DUPLICATION

The information obtained through this collection is unique and is not already available or use or adaption from another source.

5. METHODS TO MINIMIZE BURDEN ON SMALL BUSINESSES OR OTHER SMALL ENTITIES

There is no burden on small businesses or entities by this collection due to the inapplicability of the authorizing statute to this type of entity.

5. CONSEQUENCES OF LESS FREQUENT COLLECTION ON FEDERAL PROGRAMS OR POLICY ACTIVITIES

If the information were not collected, the IRS would not be able to verify that the proper credit was figured correctly under section 40A(g) of the Code. This would affect both the taxpayer and the government in ensuring proper tax compliance.

5. SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES REQUIRING DATA COLLECTION TO BE INCONSISTENT WITH GUIDELINES IN 5 CFR 1320.5(d)(2)

There are no special circumstances requiring data collection to be inconsistent with Guidelines in 5 CFR 1320.5(d)(2).

8. CONSULTATION WITH INDIVIDUALS OUTSIDE OF THE AGENCY ON AVAILABILITY OF DATA, FREQUENCY OF COLLECTION, CLARITY OF INSTRUCTIONS AND FORMS, AND DATA ELEMENTS

In response to the Federal Register notice dated June 12, 2018 (83 FR 27374), we received no comments during the comment period regarding Form 8864.

9. EXPLANATION OF DECISION TO PROVIDE ANY PAYMENT OR GIFT TO RESPONDENTS

No payment or gift has been provided to any respondents.

9. ASSURANCE OF CONFIDENTIALITY OF RESPONSES

Generally, tax returns and tax return information are confidential as required by 26 USC 6103.

9. JUSTIFICATION OF SENSITIVE QUESTIONS

A privacy impact assessment (PIA) has been conducted for information collected under this request as part of the “Business Master File (BMF)” system and a Privacy Act System of Records notice (SORN) has been issued for this system under IRS 24.046-Business Master File and IRS 34.037-Audit Trail and Security Records System.  The Internal Revenue Service PIAs can be found at https://www.IRS.gov/uac/Privacy-Impact-Assessments-PIA.

Title 26 USC 6109 requires inclusion of identifying numbers in returns, statements, or other documents for securing proper identification of persons required to make such returns, statements, or documents and is the authority for social security numbers (SSNs) in IRS systems. 

9. ESTIMATED BURDEN OF INFORMATION COLLECTION

The burden estimate is as follows:

Authority	Description	# of Respondents	# Responses per Respondent	Annual Responses	Hours per Response	Total Burden
IRC 40A(g)	Form 8864	26	1	26	4.22 hrs.	110
	Totals	26	1	26	4.22 hrs.	110

9. ESTIMATED TOTAL ANNUAL COST BURDEN TO RESPONDENTS

To ensure more accuracy and consistency across its information collections, IRS is currently in the process of revising the methodology it uses to estimate burden and costs. Once this methodology is complete, IRS will update this information collection to reflect a more precise estimate of burden and costs.

14. ESTIMATED ANNUALIZED COST TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

The estimated annualized cost to the Federal Government is based on a model that considers the following three factors for each information product: aggregate labor costs for development, including annualized start -up expenses, operating and maintenance expenses, and distribution of the product that collects the information.

The government computes cost using a multi-step process.  First, the government creates a weighted factor for the level of effort to create each information collection product based on variables such as; complexity, number of pages, type of product and frequency of revision.  Second, the total costs associated with developing the product such as labor cost, and operating expenses associated with the downstream impact such as support functions, are added together to obtain the aggregated total cost.  Then, the aggregated total cost and factor are multiplied together to obtain the aggregated cost per product.  Lastly, the aggregated cost per product is added to the cost of shipping and printing each product to IRS offices, National Distribution Center, libraries and other outlets. The result is the Federal Government estimated annualized cost per product.

The federal government estimated annualized cost is as follows:

Product	Aggregate Cost per Product (factor applied)		Printing and Distribution		Government Cost Estimate per Product
Form 8864	42,603	+	0	=	42,603
Instructions 8864	7,746	+	0	=	7,746
Grand Total	50,349	+	0		50,349
Table costs are based on 2016 actuals obtained from IRS Chief Financial Office and Media and Publications
* New product costs will be updated in the next revision of this collection.

15. REASONS FOR CHANGE IN BURDEN

There is no change in the paperwork burden previously approved by OMB. We are making this submission to renew the OMB approval.

*** Note: Several lines were reserved due to the expiration of the biodiesel and renewable diesel fuels credit for fuel sold or used after 2017. At the time of this renewal this credit has not yet been extended under (IRC 40A(g)) for tax year 2018.

16. PLANS FOR TABULATION, STATISTICAL ANALYSIS AND PUBLICATION

There are no plans for tabulation, statistical analysis and publication.

17. REASONS WHY DISPLAYING THE OMB EXPIRATION DATE IS INAPPROPRIATE

IRS believes that displaying the OMB expiration date is inappropriate because it could cause confusion by leading taxpayers to believe that the regulations sunset as of the expiration date. Taxpayers are not likely to be aware that the Service intends to request renewal of the OMB approval and obtain a new expiration date before the old one expires.

17. EXCEPTIONS TO THE CERTIFICATION STATEMENT

There are no exceptions to the certification statement.

Note: The following paragraph applies to all of the collections of information in this submission:

An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless the collection of information displays a valid OMB control number. Books or records relating to a collection of information must be retained as long as their contents may become material in the administration of any internal revenue law. Generally, tax returns and tax return information are confidential, as required by 26 U.S.C. 6103.

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