Federal Information Return for Small Tax-Exempt Governmental Bond Issues, Leases, and Installment Sales

Information Return for Small Tax-Exempt Governmental Bond Issues, Leases, and Installment Sales
Form 8038-GC (Rev. October 2021)
Form

8038-GC

Information Return for Small Tax-Exempt
Governmental Bond Issues, Leases, and Installment Sales

(Rev. October 2021)

Part I

OMB No. 1545-0047

▶ Under Internal Revenue Code section 149(e)
Caution: If the issue price of the issue is $100,000 or more, use Form 8038-G.
▶ Go to www.irs.gov/Form8038GC for instructions and the latest information.

Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service

Reporting Authority

Check box if Amended Return ▶

1 Issuer’s name

2 Issuer’s employer identification number (EIN)

3 Number and street (or P.O. box if mail isn’t delivered to street address)

Room/suite

4 City, town, or post office, state, and ZIP code

5 Report number (For IRS Use Only)

6 Name and title of officer or other employee of issuer or designated contact person whom the IRS may call for more information

7 Telephone number of officer or legal representative

Part II

Description of Obligations

Check one box:

Single issue

Consolidated return

8a Issue price of obligation(s) (see instructions) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
8a
b Issue date (single issue) or calendar date (consolidated). Enter date in MM/DD/YYYY format (for
example, 01/01/2009) (see instructions) ▶
9
Amount of the reported obligation(s) on line 8a that is:
a For leases for vehicles
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
9a
b For leases for office equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
9b
c For leases for real property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
9c
d For leases for other (see instructions) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
9d
e For bank loans for vehicles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
9e
f For bank loans for office equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
9f
g For bank loans for real property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
9g
h For bank loans for other (see instructions) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
9h
i Used to refund prior issue(s)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
9i
j Representing a loan from the proceeds of another tax-exempt obligation (for example, bond bank) .
9j
k Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
9k
10
If the issuer has designated any issue under section 265(b)(3)(B)(i)(III) (small issuer exception), check this box .
11
If the issuer has elected to pay a penalty in lieu of arbitrage rebate, check this box (see instructions) . . . .
12
Vendor’s or bank’s name:
13
Vendor’s or bank’s employer identification number:

Signature of issuer’s authorized representative

Print/Type preparer’s name

Date

Preparer’s signature

Date

Firm’s name ▶
Firm’s address

▲

Paid
Preparer
Use Only

.
.

.
.

▶
▶

Under penalties of perjury, I declare that I have examined this return and accompanying schedules and statements, and to the best of my knowledge and
belief, they are true, correct, and complete. I further declare that I consent to the IRS’s disclosure of the issuer’s return information, as necessary to
process this return, to the person(s) that I have authorized above.

▲

Signature
and
Consent

.
.

Type or print name and title
Check
if PTIN
self-employed
Firm’s EIN ▶
Phone no.

▶

Future Developments

Who Must File

For the latest information about developments
related to Form 8038-GC and its instructions,
such as legislation enacted after they were
published, go to www.irs.gov/Form8038GC.

Issuers of tax-exempt governmental
obligations with issue prices of less than
$100,000 must file Form 8038-GC.
Issuers of a tax-exempt governmental
obligation with an issue price of $100,000 or
more must file Form 8038-G, Information
Return for Tax-Exempt Governmental Bonds.
Filing a separate return for a single issue.
Issuers have the option to file a separate
Form 8038-GC for any tax-exempt
governmental obligation with an issue price of
less than $100,000.
An issuer of a tax-exempt bond used to
finance construction expenditures must file a
separate Form 8038-GC for each issue to give
notice to the IRS that an election was made to

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

Purpose of Form
Form 8038-GC is used by the issuers of taxexempt governmental obligations to provide
the IRS with the information required by
section 149(e) and to monitor the
requirements of sections 141 through 150.

For Paperwork Reduction Act Notice, see instructions.

Cat. No. 64108B

pay a penalty in lieu of arbitrage rebate. See
the instructions for line 11, later.
Filing a consolidated return for multiple
issues. For all tax-exempt governmental
obligations with issue prices of less than
$100,000 that aren’t reported on a separate
Form 8038-GC, an issuer must file a
consolidated information return including all
such issues issued within the calendar year.
Thus, an issuer may file a separate Form
8038-GC for each of a number of small issues
and report the remainder of small issues
issued during the calendar year on one
consolidated Form 8038-GC. However, if the
issue is a construction issue, a separate Form
8038-GC must be filed to give the IRS notice
of the election to pay a penalty in lieu of
arbitrage rebate.
Form 8038-GC (Rev. 10-2021)

Form 8038-GC (Rev. 10-2021)

Page

When To File

Definitions

To file a separate return for a single issue, file
Form 8038-GC on or before the 15th day of
the 2nd calendar month after the close of the
calendar quarter in which the issue is issued.
To file a consolidated return for multiple
issues, file Form 8038-GC on or before
February 15 of the calendar year following the
year in which the issue is issued.
Late filing. An issuer may be granted an
extension of time to file Form 8038-GC under
section 3 of Rev. Proc. 2002-48, 2002-37
I.R.B. 531, if it is determined that the failure to
file on time isn’t due to willful neglect. Write at
the top of the form, “Request for Relief under
section 3 of Rev. Proc. 2002-48.” Attach to
the Form 8038-GC a letter briefly stating why
the form wasn’t submitted to the IRS on time.
Also, indicate whether the obligation in
question is under examination by the IRS.
Don’t submit copies of any bond documents,
leases, or installment sale documents. See
Where To File next.

Obligations. This refers to a single taxexempt governmental obligation if Form
8038-GC is used for separate reporting or to
multiple tax-exempt governmental obligations
if the form is used for consolidated reporting.
Tax-exempt obligation. This is any obligation
including a bond, installment purchase
agreement, or financial lease on which the
interest is excluded from income under
section 103.
Tax-exempt governmental obligation. A
tax-exempt obligation that isn’t a private
activity bond (see below) is a tax-exempt
governmental obligation. This includes a bond
issued by a qualified volunteer fire department
under section 150(e).
Private activity bond. This includes an
obligation issued as part of an issue in which:
• More than 10% of the proceeds are to be
used for any private activity business use, and
• More than 10% of the payment of principal
or interest of the issue is either (a) secured by
an interest in property to be used for a private
business use (or payments for such property)
or (b) to be derived from payments for
property (or borrowed money) used for a
private business use.
It also includes a bond, the proceeds of
which (a) are to be used to make or finance
loans (other than loans described in section
141(c)(2)) to persons other than governmental
units and (b) exceeds the lesser of 5% of the
proceeds or $5 million.
Issue. Generally, obligations are treated as
part of the same issue only if they are issued
by the same issuer, on the same date, and as
part of a single transaction, or a series of
related transactions. However, obligations
issued during the same calendar year (a)
under a loan agreement under which amounts
are to be advanced periodically (a “drawdown loan”) or (b) with a term not exceeding
270 days, may be treated as part of the same
issue if the obligations are equally and ratably
secured under a single indenture or loan
agreement and are issued under a common
financing arrangement (for example, under the
same official statement periodically updated
to reflect changing factual circumstances).
Also, for obligations issued under a drawdown loan that meets the requirements of the
preceding sentence, obligations issued during
different calendar years may be treated as
part of the same issue if all of the amounts to
be advanced under the draw-down loan are
reasonably expected to be advanced within 3
years of the date of issue of the first
obligation. Likewise, obligations (other than
private activity bonds) issued under a single
agreement that is in the form of a lease or
installment sale may be treated as part of the
same issue if all of the property covered by
that agreement is reasonably expected to be
delivered within 3 years of the date of issue of
the first obligation.
Arbitrage rebate. Generally, interest on a
state or local bond isn’t tax-exempt unless
the issuer of the bond rebates to the United
States arbitrage profits earned from investing
proceeds of the bond in higher yielding
nonpurpose investments. See section 148(f).

Where To File
File Form 8038-GC and any attachments at
the following address.
Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service Center
Ogden, UT 84201
Private delivery services (PDS). You can use
certain PDS designated by the IRS to meet
the “timely mailing as timely filing/paying” rule
for tax returns and payments. These PDS
include only the following:
• DHL Express (DHL): DHL Same Day Service.
• Federal Express (FedEx): FedEx Priority
Overnight, FedEx Standard Overnight, FedEx
2Day, FedEx International Priority, and FedEx
International First.
• United Parcel Service (UPS): UPS Next Day
Air, UPS Next Day Air Saver, UPS 2nd Day
Air, UPS 2nd Day Air A.M., UPS Worldwide
Express Plus, and UPS Worldwide Express.
The PDS can tell you how to get written
proof of the mailing date.

Other Forms That May Be
Required
For rebating arbitrage (or paying a penalty in
lieu of arbitrage rebate) to the federal
government, use Form 8038-T, Arbitrage
Rebate, Yield Reduction and Penalty in Lieu
of Arbitrage Rebate. For private activity
bonds, use Form 8038, Information Return for
Tax-Exempt Private Activity Bond Issues.
For a tax-exempt governmental obligation
with an issue price of $100,000 or more, use
Form 8038-G.

Rounding to Whole Dollars
You may show the money items on this return
as whole-dollar amounts. To do so, drop any
amount less than 50 cents and increase any
amount from 50 to 99 cents to the next higher
dollar. For example, $1.49 becomes $1 and
$2.50 becomes $3. If two or more amounts
must be added to figure the amount to enter
on a line, include cents when adding the
amounts and round off only the total.

2

Construction issue. This is an issue of taxexempt bonds that meets both of the
following conditions:
1. At least 75% of the available
construction proceeds of the issue are to be
used for construction expenditures with
respect to property to be owned by a
governmental unit or a 501(c)(3) organization,
and
2. All of the bonds that are part of the issue
are qualified 501(c)(3) bonds, bonds that
aren’t private activity bonds, or private activity
bonds issued to finance property to be owned
by a governmental unit or a 501(c)(3)
organization.
In lieu of rebating any arbitrage that may be
owed to the United States, the issuer of a
construction issue may make an irrevocable
election to pay a penalty. The penalty is equal
to 1-1/2% of the amount of construction
proceeds that do not meet certain spending
requirements. See section 148(f)(4)(C) and the
Instructions for Form 8038-T.

Specific Instructions
In general, a Form 8038-GC must be
completed on the basis of available
information and reasonable expectations as of
the date of issue. However, forms that are
filed on a consolidated basis may be
completed on the basis of information readily
available to the issuer at the close of the
calendar year to which the form relates,
supplemented by estimates made in good
faith.

Part I—Reporting Authority
Amended return. An issuer may file an
amended return to change or add to the
information reported on a previously filed
return for the same date of issue. If you are
filing to correct errors or change a previously
filed return, check the Amended Return box in
the heading of the form.
The amended return must provide all the
information reported on the original return, in
addition to the new corrected information.
Attach an explanation of the reason for the
amended return and write across the top
“Amended Return Explanation.”
Line 1. The issuer’s name is the name of the
entity issuing the obligations, not the name of
the entity receiving the benefit of the
financing. In the case of a lease or installment
sale, the issuer is the lessee or purchaser.
Line 2. An issuer that doesn’t have an
employer identification number (EIN) should
apply for one online by visiting the IRS
website at www.irs.gov/EIN. The organization
may also apply for an EIN by faxing or mailing
Form SS-4 to the IRS.
Lines 3 and 4. Enter the issuer’s address or
the address of the designated contact person
listed on line 6. If the issuer wishes to use its
own address and the issuer receives its mail
in care of a third party authorized
representative (such as an accountant or
attorney), enter on the street address line
“C/O” followed by the third party’s name and
street address or P.O. box. Include the suite,
room, or other unit number after the street
address. If the post office doesn’t deliver

Form 8038-GC (Rev. 10-2021)

mail to the street address and the issuer has a
P.O. box, show the box number instead of the
street address. If a change in address occurs
after the return is filed, use Form 8822,
Change of Address, to notify the IRS of the
new address.
Note: The address entered on lines 3 and 4 is
the address the IRS will use for all written
communications regarding the processing of
this return, including any notices. By
authorizing a person other than an authorized
officer or other employee of the issuer to
communicate with the IRS and whom the IRS
may contact about this return, the issuer
authorizes the IRS to communicate directly
with the individual listed on line 6, whose
address is entered on lines 3 and 4 and
consents to disclose the issuer’s return
information to that individual, as necessary, to
process this return.
Line 5. This line is for IRS use only. Don’t
make any entries in this box.

Part II—Description of Obligations
Check the appropriate box designating this as
a return on a single issue basis or a
consolidated return basis.
Line 8a. The issue price of obligations is
generally determined under Regulations
section 1.148-1(b). Thus, when issued for
cash, the issue price is the price at which a
substantial amount of the obligations are sold
to the public. To determine the issue price of
an obligation issued for property, see sections
1273 and 1274 and the related regulations.
Line 8b. For a single issue, enter the date of
issue (for example, 03/15/2020 for a single
issue issued on March 15, 2020), generally
the date on which the issuer physically
exchanges the bonds that are part of the
issue for the underwriter’s (or other
purchaser’s) funds; for a lease or installment
sale, enter the date interest starts to accrue.
For issues reported on a consolidated basis,
enter the first day of the calendar year during
which the obligations were issued (for
example, for calendar year 2020, enter
01/01/2020).
Lines 9a through 9h. Complete this section if
property other than cash is exchanged for the
obligation, for example, acquiring a police car,
a fire truck, or telephone equipment through a
series of monthly payments. (This type of
obligation is sometimes referred to as a
“municipal lease.”) Also, complete this section
if real property is directly acquired in
exchange for an obligation to make periodic
payments of interest and principal.
Don’t complete lines 9a through 9d if the
proceeds of an obligation are received in the
form of cash even if the term “lease” is used
in the title of the issue. For lines 9a through
9d, enter the amount on the appropriate line
that represents a lease or installment

Page

purchase. For line 9d, enter the type of item
that is leased. For lines 9e through 9h, enter
the amount on the appropriate line that
represents a bank loan. For line 9h, enter the
type of bank loan.
Lines 9i and 9j. For line 9i, enter the amount
of the proceeds that will be used to pay
principal, interest, or call premium on any
other issue of bonds, including proceeds that
will be used to fund an escrow account for
this purpose. Several lines may apply to a
particular obligation. For example, report on
lines 9i and 9j obligations used to refund prior
issues which represent loans from the
proceeds of another tax-exempt obligation.
Line 9k. Enter on line 9k the amount on line
8a that doesn’t represent an obligation
described on lines 9a through 9j.
Line 10. Check this box if the issuer has
designated any issue as a “small issuer
exception” under section 265(b)(3)(B)(i)(III).
Line 11. Check this box if the issue is a
construction issue and an irrevocable election
to pay a penalty in lieu of arbitrage rebate has
been made on or before the date the bonds
were issued. The penalty is payable with a
Form 8038-T for each 6-month period after
the date the bonds are issued. Don’t make
any payment of penalty in lieu of rebate with
Form 8038-GC. See Rev. Proc. 92-22,
1992-1 C.B. 736, for rules regarding the
“election document.”
Line 12. Enter the name of the vendor or bank
who is a party to the installment purchase
agreement, loan, or financial lease. If there are
multiple vendors or banks, the issuer should
attach a schedule.
Line 13. Enter the employer identification
number of the vendor or bank who is a party
to the installment purchase agreement, loan,
or financial lease. If there are multiple vendors
or banks, the issuer should attach a schedule.

Signature and Consent
An authorized representative of the issuer
must sign Form 8038-GC and any applicable
certification. Also, write the name and title of
the person signing Form 8038-GC. The
authorized representative of the issuer signing
this form must have the authority to consent
to the disclosure of the issuer’s return
information, as necessary to process this
return, to the person(s) that has been
designated in this form.
Note: If the issuer authorizes on line 6 the IRS
to communicate with a person other than an
officer or other employee of the issuer (such
authorization shall include contact both in
writing regardless of the address entered on
lines 3 and 4, and by telephone), by signing
this form, the issuer’s authorized
representative consents to the disclosure of
the issuer’s return information, as necessary
to process this return, to such person.

3

Paid Preparer
If an authorized representative of the issuer
filled in its return, the paid preparer’s space
should remain blank. Anyone who prepares
the return but does not charge the
organization shouldn’t sign the return. Certain
others who prepare the return shouldn’t sign.
For example, a regular, full-time employee of
the issuer, such as a clerk, secretary, etc.,
shouldn’t sign.
Generally, anyone who is paid to prepare a
return must sign it and fill in the other blanks
in the Paid Preparer Use Only area of the
return. A paid preparer cannot use a social
security number in the Paid Preparer Use Only
box. The paid preparer must use a preparer
tax identification number (PTIN). If the paid
preparer is self-employed, the preparer
should enter his or her address in the box.
The paid preparer must:
• Sign the return in the space provided for the
preparer’s signature, and
• Give a copy of the return to the issuer.

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.
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 burden for tax
exempt organizations filing this form is
approved under OMB control number
1545-0047 and is included in the estimates
shown in the instructions for their information
return.
If you have suggestions for making this
form simpler, we would be happy to hear from
you. You can send us comments through
www.irs.gov/FormComments. Or you can
write to:
Internal Revenue Service
Tax Forms and Publications
1111 Constitution Ave. NW, IR-6526
Washington, DC 20224
Do not send Form 8038-GC to this
address. Instead, see Where To File, earlier.