In the Federal Register/ Vol. 66, No. 31/ Wednesday, February 14, 2001, the Department of Treasury issued temporary regulations relating to the voluntary electronic furnishing of payee statements on Forms W-2s, 1098-Es, and 1098-Ts. This temporary regulation provides guidance regarding the electronic furnishing of the above statements. For further information, contact Laura C. Nash at 202-622-4910.

Consent: The temporary regulations provide that a recipient must have affirmatively consented to receive the statement electronically and must not have withdrawn that consent before the statement is furnished.

Required Disclosures: Prior to or at the time a recipient consents to receive a statement electronically, the furnisher must provide a clear and conspicuous statement to the recipient containing certain disclosures. The disclosures must require the furnisher to inform a recipient about: the scope and duration of a consent to receive an electronic statement, the ability to revoke that consent, the hardware and software required to access, print, and retain an electronic statement, and the ability to obtain a paper statement.

Format: The temporary regulations require that the electronic version of a statement furnished to a recipient contain all required information and comply with applicable revenue procedures relating to substitute statements.

Posting: The temporary regulations generally require that the furnisher post the statements on a Web site accessible to recipients on or before January 31 of the year following the calendar year to which the statements relate.

Notice: The temporary regulations generally require the furnisher to notify a recipient that the statement is posted on a Web site on or before January 31 of the year following the calendar year to which the statement relates. The notice may be delivered by mail, electronic mail, or in person and must provide instructions to the recipient on how to access and print the statement. If the furnisher later posts corrected statements on the Web site, the furnisher must notify the recipients of this within 30 days after the posting.

Retention: The temporary regulations generally require the furnisher to maintain access to the statements on the Web site through October 15 of the year following the calendar year to which the statements relate.