Instructions for Form 8038-G

(Rev. October 2021)

Information Return for Tax-Exempt Governmental Bonds

Department of the Treasury

Internal Revenue Service

Section references are to the Internal Revenue 

Code unless otherwise noted.

Future Developments

For the latest information about 

developments related to Form 8038-G and 

its instructions, such as legislation 

enacted after they were published, go to 

IRS.gov/Form8038G.

General Instructions

Purpose of Form

Form 8038-G is used by issuers of 

tax-exempt governmental bonds to 

provide the IRS with the information 

required by section 149(e) and to monitor 

compliance with the requirements of 

sections 141 through 150.

Who Must File

IF the issue price 

(line 21, column (b)) 

is...

THEN, for tax-exempt 

governmental bonds 

issued after December 

31, 1986, issuers must 

file...

$100,000 or more a separate Form 8038-G 

for each issue.

less than $100,000 Form 8038-GC, 

Information Return for 

Small Tax-Exempt 

Governmental Bond 

Issues, Leases, and 

Installment Sales.

When To File

File Form 8038-G on or before the 15th 

day of the 2nd calendar month after the 

close of the calendar quarter in which the 

bond is issued. Form 8038-G may not be 

filed before the issue date and must be 

completed based on the facts as of the 

issue date.

Late filing. An issuer may be granted an 

extension of time to file Form 8038-G 

under section 3 of Rev. Proc. 2002-48, 

2002-37 I.R.B. 531, if it is determined that 

the failure to file timely is not due to willful 

neglect. Type or print at the top of the form 

“Request for Relief under section 3 of Rev. 

Proc. 2002-48” and attach a letter 

explaining why Form 8038-G was not 

submitted to the IRS on time. Also indicate 

whether the bond issue in question is 

under examination by the IRS. Do not 

submit copies of the trust indenture or 

other bond documents. See Where To File 

next.

Where To File

File Form 8038-G and any attachments at 

the following address.

Department of the Treasury

Internal Revenue Service Center

Ogden, UT 84201

Private delivery services. You can use 

certain private delivery services (PDS) 

designated by the IRS to meet the “timely 

mailing as timely filing” rule for tax returns. 

Go to IRS.gov/PDS for the current list of 

designated services.

The PDS can tell you how to get written 

proof of the mailing date.

For the IRS mailing address to use if 

you're using PDS, go to IRS.gov/

PDSstreetAddresses.

PDS can’t deliver items to P.O. 

boxes. You must use the U.S. 

Postal Service to mail any item to 

an IRS P.O. box address.

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.

Rounding to Whole Dollars

You may show the money items on this 

return as whole-dollar amounts. To round, 

drop amounts under 50 cents and 

increase amounts from 50 to 99 cents to 

the next dollar (for example, $1.39 

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.

Definitions

Bond. This is any obligation, including 

bond, note, commercial paper, installment 

purchase agreement, or financing lease.

Taxable bond. This is any bond the 

interest on which is not excludable from 

gross income under section 103. Taxable 

bonds include tax credit bonds and direct 

pay bonds.

Tax-exempt bond. This is any obligation, 

including a bond, installment purchase 

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agreement, or financial lease, on which 

the interest is excluded from income under 

section 103.

Tax-exempt governmental bond. A 

tax-exempt bond that is not a private 

activity bond (see next) is a tax-exempt 

governmental bond. This includes a bond 

issued by a qualified volunteer fire 

department under section 150(e).

Private activity bond. This includes a 

bond 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 directly or 

indirectly 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 price. The issue price of bonds is 

generally determined under Regulations 

section 1.148-1(f). Thus, when issued for 

cash, the issue price is the first price at 

which a substantial amount of the bonds 

are sold to the public. To determine the 

issue price of a bond issued for property, 

see sections 1273 and 1274 and the 

related regulations.

Issue. Generally, bonds are treated as 

part of the same issue if they are issued by 

the same issuer, on the same date, and in 

a single transaction, or a series of related 

transactions (see Regulations section 

1.149(e)-1(e)(2)). However, bonds issued 

during the same calendar year (a) under a 

loan agreement under which amounts are 

to be advanced periodically (a “draw-down 

loan”), or (b) with a term not exceeding 

270 days, may be treated as part of the 

same issue if the bonds 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 

bonds issued under a draw-down loan that 

meet the requirements of the preceding 

Sep 21, 2021 Cat. No. 63774D
sentence, bonds 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 bond. Likewise, bonds (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 bond.

Arbitrage rebate. Generally, interest on 

a state or local bond is not 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).

Construction issue. This is an issue of 

tax-exempt bonds that meets both of the 

following conditions.

1. At least 75% of the available 

construction proceeds are to be used 

for construction expenditures with 

respect to property to be owned by a 

governmental unit or a section 501(c)

(3) organization.

2. All the bonds that are part of the issue 

are qualified 501(c)(3) bonds, bonds 

that are not private activity bonds, or 

private activity bonds issued to 

finance property to be owned by a 

governmental unit or a section 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 11/2% of the 

amount of the available construction 

proceeds of the issue that do not meet 

certain spending requirements as of the 

close of each 6-month period after the 

date the bonds were issued. See section 

148(f)(4)(C) and the Instructions for Form 

8038-T.

Pooled financing issue. This is an issue 

of tax-exempt bonds, the proceeds of 

which are to be used to finance purpose 

investments representing conduit loans to 

two or more conduit borrowers, unless 

those conduit loans are to be used to 

finance a single capital project.

Specific Instructions

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 or corrected 

information. Attach an explanation of the 

reason for the amended return and write 

across the top, “Amended Return 

Explanation.” Failure to attach an 

explanation may result in a delay in 

processing the form.

Line 1. The issuer's name is the name of 

the entity issuing the bonds, not the name 

of the entity receiving the benefit of the 

financing. For a lease or installment sale, 

the issuer is the lessee or the purchaser.

Line 2. An issuer that does not have an 

employer identification number (EIN) 

should apply online by visiting the IRS 

website at IRS.gov/EIN. The organization 

may also apply for an EIN by faxing or 

mailing Form SS-4 to the IRS.

Line 3a. If the issuer wishes to authorize 

a person other than an officer or other 

employee of the issuer (including a legal 

representative or paid preparer) to 

communicate with the IRS and whom the 

IRS may contact about this return 

(including in writing or by telephone), enter 

the name of such person here. The person 

listed on line 3a must be an individual. Do 

not enter the name and title of an officer or 

other employee of the issuer here (use 

line 10a for that purpose).

Note. 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 

entered on line 3a and consents to 

disclose the issuer's return information to 

that individual, as necessary, to process 

this return.

Lines 4 and 6. If you listed an individual 

on line 3a to communicate with the IRS 

and whom the IRS may contact about this 

return, enter the number and street (or 

P.O. box if mail is not delivered to street 

address), city, town, or post office, state, 

and ZIP code of that person. Otherwise, 

enter the issuer's number and street (or 

P.O. box if mail is not delivered to street 

address), city, town, or post office, state, 

and ZIP code.

Note. The address entered on lines 4 and 

6 is the address the IRS will use for all 

written communications regarding the 

processing of this return, including any 

notices.

Line 5. This line is for IRS use only. Do 

not make any entries in this box.

Line 7. The date of issue is generally the 

first date on which the issuer physically 

exchanges any bond included in the issue 

for the underwriter's (or other purchaser's) 

funds. For a lease or installment sale, 

enter the date interest starts to accrue in 

an MM/DD/YYYY format.

Line 8. If there is no name of the issue, 

please provide other identification of the 

issue.

Line 9. Enter the CUSIP (Committee on 

Uniform Securities Identification 

Procedures) number of the bond with the 

latest maturity. If the issue does not have a 

CUSIP number, write “None.”

Line 10a. Enter the name and title of the 

officer or other employee of the issuer 

whom the IRS may call for more 

information. If the issuer wishes to 

designate a person other than an officer or 

other employee of the issuer (including a 

legal representative or paid preparer) 

whom the IRS may call for more 

information about the return, enter the 

name, title, and telephone number of such 

person on lines 3a and 3b.

Complete lines 10a and 10b even 

if you complete lines 3a and 3b.

Part II—Type of Issue

Elections referred to in Part II are 

made on the original bond 

documents, not on this form.

Identify the type of bonds issued by 

entering the issue price in the box 

corresponding to the type of bond (see 

Issue price under Definitions, earlier). 

Attach a schedule listing names and EINs 

of organizations that are to use proceeds 

of these bonds, if different from those of 

the issuer, include a brief summary of the 

use and indicate whether or not such user 

is a governmental or nongovernmental 

entity.

Line 18. Enter a description of the issue 

in the space provided.

Line 19. If the bonds are short-term tax 

anticipation notes or warrants (TANs) or 

short-term revenue anticipation notes or 

warrants (RANs), check box 19a. If the 

bonds are short-term bond anticipation 

notes (BANs), issued with the expectation 

that they will be refunded with the 

proceeds of long-term bonds at some 

future date, check box 19b. Do not check 

both boxes.

Line 20. Check this box if property other 

than cash is exchanged for the bond, for 

example, acquiring a police car, a fire 

truck, or telephone equipment through a 

series of monthly payments. (This type of 

bond is sometimes referred to as a 

“municipal lease.”) Also check this box if 

real property is directly acquired in 

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-2- Instructions for Form 8038-G (Rev. 10-2021)
exchange for a bond to make periodic 

payments of interest and principal. Do not 

check this box if the proceeds of the bond 

are received in the form of cash, even if 

the term “lease” is used in the title of the 

issue.

Part III—Description of Bonds

Line 21. For column (a), the final maturity 

date is the last date the issuer must 

redeem the entire issue.

For column (b), see Issue price under 

Definitions, earlier.

For column (c), the stated redemption 

price at maturity of the entire issue is the 

sum of the stated redemption prices at 

maturity of each bond issued as part of the 

issue. For a lease or installment sale, write 

“N/A” in column (c).

For column (d), the weighted average 

maturity is the sum of the products of the 

issue price of each maturity and the 

number of years to maturity (determined 

separately for each maturity and by taking 

into account mandatory redemptions), 

divided by the issue price of the entire 

issue (from line 21, column (b)). For a 

lease or installment sale, enter instead the 

total number of years the lease or 

installment sale will be outstanding.

For column (e), the yield, as defined in 

section 148(h), is the discount rate that, 

when used to figure the present value of 

all payments of principal and interest to be 

paid on the bond, produces an amount 

equal to the purchase price, including 

accrued interest. See Regulations section 

1.148-4 for specific rules to figure the yield 

on an issue. If the issue is a variable rate 

issue, write “VR” as the yield of the issue. 

For other than variable rate issues, carry 

the yield out to four decimal places (for 

example, 5.3125%). If the issue is a lease 

or installment sale, enter the effective rate 

of interest being paid.

Part IV—Uses of Proceeds of 

Bond Issue

For a lease or installment sale, write “N/A” 

in the space to the right of the title for Part 

IV.

Line 22. Enter the amount of proceeds 

that will be used to pay interest on the 

issue accruing prior to the date of issue. 

For definition of date of issue, see these 

instructions, line 7.

Line 24. Enter the amount of the 

proceeds that will be used to pay bond 

issuance costs, including fees for trustees 

and bond counsel. If no bond proceeds 

will be used to pay bond issuance costs, 

enter zero. Do not leave this line blank.

Line 25. Enter the amount of the 

proceeds that will be used to pay fees for 

credit enhancement that are taken into 

account in determining the yield on the 

issue for purposes of section 148(h) (for 

example, bond insurance premiums and 

certain fees for letters of credit).

Line 26. Enter the amount of proceeds 

that will be allocated to such a fund.

Line 27. Enter the amount of the 

proceeds that will be used to pay principal, 

interest, or call premium on any 

tax-exempt bonds, including proceeds 

that will be used to fund an escrow 

account for this purpose.

Line 28. Enter the amount of the 

proceeds that will be used to pay principal, 

interest, or call premium on any taxable 

bonds, including proceeds that will be 

used to fund an escrow account for this 

purpose.

Part V—Description of 

Refunded Bonds

Complete this part only if the bonds are to 

be used to refund a prior issue of 

tax-exempt bonds or taxable bonds. For a 

lease or installment sale, write “N/A” in the 

space to the right of the title for Part V.

Lines 31 and 32. The remaining 

weighted average maturity is determined 

without regard to the refunding. The 

weighted average maturity is determined 

in the same manner as on line 21, column 

(d).

Line 34. If more than a single issue of 

tax-exempt bonds or taxable bonds will be 

refunded, enter the date of issue for each 

refunded issue. Enter the date in an 

MM/DD/YYYY format.

Part VI—Miscellaneous

Line 35. An allocation of volume cap is 

required if the nonqualified amount for the 

issue is more than $15 million but is not 

more than the amount that would cause 

the issue to be private activity bonds.

Line 36. If any portion of the gross 

proceeds of the issue is or will be invested 

in a guaranteed investment contract (GIC), 

as defined in Regulations section 

1.148-1(b), enter the amount of the gross 

proceeds so invested, as well as the final 

maturity date of the GIC and the name of 

the provider of such contract.

Line 37. If the issue is a pooled financing 

issue (as defined under Pooled financing 

issue in Definitions, earlier), enter the 

amount of the proceeds used to make 

loans to other governmental units, the 

interest on which is tax exempt.

Line 38. If the issue is a loan of proceeds 

from a pooled financing issue (as defined 

under Pooled financing issue in 

Definitions, earlier), check the box and 

where asked for the date of issue, EIN, 

and name of the issuer of the master pool 

bond, enter the date of issue, EIN, and 

name of the issuer of the pooled financing 

issue.

Line 40. 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. Do not make any 

payment of penalty in lieu of arbitrage 

rebate with this form. See Rev. Proc. 

92-22, 1992-1 C.B. 736, for rules 

regarding the “election document.”

Line 41a. Check this box if the issuer 

has identified a hedge on its books and 

records according to Regulations sections 

1.148-4(h)(2)(viii) and 1.148-4(h)(5)(iv) 

that permit an issuer of tax-exempt bonds 

to identify a hedge for it to be included in 

yield calculations for figuring arbitrage.

Line 42. In determining if the issuer has 

super-integrated a hedge, apply the rules 

of Regulations section 1.148-4(h)(4). If the 

hedge is super-integrated, check the box.

Line 43. If the issuer takes a “deliberate 

action” after the issue date that causes the 

conditions of the private business tests or 

the private loan financing test to be met, 

then such issue is also an issue of private 

activity bonds. Regulations section 

1.141-2(d)(3) defines a deliberate action 

as any action taken by the issuer that is 

within its control regardless of whether 

there is intent to violate such tests. 

Regulations section 1.141-12 explains the 

conditions to taking remedial action that 

prevent an action that causes an issue to 

meet the private business tests or private 

loan financing test from being treated as a 

deliberate action. Check the box if the 

issuer has established written procedures 

to ensure timely remedial action for all 

nonqualified bonds according to 

Regulations section 1.141-12 or other 

remedial actions authorized by the 

Commissioner under Regulations section 

1.141-12(h).

Line 44. Check the box if the issuer has 

established written procedures to monitor 

compliance with the arbitrage, yield 

restriction, and rebate requirements of 

section 148.

Line 45a. Check the box if some part of 

the proceeds was used to reimburse 

expenditures. Figure and then enter the 

amount of proceeds that are used to 

reimburse the issuer for amounts paid for 

a qualified purpose prior to the issuance of 

the bonds. See Regulations section 

1.150-2.

Line 45b. Subject to certain exceptions 

under Regulations section 1.150-2(f), an 

issuer must adopt an official intent, as 

described in Regulations section 

1.150-2(e), to reimburse itself for 

preissuance expenditures within 60 days 

after payment of the original expenditure. 

Instructions for Form 8038-G (Rev. 10-2021) -3-
Enter the date the official intent was 

adopted.

Signature and Consent

An authorized representative of the issuer 

must sign Form 8038-G and any 

applicable certification. Also print the 

name and title of the person signing Form 

8038-G. 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 have been designated in 

Form 8038-G.

Note. If the issuer in Part I, lines 3a and 

3b, authorizes the IRS to communicate 

(including in writing and by telephone) with 

a person other than an officer or other 

employee of the issuer, 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.

Paid Preparer

If an authorized officer of the issuer filled in 

this return, the paid preparer's space 

should remain blank. Anyone who 

prepares the return but does not charge 

the organization should not sign the 

return. Certain others who prepare the 

return should not sign. For example, a 

regular, full-time employee of the issuer, 

such as a clerk, secretary, etc., should not 

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.

The paid preparer must:

• Sign the return in the space provided 

for the preparer's signature (a 

facsimile signature is acceptable),

• Enter the preparer information, 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 the 

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 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 the form to this address. 

Instead, see Where To File, earlier.

-4- Instructions for Form 8038-G (Rev. 10-2021)