Form 8281

(Rev. September 2014)

Department of the Treasury 

Internal Revenue Service 

Information Return for Publicly Offered 

Original Issue Discount Instruments

▶ Information about Form 8281 and its instructions is at www.irs.gov/form8281.

OMB No. 1545-0887

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 3e State 3f ZIP code

Part II Debt Instrument Information

4 CUSIP number 5a Issue date 5b SEC registration date 6 Maturity date

7 Type of instrument (see instructions)

Fixed rate

Variable rate

Inflation-indexed

Contingent payment

8 Issue price (percent of principal amount) 9a Stated interest rate (see instructions) 9b Variable

9c Contingent

10 Interest payment dates

11 Amount of OID for entire issue 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.

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.

Part III Signature. Within 30 days after the date of issuance of an OID debt instrument or, if registered with the 

SEC after the date of issuance, within 30 days after the date the OID debt instrument is registered with 

the SEC, send two copies of Form 8281 and any attachments to: Department of the Treasury, Internal 

Revenue Service, Ogden, UT 84201-0209.

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 Title ▲

Date

For Paperwork Reduction Act Notice, see instructions. Cat. No. 62024G www.irs.gov/form8281 Form 8281 (Rev. 9-2014)
Form 8281 (Rev. 9-2014) Page 2 

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Form 8281 (Rev. 9-2014) Page 3 

General Instructions

Section references are to the Internal Revenue Code unless 

otherwise noted.

Future Developments

For the latest information about developments related to Form 

8281, such as legislation enacted after this form and 

instructions were published, go to www.irs.gov/form8281.

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, which can be found at 

www.irs.gov/pub1212 by clicking the link under Recent 

Developments. 

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, which can be found at www.irs.gov/pub1212 by clicking 

the link under Recent Developments. 

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.

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

period.

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

year.

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. 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 or, if registered 

with the SEC after the date of issuance, within 30 days after the 

date the OID debt instrument is registered with the SEC. 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).

For more information about OID instruments and the OID 

reporting requirements, see Pub. 1212, Guide to Original Issue 

Discount (OID) Instruments.

Penalty

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 5a. Enter the date the issue was first sold to the public at

the issue price.

Box 5b. Enter the date the issue was registered with the SEC 

for OID debt instruments not registered at the time of issuance.
Form 8281 (Rev. 9-2014) Page 4 

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.

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., 15 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 send us comments from 

www.irs.gov/formspubs/. Click on “More Information” and then 

on “Give us feedback.” Or you can write to Internal Revenue 

Service, Tax Forms and Publications Division, 

SE:W:CAR:MP:TFP, 1111 Constitution Ave., 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.