How to Fill Out IRS Form 13797

IRS Form 13797 is titled "Compliance Check Report." This form is used by organizations classified as Native American Tribes to verify that they have met all their tax requirements. A compliance check is an Internal Revenue Service review tool only, not an investigation or audit.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Download IRS Form 13797 from the Internal Revenue Service's official website (see Resources below).
2. Select each of the required forms your tribe has filed. These forms include numbers 940, 941, 943, 945, 990, 1065, 1120, 720, 730, 11-C, 1042, 2290 and 1041.
3. Enter the tribe entity demographic information, including Employer Identification Number (EIN, or tax ID number), name of entity, address, activity of entity, the year the entity started and identify for which tribe the entity performs services.
4. Check off the applicable tax issues for the entity. These may include employment tax, information reporting, tip income, Title 31, natural resources, excise tax, employee plans, exempt organizations and tax-exempt bonds. Also, check off which of the following forms the entity is required to file: 940, 941, 943, 945, 990, 1065, 1120, 720, 730, 11-C, 1042, 2290, 1041, W-2, W-2G, 9027, 1098-T, 1099-MISC, 1099-R, 8300, FinCEN Form 102 and FinCEN Form 103.
5. Comment on your tribe's review of the forms submitted. Note if your returns were prepared accurately, if there were any processing problems and if there was a balance due or penalties imposed. Suggest how your tribe thinks its filing problems could be alleviated.
6. Note compliance in the areas of welfare assistance, employee leasing, excise taxes (including gaming taxes), non-gaming distributions to members, housing assistance for law enforcement personnel, tip income, the Bank Secrecy Act, distributions of gaming revenues, use of trusts, the aggregation agreement on gaming and the agreement on ITINs (International Tax Identification Numbers) for gaming patrons.
7. Summarize any actions your tribe is taking to improve its IRS compliance in the future. Suggest to the IRS improvements it could make to help your tribe be tax compliant. Provide the name and contact information of the tribe contact/compliance liaison. Note any EIN changes or other required corrections that have been uncovered as a result of the compliance check and your tribe's strategies for completing future corrective measures.