Form 5500 appearance

[bzorc]

What software are you using? From your description, I believe that you are looking at the other "bar code" that imbeds the English answers into code, which the IRS computer can scan and input. Based on a seminar I attended, that code is called "Computer scannable 2D bar codes".

[Guest wlank]

Just printed my first 1999 Form 5500. The ledgible (English? language) part looks OK, bar code at the bottom as I expected, but what is the stuff between?

Just above the bar code is an area about 6 1/4" wide by 1 1/4" high. For lack of a better description, maybe looks like the output of some sort of medical test or graphic rendering of genetic code, or something.

I guess the question is, Is there suposed to be anything between the last line on the 5500 , page 1 which starts "For Paperwork Red..." and the bar code?

Idle curiosity: What is it?

William S. Lankford

[Guest Robin Hopkins]

I have also printed my first Form 5500 and is it ugly. I checked with HyperPREP, my tax software vendor and they tell me that that is how it is supposed to look.

[Guest wlank]

"What software are you using?"

ATX Saber

Bill

[Sue H]

The printed form should have two barcodes at the bottom. The first (larger) code contains data entered on the form. The second (smaller) barcode contains ID info about the form, the software vendor, and indicates the form is machine printed (as opposed to the hand-print forms).

They are called "2-d" and "1-d", respectively.

Sue

[Guest BDH]

Does the "1-d" barcode also contain ID information that would identify the registered software user (preparer)?

[Sue H]

No, that info is only included in the optional "preparer" section. However, since all answers are included in the 2d code (the big one), if you answer the "preparer" questions the info would be included there.