The OTR-40 Questionnaire For Determining Responsibility For Corporate Taxes is a form of the DC Office of Tax and Revenue (OTR), part of the Office of the Chief Financial Officer, designed to help determine who is personally responsible for paying a corporation's taxes. It is a corporate tax questionnaire, not a DC property tax form: it asks about your role in the corporation, the duties you performed and what you knew about its finances. On this page you can fill out the form online on FillingPDF and download or print the completed PDF; the original is published by OTR at the official source URL.
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What is OTR-40?
OTR-40 Questionnaire For Determining Responsibility For Corporate Taxes is a District of Columbia form, issued by the Office of Tax and Revenue (OTR), designed to help determine who is personally responsible for paying a corporation's taxes.
The form states its legal background at the top: District of Columbia Code Sections 1530, 1812.9 and 2011 hold corporate officers or employees responsible for paying corporate taxes personally liable for the payment of the taxes. The questionnaire gathers the facts used to decide who that person is. It is issued under the Government of the District of Columbia, Office of the Chief Financial Officer, and the completed form goes to the OTR Collection Division. The agency lists it among its miscellaneous tax forms.
The printed revision is Form OTR 40 (Rev. 5/98). It is organized in four parts:
- Section 1 – Background Information: your identity, the corporation, whether the state revoked its franchise or it filed bankruptcy, your association and duties, any resignation, and a table of positions with names, dates of service and percentage of ownership.
- Section II – Ability to Direct: twelve duties or functions, from hiring and firing employees to determining company financial policy, with dates and the names of anyone else who performed them.
- Additional Information: questions about the outside accountant, tax returns, contacts with OTR and which bills were paid.
- Additional Comments: a closing question, free comments and a signed declaration.
The form is not a tax return and does not report or pay any tax.
Who needs to file OTR-40?
The form is written for people associated with a corporation whose responsibility for paying its taxes is being determined. It states that DC Code Sections 1530, 1812.9 and 2011 hold corporate officers or employees responsible for paying corporate taxes personally liable, and that the questionnaire is designed to help determine who is personally responsible. The form does not say who must complete it; its questions are addressed to "you" and cover these groups:
- Officers and directors. The position table lists Chairman of the Board, Other Directors, President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer.
- Shareholders and owners. The table has a line for Others (shareholders, owners) with a percentage of ownership.
- Employees who handled financial duties. Section II asks whether you hired or fired employees, authorized payment of bills, signed corporate checks, prepared DC tax returns or determined financial policy.
- People who left the corporation. The form asks whether you resigned, whether in writing, when, to whom, and whether your name was removed from the bank signature cards.
Section II also asks you to give details of every other person who performed those duties. The form does not describe any representative signing for someone else; the declaration at the end is made by the person completing it.
When to file OTR-40
The form prints no due date or filing window. It is a questionnaire designed to help determine who is personally responsible for a corporation's taxes, and its only instruction on timing is to forward the completed questionnaire to the OTR Collection Division. Because the answers cover dates of employment, resignation, bank signature cards and the period when delinquent taxes were increasing, gather those dates before you start. For any deadline that applies to your situation, contact the OTR Collection Division.
Documents you need
- Additional sheets, only if necessary: the form says to attach them when the people you list in Section II, or your answers, need more room.
- The form asks for no other attachments; copies of records or a resignation letter are not listed as required.
How to fill out OTR-40
Enter your personal details
In Section 1, enter your Name, Address, Home Telephone Number, Office Telephone Number and Social Security Number.
Identify the corporation
Enter the Corporation Registration Number, the Taxpayer (Corporation) Name and Address, the Incorporation (Date) and the State Where Incorporated.
Answer the revocation and bankruptcy questions
Check Yes or No for whether the state revoked the corporation franchise and whether the corporation ever filed bankruptcy. If you check Yes, give the date.
Describe your association and duties
Explain how you were associated with the corporation, describe your duties and responsibilities, and give the dates of your employment.
Complete the resignation and records questions
Say whether you resigned and whether in writing, when, whether a copy is available and to whom it went. Then answer the bank signature cards question, the amount you invested in the corporation and where the financial records are located.
Fill in the positions table
For Chairman of the Board, Other Directors, President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and Others (shareholders, owners), enter each Name, Dates of Service and % Ownership.
Complete the Section II duties table
For each of the twelve duties, check Yes or No for whether you performed it and enter the From and To dates. If anyone else did, enter the name and their From and To dates.
List the other people involved
For each person other than you listed in Section II, enter Name, Address, Phone Number and Social Security Number, plus Additional Information on their knowledge or control of the corporation's financial affairs. Attach additional sheets if necessary.
Answer the Additional Information questions
Cover the outside accountant, your discussions with the accountant or bookkeeper, who reviewed tax returns or payments, who handled OTR contacts, which obligations were paid while delinquent taxes grew, and who decided what to do when money ran short.
Add comments and name others
Check Yes or No for whether anyone else may have been involved or could provide information, and give a name under Who. Add any comments you wish.
Sign, review and download the PDF
Sign and date the declaration that the information is true, correct and complete. Check every answer, then download or print the completed PDF from FillingPDF and mail it as described under How to submit.
How to submit OTR-40
The form names one channel: mail. Forward the completed questionnaire to:
- By mail: Office of Tax and Revenue, Collection Division, P.O. Box 37559, Washington, D.C. 20013.
The form prints no portal, fax number or in-person option. If you list more people in Section II than the form has room for, or need more space for any answer, attach additional sheets to the questionnaire, as the form allows. Sign and date the declaration on the last page before you send it.
FillingPDF lets you fill out and download the PDF; submission follows the channel above.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Mailing the questionnaire to an address other than Office of Tax and Revenue, Collection Division, P.O. Box 37559, Washington, D.C. 20013.
- Leaving the declaration unsigned or undated; the form ends with a signed statement that the information is true, correct and complete.
- Marking Yes in Section II without entering the From and To dates for the period you performed the duty.
- Not listing the name and period of another person who performed a duty, when the form asks you to name anyone else who did.
- Listing other people in Section II but leaving out their address, phone number or Social Security Number, which the form requests for each person other than you.
- Using the space on the form when more room is needed instead of attaching additional sheets.
- Answering Yes to the revoked franchise, bankruptcy or resignation questions without giving the date the form asks for.
- Treating the form as a DC property tax form; it concerns responsibility for corporate taxes.
Frequently asked questions
What is the OTR-40 questionnaire?
OTR-40 is a form of the DC Office of Tax and Revenue designed to help determine who is personally responsible for paying a corporation's taxes. It gathers facts about your role, duties, resignation, ownership and knowledge of the corporation's finances.
Is OTR-40 a DC property tax form?
No. OTR-40 deals with responsibility for corporate taxes, not DC property tax. The form cites DC Code Sections 1530, 1812.9 and 2011, which hold corporate officers or employees responsible for paying corporate taxes personally liable.
Where do I mail the OTR-40?
Mail the completed questionnaire to Office of Tax and Revenue, Collection Division, P.O. Box 37559, Washington, D.C. 20013. The form prints no other submission channel, such as an online portal or an in-person address.
Can I fill out the OTR-40 online?
You can fill out the OTR-40 PDF online on FillingPDF and download or print it. FillingPDF is an independent service and does not send the form to OTR; you mail it to the Collection Division yourself.
What if more than one other person was involved?
Provide the requested details for each person other than you listed in Section II: name, address, phone number, Social Security Number and additional information about their knowledge or control. The form says to attach additional sheets if necessary.
Who signs the OTR-40?
The person completing it signs and dates the declaration on the last page. It states that you have explained the information given and that, to the best of your knowledge and belief, it is true, correct and complete.
Is there a deadline for filing the OTR-40?
The form prints no deadline. Its only timing-related instruction is to forward the completed questionnaire to the OTR Collection Division. Contact that office about any date that applies to your case.
What revision of the OTR-40 is this page based on?
The form prints Form OTR 40 (Rev. 5/98) on each page. It carries the heading of the Government of the District of Columbia, Office of the Chief Financial Officer, Office of Tax and Revenue.
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