Sample header record for 1040

This is an example of a 1040 header record:


TL3954,"Abbot","Thomas'Tommy'","L","Abbot","Susan","S","123-45-679","TA_EXPORT","M"

Data fields are explained in the following table.

Field	Contents	Explanation
1	Tax return locator code	6-character alphanumeric code used to identify a tax return
2	Taxpayer last name	Taxpayer last name, maximum 15 characters
3	Taxpayer first name	Taxpayer first name, maximum 15 characters
4	Taxpayer middle initial	Taxpayer middle initial, optional, maximum 1 character
5	Spouse last name	Spouse last name, optional, maximum 15 characters
6	Spouse first name	Spouse first name, optional, maximum 15 characters
7	Spouse middle initial	Spouse middle initial, optional, maximum 1 character
8	Client code	Optional alphanumeric code used to categorize tax return, maximum 20 characters
9	File source	System-generated code identifying the source of the export file – optional for import files, maximum 9 characters
10	Replacement Flag	Mandatory; must be one of four valid values*, maximum 1 character

Additional details

Field number 1 will always be populated in an export file, but is optional in an import file. If it's populated in an import file, the specified tax return locator is updated. If it's not populated, a new tax return database for the specified tax return type is created.
Field number 9 isn't used by the Data Connection import/export feature and isn't imported into the target tax return database. This field is informational only.

This article applies to: