About Form 720 Xinternal Revenue Service Irsgov

Use a Form 720 template to make your document workflow more streamlined.

What Form 720 is and how it works

Form 720 is the IRS quarterly federal excise tax return used by responsible businesses to report applicable excise-tax liabilities and payments. The form is organized by tax categories and requires the filer to identify the relevant activity, calculate the amount due, and provide authorized information. signNow can help prepare a controlled PDF workflow by uploading Form 720, detecting or adding fields, routing it for review and signature, and preserving the completed record with an Audit Trail. The IRS instructions, not signNow, determine filing, payment, and tax requirements.

Who benefits from Form 720 workflows

Form 720 workflows are most useful where finance teams coordinate recurring excise-tax records across preparers, reviewers, and authorized signers.

Financial services firms can use Form 720 workflows to route prepared excise-tax records among accounting reviewers, authorized signers, and retained-record administrators without emailing uncontrolled PDFs.
Manufacturers and distributors with excise-tax obligations can standardize recurring Form 720 preparation packets, while finance personnel verify taxable amounts before signNow records approval.
Multi-entity enterprises can give tax, accounting, and compliance teams controlled access to Form 720 templates, delegated sending, and completed Audit Trails for each reporting entity.

How Form 720 workflows work

Form 720 workflows separate document preparation from tax review, signature collection, and retention of the completed record.

Upload form: Upload the IRS form
Add fields: Place fields on applicable lines
Send form: Send the prepared form
Complete record: Review, sign, and retain evidence

Complete Form 720 with signNow

Use signNow to prepare and document Form 720 execution, while confirming tax calculations and IRS submission requirements separately.

Upload form:
Upload the current Form 720 PDF.
Review fields:
Check detected fields against applicable lines.
Assign roles:
Assign preparer and signer responsibilities.
Complete filing record:
Send, sign, and download records.

Challenges when completing Form 720

Form 720 contains multiple excise-tax sections, so selecting the applicable lines requires identifying the underlying taxable activity first.
Taxable amounts, tax rates, and payment details must remain consistent with supporting invoices, schedules, and accounting records.
A signature workflow can preserve evidence of approval, but it does not determine whether the IRS filing is substantively correct.
Teams may confuse completing Form 720 with submitting it, because signNow manages document execution rather than replacing IRS filing procedures.

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Best practices for Form 720 records

Accurate preparation, controlled approvals, and documented retention help distinguish an executed Form 720 from an unsupported or incomplete tax record.

Reconcile every tax amount before signature

Confirm every completed line against the underlying excise-tax calculation before sending Form 720 for signature. Keep invoices, worksheets, and payment records together so the signer can review the reported figures and the organization can explain each amount later.

Separate preparation, review, and signing responsibilities

Use role-based access when multiple employees prepare, review, and sign Form 720. Limit editing rights after tax review, and preserve the final signed document with its signNow Audit Trail rather than circulating uncontrolled copies.

Apply the correct IRS retention period

Retain Form 720 and supporting records according to the applicable IRS rule and your organization’s tax policy. IRC §6501(a) generally provides a three-year assessment period, with longer periods for substantial understatement or fraud.

Archive the signed form and Audit Trail

Export the completed Form 720 and its Audit Trail after execution. Store both in a controlled repository such as Google Drive, Box, or Egnyte, with access limited to authorized tax and finance personnel.

Security controls for Form 720 records

Encryption at rest:

AES-256 at rest

Transport encryption:

TLS 1.2/1.3 in transit

Security certification:

SOC 2 Type II certified

Information security:

ISO 27001 certified

Signature compliance:

ESIGN and UETA compliant

Signer authentication:

Two-factor authentication

How long to retain Form 720 records

Keep Form 720 and related records for the applicable federal assessment period, while checking longer rules triggered by understatement, fraud, missing returns, or state requirements.

Three years after filing

IRC §6501(a) generally provides the federal assessment period.

Six years after filing

IRC §6501(e) provides a longer period for substantial understatement.

Indefinitely for fraud

Retain indefinitely when fraud or no return filing applies.

Policy-controlled supporting records

Use the applicable IRS rule for supporting tax records.

Longer state requirements

State retention rules may exceed federal requirements.

Authenticate signer:

Records the signer’s authentication event.

Capture timestamps:

Captures signing time and action history.

Track document history:

Records document changes during completion.

Seal final document:

Preserves the completed Form 720 record.

Link audit evidence:

Associates the Audit Trail with execution.

Retrieve and export:

Exports records for controlled retention.

Integrations for Form 720 records

Connect prepared Form 720 workflows with finance systems, collaboration tools, and controlled storage used by tax and accounting teams.

Platform requirements for Form 720

Prepare Form 720 in signNow using current Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Edge on Windows or macOS. signNow mobile apps support iOS and Android workflows, allowing authorized users to review and sign the prepared document from supported mobile devices.

Supported browsers Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge
Operating systems Windows, macOS, iOS, Android
Mobile apps signNow mobile apps

Organizations handling Form 720 should manage devices, accounts, and permissions through their internal controls. Enterprise deployments may require SSO, API access, or managed storage connections. Confirm that the selected signNow plan provides the authentication, integration, and retention controls required by the organization’s tax-record policy.

Features	signNow	DocuSign	Adobe Sign	PandaDoc	Dropbox Sign
Annual Business price	$8/user/month annually	Not verified	Not verified	Not verified	Not verified
Annual Business Premium price	$15/user/month annually	Not verified	Not verified	Not verified	Not verified
Free trial period	7 days, no card	Not verified	Not verified	Not verified	Not verified
Bulk send availability	Business Premium	Not verified	Not verified	Not verified	Not verified
Audit Trail availability	Business plan	Not verified	Not verified	Not verified	Not verified
HIPAA availability	Compliant, BAA required	Not verified	Not verified	Not verified	Not verified

Risks of inaccurate Form 720 records

Missing authorization

Invalid filing

May invalidate the filing

Incorrect liability

Incorrect tax liability

Audit evidence

Audit evidence gaps

IRS review

Complicates IRS review

Signer attribution

Unclear signer attribution

Form 720 troubleshooting and questions

These answers separate signNow document execution from the IRS rules governing Form 720 preparation, filing, payment, and tax treatment.

Form 720 is an IRS tax document, so signNow does not calculate excise tax or transmit the return to the IRS. Upload the prepared PDF, use fields for review and signature, then follow the IRS instructions for filing and payment separately.

The signNow Business plan is listed at $8 per user per month with annual billing and includes templates and Audit Trails. It can document who signed the prepared Form 720, but tax authority remains with the responsible organization.

Business Premium is listed at $15 per user per month with annual billing and includes bulk send. Bulk send is relevant only when the organization prepares multiple individualized Form 720 records; it does not replace tax review for each return.

signNow supports legally binding eSignatures and states ESIGN and UETA compliance. For a Form 720 workflow, preserve signer intent, the completed record, and the Audit Trail; confirm any IRS-specific submission requirement independently.

If a Form 720 PDF has no detected fields, upload the file and place text, date, checkbox, and signature fields manually. Compare each field with the intended IRS line before sending the document for signature.

Enterprise is listed at $30 per user per month with annual billing and adds advanced signer authentication. Use stronger authentication when internal policy requires it, but do not treat authentication as proof that tax figures are correct.

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