<PAGE> PAGE 1
000 B000000 12/31/96
000 C000000 0000202679
000 D000000 N
000 E000000 NF
000 F000000 Y
000 G000000 Y
000 H000000 N
000 I000000 3.0
000 J000000 A
001 A000000 PIONEER TAX-FREE INCOME FUND
001 B000000 811-2704
001 C000000 6177427825
002 A000000 60 STATE STREET
002 B000000 BOSTON
002 C000000 MA
002 D010000 02109
002 D020000 1820
003 000000 N
004 000000 N
005 000000 N
006 000000 N
007 A000000 N
007 B000000 0
007 C010100 1
007 C010200 2
007 C010300 3
007 C010400 4
007 C010500 5
007 C010600 6
007 C010700 7
007 C010800 8
007 C010900 9
007 C011000 10
008 A000001 PIONEERING MANAGEMENT CORPORATION
008 B000001 A
008 C000001 801-8255
008 D010001 BOSTON
008 D020001 MA
008 D030001 02109
008 D040001 1820
011 A000001 PIONEER FUNDS DISTRIBUTOR, INC.
011 B000001 8-41256
011 C010001 BOSTON
011 C020001 MA
011 C030001 02109
011 C040001 1820
012 A000001 PIONEERING SERVICES CORPORATION
012 B000001 84-1359
012 C010001 BOSTON
012 C020001 MA
012 C030001 02109
<PAGE> PAGE 2
012 C040001 1820
013 A000001 ARTHUR ANDERSEN LLP
013 B010001 BOSTON
013 B020001 MA
013 B030001 02109
013 B040001 2604
015 A000001 BROWN BROTHERS HARRIMAN & CO.
015 B000001 C
015 C010001 BOSTON
015 C020001 MA
015 C030001 02109
015 C040001 1820
015 E010001 X
015 A000002 BROWN BROTHERS HARRIMAN & CO.
015 B000002 C
015 C010002 BOSTON
015 C020002 MA
015 C030002 02109
015 C040002 1820
015 E010002 X
015 A000003 NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LTD.
015 B000003 S
015 C010003 MELBOURNE 3000
015 D010003 AUSTRALIA
015 D020003 3000
015 E040003 X
015 A000004 CREDITANSTALT BANK VEREIN
015 B000004 S
015 C010004 VIENNA A-1090
015 D010004 AUSTRIA
015 D020004 A-1090
015 E040004 X
015 A000005 BANQUE BRUXELLES LAMBERT
015 B000005 S
015 C010005 BRUSSELS 1040
015 D010005 BELGUIM
015 D020005 1040
015 E040005 X
015 A000006 DEN DANSKE BANK, COPENHAGEN
015 B000006 S
015 C010006 COPENHAGEN
015 D010006 DENMARK
015 E040006 X
015 A000007 MERITA BANK
015 B000007 S
015 C010007 HELSINKI
015 D010007 FINLAND
015 D020007 SF-00100
015 E040007 X
015 A000008 BANQUE PARIBAS
015 B000008 S
<PAGE> PAGE 3
015 C010008 PARIS 75001
015 D010008 FRANCE
015 D020008 75001
015 E040008 X
015 A000009 DRESDENER BANK
015 B000009 S
015 C010009 FRANKFORT D-6000
015 D010009 GERMANY
015 D020009 D-6000
015 E040009 X
015 A000010 STANDARD CHARTERED BANK
015 B000010 S
015 C010010 HONG KONG
015 D010010 HONG KONG
015 E040010 X
015 A000011 BANCA COMMERCIALE ITALIANA, MILAN
015 B000011 S
015 C010011 20121 MILAN
015 D010011 ITALY
015 D020011 20121
015 E040011 X
015 A000012 THE SUMITOMO TRUST AND BANK CO. LTD.
015 B000012 S
015 C010012 TOKYO 100
015 D010012 JAPAN
015 D020012 100
015 E040012 X
015 A000013 HONGKONG BANK MALAYSIA BERHAD
015 B000013 S
015 C010013 KUALA LAMPUR 50100
015 D010013 MALAYSIA
015 D020013 50100
015 E040013 X
015 A000014 CITIBANK, N.A.
015 B000014 S
015 C010014 MEXICO CITY
015 D010014 MEXICO
015 D020014 06695
015 E040014 X
015 A000015 ABN-AMRO BANK
015 B000015 S
015 C010015 BREDA
015 D010015 NETHERLANDS
015 E040015 X
015 A000016 DEN NORSKE CREDITBANK, OSLO
015 B000016 S
015 C010016 OSLO
015 D010016 NORWAY
015 D020016 N-0107
015 E040016 X
015 A000017 CITIBANK, N.A.
<PAGE> PAGE 4
015 B000017 S
015 C010017 MAKATI, MANILA
015 D010017 PHILLIPINES
015 E040017 X
015 A000018 BANCO ESPIRITO SANTO COMMERCIAL DE LISBOA
015 B000018 S
015 C010018 1200 LISBON
015 D010018 PORTUGAL
015 D020018 1200
015 E040018 X
015 A000019 BANCO DE SANTANDER, MADRID
015 B000019 S
015 C010019 MADRID 28022
015 D010019 SPAIN
015 D020019 28022
015 E040019 X
015 A000020 SKANDINAVISKA ENSKILDA BANKEN
015 B000020 S
015 C010020 STOCKHOLM, S-10640
015 D010020 SWEDEN
015 D020020 S-10640
015 E040020 X
015 A000021 SWISS BANK CORPORATION
015 B000021 S
015 C010021 ZURICH
015 D010021 SWITZERLAND
015 E040021 X
015 A000022 ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND
015 B000022 S
015 C010022 LONDON
015 D010022 UNITED KINGDOM
015 D020022 EC4YOJT
015 E040022 X
015 A000023 STANDARD CHARTERED BANK
015 B000023 S
015 C010023 0104 SINGAPORE
015 D010023 SINGAPORE
015 D020023 0104
015 E040023 X
015 A000024 CITIBANK, N.A.
015 B000024 S
015 C010024 SEOUL 110
015 D010024 KOREA
015 D020024 110
015 E040024 X
015 A000025 HONGKONG & SHANGAI BANKING CORP.
015 B000025 S
015 C010025 BANGKOK 10500
015 D010025 THAILAND
015 D020025 10500
015 E040025 X
<PAGE> PAGE 5
015 A000026 CENTRAL TRUST OF CHINA
015 B000026 S
015 C010026 TAIPEI
015 D010026 TAIWAN, CHINA
015 E040026 X
015 A000027 CITIBANK N.A.
015 B000027 S
015 C010027 BUENOS AIRES
015 D010027 ARGENTINA
015 E040027 X
015 A000028 THE FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF BOSTON
015 B000028 S
015 C010028 SAN PAULO
015 D010028 BRAZIL
015 E040028 X
015 A000029 CITIBANK N.A. SANTIAGO
015 B000029 S
015 C010029 SANTIAGO
015 D010029 CHILE
015 E040029 X
015 A000030 STANDARD CHARTERED BANK
015 B000030 S
015 C010030 SHANGHAI
015 D010030 CHINA
015 E040030 X
015 A000031 STANDARD CHARTERED BANK
015 B000031 S
015 C010031 SHENZHEN
015 D010031 CHINA
015 E040031 X
015 A000032 CITITRUST COLOMBIA S.A. SOCIEDAD
015 B000032 S
015 C010032 BOGOTA
015 D010032 COLOMBIA
015 E040032 X
015 A000033 CESKOLOVENSKA OBCHODNI BANK A.S.
015 B000033 S
015 C010033 PRAGUE
015 D010033 CZECH REPUBLIC
015 E040033 X
015 A000034 CITIBANK N.A.
015 B000034 S
015 C010034 ATHENS
015 D010034 GREECE
015 E040034 X
015 A000035 CITIBANK BUDAPEST RT. FOR CITIBANK N.A.
015 B000035 S
015 C010035 BUDAPEST
015 D010035 HUNGARY
015 E040035 X
015 A000036 CITIBANK N.A.
<PAGE> PAGE 6
015 B000036 S
015 C010036 JARKARTA
015 D010036 INDONESIA
015 E040036 X
015 A000037 CITIBANK N.A. MUMBAI
015 B000037 S
015 C010037 BOMBAY
015 D010037 INDIA
015 E040037 X
015 A000038 ALLIED IRISH BANK PLC
015 B000038 S
015 C010038 DUBLIN
015 D010038 IRELAND
015 E040038 X
015 A000039 BANK HAPOLAIM B.M.
015 B000039 S
015 C010039 HAPOALIM
015 D010039 ISREAL
015 E040039 X
015 A000040 NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LTD.
015 B000040 S
015 C010040 AUCKLAND
015 D010040 NEW ZEALAND
015 E040040 X
015 A000041 STANDARD CHARTERED BANK
015 B000041 S
015 C010041 KARACHI
015 D010041 PAKISTAN
015 E040041 X
015 A000042 CITIBANK N.A.
015 B000042 S
015 C010042 LIMA
015 D010042 PERU
015 E040042 X
015 A000043 CITIBANK (POLAND) S.A. FOR CITIBANK N.A.
015 B000043 S
015 C010043 WARSAW
015 D010043 POLAND
015 E040043 X
015 A000044 FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF SOUTHERN AFRICA
015 B000044 S
015 C010044 JOHANNESBURG
015 D010044 SOUTH AFRICA
015 E040044 X
015 A000045 HONGKONG & SHANHAI BANKING CORP.
015 B000045 S
015 C010045 COLUMBO
015 D010045 SRI LANKA
015 E040045 X
015 A000046 CITIBANK N.A. ISTANBUL
015 B000046 S
<PAGE> PAGE 7
015 C010046 ISTANBUL
015 D010046 TURKEY
015 E040046 X
015 A000047 THE FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF BOSTON
015 B000047 S
015 C010047 MONTEVIDEO
015 D010047 URUGUAY
015 E040047 X
015 A000048 CITIBANK N.A.
015 B000048 S
015 C010048 CARACAS
015 D010048 VENEZUELA
015 E040048 X
018 000000 Y
019 A000000 Y
019 B000000 25
019 C000000 PIONEERFDS
020 C000001 0
020 C000002 0
020 C000003 0
020 C000004 0
020 C000005 0
020 C000006 0
020 C000007 0
020 C000008 0
020 C000009 0
020 C000010 0
021 000000 0
022 A000001 LEHMAN BROTHERS
022 B000001 13-2518466
022 C000001 178506
022 D000001 193669
022 A000002 SMITH BARNEY
022 B000002 13-1912900
022 C000002 37122
022 D000002 30996
022 A000003 GEORGE K. BAUM
022 C000003 31086
022 D000003 32930
022 A000004 ABN AMRO SECURITIES
022 B000004 13-3229745
022 C000004 29507
022 D000004 26379
022 A000005 RAYMOND, JAMES
022 B000005 59-1237041
022 C000005 17627
022 D000005 17726
022 A000006 PIPER, JAFFARY
022 B000006 41-0953246
022 C000006 5026
022 D000006 9166
<PAGE> PAGE 8
022 A000007 KIRKPATRICK, POTTIS
022 C000007 3065
022 D000007 10970
022 A000008 GIBRALTOAR SECURITIES
022 C000008 1096
022 D000008 12626
022 A000009 DAIN BOSWORTH
022 B000009 41-0212020
022 C000009 11539
022 D000009 948
022 A000010 FIRST ALBANY
022 C000010 0
022 D000010 10414
023 C000000 378416
023 D000000 401874
024 000000 N
025 D000001 0
025 D000002 0
025 D000003 0
025 D000004 0
025 D000005 0
025 D000006 0
025 D000007 0
025 D000008 0
026 A000000 N
026 B000000 N
026 C000000 N
026 D000000 Y
026 E000000 N
026 F000000 N
026 G010000 N
026 G020000 N
026 H000000 N
027 000000 Y
028 A010000 2269
028 A020000 4
028 A030000 0
028 A040000 -6208
028 B010000 1605
028 B020000 1444
028 B030000 0
028 B040000 -6344
028 C010000 1783
028 C020000 1463
028 C030000 0
028 C040000 -4751
028 D010000 2983
028 D020000 1432
028 D030000 0
028 D040000 -6675
028 E010000 2025
<PAGE> PAGE 9
028 E020000 1445
028 E030000 0
028 E040000 -5919
028 F010000 6478
028 F020000 6464
028 F030000 0
028 F040000 -10623
028 G010000 17143
028 G020000 12252
028 G030000 0
028 G040000 -40520
028 H000000 5612
029 000000 Y
030 A000000 608
030 B000000 4.50
030 C000000 0.00
031 A000000 77
031 B000000 0
032 000000 531
033 000000 0
034 000000 Y
035 000000 0
036 A000000 N
036 B000000 0
037 000000 N
038 000000 0
039 000000 N
040 000000 Y
041 000000 Y
042 A000000 0
042 B000000 0
042 C000000 0
042 D000000 100
042 E000000 0
042 F000000 0
042 G000000 0
042 H000000 0
043 000000 1165
044 000000 14
045 000000 Y
046 000000 N
047 000000 Y
048 000000 0.000
048 A010000 250000
048 A020000 0.500
048 B010000 50000
048 B020000 0.480
048 C010000 0
048 C020000 0.000
048 D010000 0
048 D020000 0.000
<PAGE> PAGE 10
048 E010000 0
048 E020000 0.000
048 F010000 0
048 F020000 0.000
048 G010000 0
048 G020000 0.000
048 H010000 0
048 H020000 0.000
048 I010000 0
048 I020000 0.000
048 J010000 0
048 J020000 0.000
048 K010000 300000
048 K020000 0.450
049 000000 N
050 000000 N
051 000000 N
052 000000 N
053 A000000 Y
053 B000000 Y
054 A000000 Y
054 B000000 N
054 C000000 N
054 D000000 N
054 E000000 N
054 F000000 N
054 G000000 N
054 H000000 Y
054 I000000 N
054 J000000 Y
054 K000000 N
054 L000000 N
054 M000000 Y
054 N000000 N
054 O000000 N
055 A000000 N
055 B000000 N
056 000000 Y
057 000000 N
058 A000000 N
059 000000 Y
060 A000000 Y
060 B000000 Y
061 000000 1000
062 A000000 Y
062 B000000 0.0
062 C000000 0.0
062 D000000 0.0
062 E000000 1.0
062 F000000 0.0
062 G000000 0.0
<PAGE> PAGE 11
062 H000000 0.0
062 I000000 0.0
062 J000000 0.0
062 K000000 0.0
062 L000000 0.9
062 M000000 0.0
062 N000000 0.0
062 O000000 99.0
062 P000000 0.0
062 Q000000 0.0
062 R000000 0.0
063 A000000 0
063 B000000 21.4
064 A000000 Y
064 B000000 N
066 A000000 N
067 000000 N
068 A000000 N
068 B000000 N
069 000000 N
070 A010000 Y
070 A020000 N
070 B010000 N
070 B020000 N
070 C010000 Y
070 C020000 N
070 D010000 N
070 D020000 N
070 E010000 Y
070 E020000 N
070 F010000 Y
070 F020000 N
070 G010000 Y
070 G020000 N
070 H010000 Y
070 H020000 N
070 I010000 N
070 I020000 N
070 J010000 N
070 J020000 N
070 K010000 Y
070 K020000 N
070 L010000 N
070 L020000 N
070 M010000 N
070 M020000 N
070 N010000 N
070 N020000 N
070 O010000 Y
070 O020000 N
070 P010000 Y
<PAGE> PAGE 12
070 P020000 N
070 Q010000 N
070 Q020000 N
070 R010000 N
070 R020000 N
071 A000000 199746
071 B000000 221802
071 C000000 451038
071 D000000 44
072 A000000 12
072 B000000 27766
072 C000000 0
072 D000000 0
072 E000000 0
072 F000000 2197
072 G000000 0
072 H000000 0
072 I000000 551
072 J000000 59
072 K000000 0
072 L000000 27
072 M000000 14
072 N000000 51
072 O000000 0
072 P000000 0
072 Q000000 99
072 R000000 43
072 S000000 11
072 T000000 1165
072 U000000 0
072 V000000 0
072 W000000 32
072 X000000 4249
072 Y000000 97
072 Z000000 23614
072AA000000 7202
072BB000000 0
072CC010000 0
072CC020000 15507
072DD010000 23561
072DD020000 164
072EE000000 7172
073 A010000 0.6240
073 A020000 1.0486
073 B000000 0.1916
073 C000000 0.0000
074 A000000 0
074 B000000 0
074 C000000 0
074 D000000 0
074 E000000 0
<PAGE> PAGE 13
074 F000000 445235
074 G000000 0
074 H000000 0
074 I000000 0
074 J000000 0
074 K000000 0
074 L000000 8604
074 M000000 45
074 N000000 453884
074 O000000 5119
074 P000000 522
074 Q000000 0
074 R010000 0
074 R020000 0
074 R030000 0
074 R040000 1336
074 S000000 0
074 T000000 446907
074 U010000 36947
074 U020000 436
074 V010000 12.36
074 V020000 12.31
074 W000000 0.0000
074 X000000 14332
074 Y000000 0
075 A000000 0
075 B000000 456723
076 000000 0.00
077 A000000 Y
077 B000000 Y
077 C000000 N
077 D000000 N
077 E000000 N
077 F000000 N
077 G000000 N
077 H000000 N
077 I000000 N
077 J000000 N
077 K000000 N
077 L000000 N
077 M000000 N
077 N000000 N
077 O000000 N
077 P000000 N
077 Q010000 N
077 Q020000 N
077 Q030000 N
078 000000 N
080 A000000 ICI MUTUAL INSURANCE
080 C000000 25000
081 A000000 Y
<PAGE> PAGE 14
081 B000000 50
082 A000000 N
082 B000000 0
083 A000000 N
083 B000000 0
084 A000000 N
084 B000000 0
085 A000000 Y
085 B000000 N
086 A010000 0
086 A020000 0
086 B010000 0
086 B020000 0
086 C010000 0
086 C020000 0
086 D010000 0
086 D020000 0
086 E010000 0
086 E020000 0
086 F010000 0
086 F020000 0
SIGNATURE ROBERT P. NAULT
TITLE ASST. SECRETARY
