<PAGE> PAGE 1
000 B000000 07/31/96
000 C000000 792953
000 D000000 N
000 E000000 NF
000 F000000 Y
000 G000000 N
000 H000000 N
000 I000000 3.0
000 J000000 A
001 A000000 THE AMERICAN FUNDS TAX-EXEMPT SERIES I
001 B000000 811-4653
001 C000000 2028425665
002 A000000 1101 VERMONT AVENUE, N.W., SUITE 600
002 B000000 WASHINGTON
002 C000000 DC
002 D010000 20005
002 D020000 3521
003 000000 N
004 000000 N
005 000000 N
006 000000 N
007 A000000 Y
007 B000000 2
007 C010100 1
007 C020100 THE TAX-EXEMPT FUND OF MARYLAND
007 C030100 N
007 C010200 2
007 C020200 THE TAX-EXEMPT FUND OF VIRGINIA
007 C030200 N
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 A00AA01 CAPITAL RESEARCH AND MANAGEMENT COMPANY
008 B00AA01 A
008 C00AA01 801-8055
008 D01AA01 LOS ANGELES
008 D02AA01 CA
008 D03AA01 90071
008 D04AA01 1406
010 A00AA01 WASHINGTON MANAGEMENT CORPORATION
010 C01AA01 WASHINGTON
010 C02AA01 DC
010 C03AA01 20005
010 C04AA01 3521
011 A00AA01 AMERICAN FUNDS DISTRIBUTORS, INC.
011 B00AA01 8-17168
<PAGE> PAGE 2
011 C01AA01 LOS ANGELES
011 C02AA01 CA
011 C03AA01 90071
011 C04AA01 1406
012 A00AA01 AMERICAN FUNDS SERVICE COMPANY
012 B00AA01 84-00316
012 C01AA01 BREA
012 C02AA01 CA
012 C03AA01 92622
012 C04AA01 2205
013 A00AA01 PRICE WATERHOUSE LLP
013 B01AA01 LOS ANGELES
013 B02AA01 CA
013 B03AA01 90071
013 B04AA01 2889
015 A00AA01 THE CHASE MANHATTAN BANK
015 B00AA01 C
015 C01AA01 BROOKLYN
015 C02AA01 NY
015 C03AA01 11245
015 E01AA01 X
018 00AA00 Y
019 A00AA00 Y
019 B00AA00 38
019 C00AA00 CRMCFNDGRP
020 A000001 NONE
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 PAINEWEBBER INC.
022 B000001 13-2638166
022 C000001 14143
022 D000001 12186
022 A000002 CRAIGIE INC.
022 B000002 54-0294670
022 C000002 5183
022 D000002 8804
022 A000003 GOLDMAN, SACHS & CO.
022 B000003 13-5108880
022 C000003 10324
022 D000003 2378
022 A000004 LEHMAN BROTHERS INC.
022 B000004 13-2518466
<PAGE> PAGE 3
022 C000004 8203
022 D000004 3887
022 A000005 MERRILL LYNCH, PIERCE, FENNER & SMITH INC.
022 B000005 13-5674085
022 C000005 5307
022 D000005 5627
022 A000006 WHEAT FIRST BUTCHER SINGER, INC.
022 B000006 54-0796506
022 C000006 6068
022 D000006 4769
022 A000007 BROWN (ALEX.) & SONS INC.
022 B000007 52-1319768
022 C000007 3491
022 D000007 4193
022 A000008 SMITH BARNEY INC.
022 B000008 13-1912900
022 C000008 500
022 D000008 5713
022 A000009 BANKERS TRUST CO.
022 B000009 13-4941247
022 C000009 2700
022 D000009 2700
022 A000010 FERRIS, BAKER WATTS, INC.
022 B000010 52-0909521
022 C000010 455
022 D000010 2715
023 C000000 62773
023 D000000 63852
024 00AA00 N
025 D00AA01 0
025 D00AA02 0
025 D00AA03 0
025 D00AA04 0
025 D00AA05 0
025 D00AA06 0
025 D00AA07 0
025 D00AA08 0
026 A000000 Y
026 B000000 Y
026 C000000 N
026 D000000 Y
026 E000000 N
026 F000000 N
026 G010000 N
026 G020000 N
026 H000000 N
027 000000 Y
045 00AA00 Y
046 00AA00 N
047 00AA00 N
048 00AA00 0.000
<PAGE> PAGE 4
048 A01AA00 0
048 A02AA00 0.000
048 B01AA00 0
048 B02AA00 0.000
048 C01AA00 0
048 C02AA00 0.000
048 D01AA00 0
048 D02AA00 0.000
048 E01AA00 0
048 E02AA00 0.000
048 F01AA00 0
048 F02AA00 0.000
048 G01AA00 0
048 G02AA00 0.000
048 H01AA00 0
048 H02AA00 0.000
048 I01AA00 0
048 I02AA00 0.000
048 J01AA00 0
048 J02AA00 0.000
048 K01AA00 0
048 K02AA00 0.000
049 00AA00 N
050 00AA00 Y
051 00AA00 N
052 00AA00 N
053 A00AA00 N
054 A00AA00 Y
054 B00AA00 Y
054 C00AA00 Y
054 D00AA00 N
054 E00AA00 N
054 F00AA00 N
054 G00AA00 N
054 H00AA00 Y
054 I00AA00 N
054 J00AA00 Y
054 K00AA00 N
054 L00AA00 Y
054 M00AA00 Y
054 N00AA00 N
054 O00AA00 Y
055 A00AA00 N
055 B00AA00 N
056 00AA00 Y
057 00AA00 N
058 A00AA00 N
059 00AA00 Y
060 A00AA00 Y
060 B00AA00 Y
061 00AA00 1000
<PAGE> PAGE 5
066 A00AA00 N
067 00AA00 N
068 A00AA00 N
068 B00AA00 N
069 00AA00 N
070 A01AA00 Y
070 A02AA00 N
070 B01AA00 N
070 B02AA00 N
070 C01AA00 N
070 C02AA00 N
070 D01AA00 N
070 D02AA00 N
070 E01AA00 N
070 E02AA00 N
070 F01AA00 N
070 F02AA00 N
070 G01AA00 N
070 G02AA00 N
070 H01AA00 N
070 H02AA00 N
070 I01AA00 N
070 I02AA00 N
070 J01AA00 N
070 J02AA00 N
070 K01AA00 N
070 K02AA00 N
070 L01AA00 N
070 L02AA00 N
070 M01AA00 N
070 M02AA00 N
070 N01AA00 Y
070 N02AA00 N
070 O01AA00 Y
070 O02AA00 N
070 P01AA00 N
070 P02AA00 N
070 Q01AA00 N
070 Q02AA00 N
070 R01AA00 Y
070 R02AA00 N
077 A000000 Y
077 B000000 Y
078 000000 N
080 A00AA00 NATIONAL UNION FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY
080 B00AA00 ICI MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY & CHUBB GROUP
080 C00AA00 65000
081 A00AA00 Y
081 B00AA00 50
082 A00AA00 N
082 B00AA00 0
<PAGE> PAGE 6
083 A00AA00 N
083 B00AA00 0
084 A00AA00 N
084 B00AA00 0
085 A00AA00 Y
085 B00AA00 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
028 A010100 724
028 A020100 221
028 A030100 0
028 A040100 847
028 B010100 657
028 B020100 216
028 B030100 0
028 B040100 642
028 C010100 760
028 C020100 208
028 C030100 0
028 C040100 902
028 D010100 2254
028 D020100 223
028 D030100 0
028 D040100 641
028 E010100 628
028 E020100 214
028 E030100 0
028 E040100 895
028 F010100 563
028 F020100 212
028 F030100 0
028 F040100 836
028 G010100 5586
028 G020100 1294
028 G030100 0
028 G040100 4763
028 H000100 3201
029 000100 Y
030 A000100 245
030 B000100 4.75
030 C000100 0.00
<PAGE> PAGE 7
031 A000100 47
031 B000100 0
032 000100 198
033 000100 0
034 000100 N
035 000100 0
036 B000100 0
037 000100 N
038 000100 0
039 000100 N
040 000100 Y
041 000100 Y
042 A000100 0
042 B000100 0
042 C000100 0
042 D000100 100
042 E000100 0
042 F000100 0
042 G000100 0
042 H000100 0
043 000100 171
044 000100 0
062 A000100 Y
062 B000100 0.0
062 C000100 0.0
062 D000100 0.0
062 E000100 2.5
062 F000100 0.0
062 G000100 0.0
062 H000100 0.0
062 I000100 0.0
062 J000100 0.0
062 K000100 0.0
062 L000100 0.0
062 M000100 0.0
062 N000100 0.0
062 O000100 96.3
062 P000100 0.0
062 Q000100 0.0
062 R000100 0.0
063 A000100 0
063 B000100 10.6
064 A000100 Y
064 B000100 N
071 A000100 17422
071 B000100 12040
071 C000100 75221
071 D000100 16
072 A000100 12
072 B000100 4644
072 C000100 0
<PAGE> PAGE 8
072 D000100 0
072 E000100 0
072 F000100 197
072 G000100 160
072 H000100 0
072 I000100 34
072 J000100 4
072 K000100 13
072 L000100 14
072 M000100 9
072 N000100 6
072 O000100 0
072 P000100 0
072 Q000100 0
072 R000100 17
072 S000100 4
072 T000100 171
072 U000100 0
072 V000100 0
072 W000100 7
072 X000100 636
072 Y000100 0
072 Z000100 4008
072AA000100 81
072BB000100 0
072CC010100 365
072CC020100 0
072DD010100 4008
072DD020100 0
072EE000100 0
073 A010100 0.7970
073 A020100 0.0000
073 B000100 0.0000
073 C000100 0.0000
074 A000100 421
074 B000100 0
074 C000100 2024
074 D000100 77068
074 E000100 0
074 F000100 0
074 G000100 0
074 H000100 0
074 I000100 0
074 J000100 0
074 K000100 0
074 L000100 772
074 M000100 0
074 N000100 80285
074 O000100 0
074 P000100 31
074 Q000100 0
<PAGE> PAGE 9
074 R010100 0
074 R020100 0
074 R030100 0
074 R040100 227
074 S000100 0
074 T000100 80027
074 U010100 5200
074 U020100 0
074 V010100 15.39
074 V020100 0.00
074 W000100 0.0000
074 X000100 2446
074 Y000100 0
075 A000100 0
075 B000100 78022
076 000100 0.00
028 A010200 1282
028 A020200 236
028 A030200 0
028 A040200 2796
028 B010200 971
028 B020200 226
028 B030200 0
028 B040200 714
028 C010200 768
028 C020200 218
028 C030200 0
028 C040200 1017
028 D010200 683
028 D020200 236
028 D030200 0
028 D040200 862
028 E010200 569
028 E020200 227
028 E030200 0
028 E040200 1144
028 F010200 1000
028 F020200 219
028 F030200 0
028 F040200 1619
028 G010200 5273
028 G020200 1362
028 G030200 0
028 G040200 8152
028 H000200 4379
029 000200 Y
030 A000200 300
030 B000200 4.75
030 C000200 0.00
031 A000200 58
031 B000200 0
<PAGE> PAGE 10
032 000200 242
033 000200 0
034 000200 N
035 000200 0
036 B000200 0
037 000200 N
038 000200 0
039 000200 N
040 000200 Y
041 000200 Y
042 A000200 0
042 B000200 0
042 C000200 0
042 D000200 100
042 E000200 0
042 F000200 0
042 G000200 0
042 H000200 0
043 000200 197
044 000200 0
062 A000200 Y
062 B000200 0.0
062 C000200 0.0
062 D000200 0.0
062 E000200 1.9
062 F000200 0.0
062 G000200 0.0
062 H000200 0.0
062 I000200 0.0
062 J000200 0.0
062 K000200 0.0
062 L000200 0.0
062 M000200 0.0
062 N000200 0.0
062 O000200 97.0
062 P000200 0.0
062 Q000200 0.0
062 R000200 0.0
063 A000200 0
063 B000200 10.7
064 A000200 Y
064 B000200 N
071 A000200 24653
071 B000200 26840
071 C000200 90166
071 D000200 27
072 A000200 12
072 B000200 5432
072 C000200 0
072 D000200 0
072 E000200 0
<PAGE> PAGE 11
072 F000200 227
072 G000200 183
072 H000200 0
072 I000200 40
072 J000200 5
072 K000200 16
072 L000200 17
072 M000200 9
072 N000200 5
072 O000200 0
072 P000200 0
072 Q000200 0
072 R000200 17
072 S000200 4
072 T000200 197
072 U000200 0
072 V000200 0
072 W000200 7
072 X000200 727
072 Y000200 0
072 Z000200 4705
072AA000200 131
072BB000200 0
072CC010200 74
072CC020200 0
072DD010200 4705
072DD020200 0
072EE000200 320
073 A010200 0.8120
073 A020200 0.0000
073 B000200 0.0550
073 C000200 0.0000
074 A000200 122
074 B000200 0
074 C000200 1759
074 D000200 87757
074 E000200 0
074 F000200 0
074 G000200 0
074 H000200 0
074 I000200 0
074 J000200 0
074 K000200 0
074 L000200 1469
074 M000200 0
074 N000200 91107
074 O000200 0
074 P000200 34
074 Q000200 0
074 R010200 0
074 R020200 0
<PAGE> PAGE 12
074 R030200 0
074 R040200 581
074 S000200 0
074 T000200 90492
074 U010200 5740
074 U020200 0
074 V010200 15.77
074 V020200 0.00
074 W000200 0.0000
074 X000200 2786
074 Y000200 0
075 A000200 0
075 B000200 92158
076 000200 0.00
SIGNATURE HOWARD L. KITZMILLER
TITLE SR. VICE PRESIDENT
August 30, 1996
To the Board of Trustees of
The American Funds Tax-Exempt Series I
In planning and performing our audit of the financial statements of each
of the portfolios of The American Funds Tax-Exempt Series I, consisting
of the Tax-Exempt Fund of Maryland and the Tax-Exempt Fund of Virginia
(collectively, the "Trust") for the year ended July 31, 1996, we
considered its internal control structure, including procedures for
safeguarding securities, in order to determine our auditing procedures
for the purposes of expressing our opinion on the financial statements
and to comply with the requirements of Form N-SAR, and not to provide
assurance on the internal control structure.
The management of the Trust is responsible for establishing and
maintaining an internal control structure. In fulfilling this
responsibility, estimates and judgments by management are required to
assess the expected benefits and related costs of internal control
structure policies and procedures. Two of the objectives of an internal
control structure are to provide management with reasonable, but not
absolute, assurance that assets are appropriately safeguarded against
loss from unauthorized use or disposition and that transactions are
executed in accordance with management's authorization and recorded
properly to permit preparation of financial statements in conformity
with generally accepted accounting principles.
Because of inherent limitations in any internal control structure,
errors or irregularities may occur and not be detected. Also,
projection of any evaluation of the structure to future periods is
subject to the risk that it may become inadequate because of changes in
conditions or that the effectiveness of the design and operation may
deteriorate.
Our consideration of the internal control structure would not
necessarily disclose all matters in the internal control structure that
might be material weaknesses under standards established by the American
Institute of Certified Public Accountants. A material weakness is a
condition in which the design or operation of the specific internal
control structure elements does not reduce to a relatively low level the
risk that errors or irregularities in amounts that would be material in
relation to the financial statements being audited may occur and not be
detected within a timely period by employees in the normal course of
performing their assigned functions. However, we noted no matters
involving the internal control structure, including procedures for
safeguarding securities, that we consider to be material weaknesses as
defined above as of July 31, 1996.
This report is intended solely for the information and use of management
and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
/S/
Price Waterhouse LLP
<TABLE> <S> <C>
<ARTICLE> 6
<SERIES>
<NUMBER> 1
<NAME> THE TAX-EXEMPT FUND OF MARYLAND
<MULTIPLIER> 1000
<S> <C>
<PERIOD-TYPE> YEAR
<FISCAL-YEAR-END> JUL-31-1996
<PERIOD-END> JUL-31-1996
<INVESTMENTS-AT-COST> 76053
<INVESTMENTS-AT-VALUE> 79092
<RECEIVABLES> 772
<ASSETS-OTHER> 421
<OTHER-ITEMS-ASSETS> 0
<TOTAL-ASSETS> 80285
<PAYABLE-FOR-SECURITIES> 0
<SENIOR-LONG-TERM-DEBT> 0
<OTHER-ITEMS-LIABILITIES> 258
<TOTAL-LIABILITIES> 258
<SENIOR-EQUITY> 0
<PAID-IN-CAPITAL-COMMON> 76988
<SHARES-COMMON-STOCK> 5200
<SHARES-COMMON-PRIOR> 4914
<ACCUMULATED-NII-CURRENT> 0
<OVERDISTRIBUTION-NII> 0
<ACCUMULATED-NET-GAINS> 0
<OVERDISTRIBUTION-GAINS> 0
<ACCUM-APPREC-OR-DEPREC> 3039
<NET-ASSETS> 80027
<DIVIDEND-INCOME> 0
<INTEREST-INCOME> 4644
<OTHER-INCOME> 0
<EXPENSES-NET> 636
<NET-INVESTMENT-INCOME> 4008
<REALIZED-GAINS-CURRENT> 81
<APPREC-INCREASE-CURRENT> 365
<NET-CHANGE-FROM-OPS> 4454
<EQUALIZATION> 0
<DISTRIBUTIONS-OF-INCOME> 4008
<DISTRIBUTIONS-OF-GAINS> 0
<DISTRIBUTIONS-OTHER> 0
<NUMBER-OF-SHARES-SOLD> 733
<NUMBER-OF-SHARES-REDEEMED> 613
<SHARES-REINVESTED> 166
<NET-CHANGE-IN-ASSETS> 4883
<ACCUMULATED-NII-PRIOR> 0
<ACCUMULATED-GAINS-PRIOR> (81)
<OVERDISTRIB-NII-PRIOR> 0
<OVERDIST-NET-GAINS-PRIOR> 0
<GROSS-ADVISORY-FEES> 357
<INTEREST-EXPENSE> 0
<GROSS-EXPENSE> 636
<AVERAGE-NET-ASSETS> 78022
<PER-SHARE-NAV-BEGIN> 15.29
<PER-SHARE-NII> .80
<PER-SHARE-GAIN-APPREC> .10
<PER-SHARE-DIVIDEND> .80
<PER-SHARE-DISTRIBUTIONS> 0
<RETURNS-OF-CAPITAL> 0
<PER-SHARE-NAV-END> 15.39
<EXPENSE-RATIO> .81
<AVG-DEBT-OUTSTANDING> 0
<AVG-DEBT-PER-SHARE> 0
</TABLE>
<TABLE> <S> <C>
<ARTICLE> 6
<SERIES>
<NUMBER> 2
<NAME> THE TAX-EXEMPT FUND OF VIRGINIA
<MULTIPLIER> 1000
<S> <C>
<PERIOD-TYPE> YEAR
<FISCAL-YEAR-END> JUL-31-1996
<PERIOD-END> JUL-31-1996
<INVESTMENTS-AT-COST> 85964
<INVESTMENTS-AT-VALUE> 89516
<RECEIVABLES> 1469
<ASSETS-OTHER> 122
<OTHER-ITEMS-ASSETS> 0
<TOTAL-ASSETS> 91107
<PAYABLE-FOR-SECURITIES> 0
<SENIOR-LONG-TERM-DEBT> 0
<OTHER-ITEMS-LIABILITIES> 615
<TOTAL-LIABILITIES> 615
<SENIOR-EQUITY> 0
<PAID-IN-CAPITAL-COMMON> 86944
<SHARES-COMMON-STOCK> 5740
<SHARES-COMMON-PRIOR> 5807
<ACCUMULATED-NII-CURRENT> 0
<OVERDISTRIBUTION-NII> 0
<ACCUMULATED-NET-GAINS> (4)
<OVERDISTRIBUTION-GAINS> 0
<ACCUM-APPREC-OR-DEPREC> 3552
<NET-ASSETS> 90492
<DIVIDEND-INCOME> 0
<INTEREST-INCOME> 5432
<OTHER-INCOME> 0
<EXPENSES-NET> 727
<NET-INVESTMENT-INCOME> 4705
<REALIZED-GAINS-CURRENT> 131
<APPREC-INCREASE-CURRENT> 74
<NET-CHANGE-FROM-OPS> 4910
<EQUALIZATION> 0
<DISTRIBUTIONS-OF-INCOME> 4705
<DISTRIBUTIONS-OF-GAINS> 320
<DISTRIBUTIONS-OTHER> 0
<NUMBER-OF-SHARES-SOLD> 656
<NUMBER-OF-SHARES-REDEEMED> 913
<SHARES-REINVESTED> 190
<NET-CHANGE-IN-ASSETS> (1191)
<ACCUMULATED-NII-PRIOR> 0
<ACCUMULATED-GAINS-PRIOR> 185
<OVERDISTRIB-NII-PRIOR> 0
<OVERDIST-NET-GAINS-PRIOR> 0
<GROSS-ADVISORY-FEES> 410
<INTEREST-EXPENSE> 0
<GROSS-EXPENSE> 727
<AVERAGE-NET-ASSETS> 92158
<PER-SHARE-NAV-BEGIN> 15.79
<PER-SHARE-NII> .81
<PER-SHARE-GAIN-APPREC> .03
<PER-SHARE-DIVIDEND> .81
<PER-SHARE-DISTRIBUTIONS> .05
<RETURNS-OF-CAPITAL> 0
<PER-SHARE-NAV-END> 15.77
<EXPENSE-RATIO> .79
<AVG-DEBT-OUTSTANDING> 0
<AVG-DEBT-PER-SHARE> 0
</TABLE>
