NOTE: This headliner is current through the publication date. Since changes may have occurred, no guarantees are made concerning the technical accuracy after the publication date.
Headliner Volume 240
July 22, 2008
The IRS’ July Tax Talk Today webcast, “Retirement Plan Pitfalls,” emphasized the importance of properly administering retirement plan programs, ensuring that the retirement plans are in good running order, and monitoring and correcting common mistakes with the IRS’s Fix-it Guide.
There are many reasons to identify and correct mistakes in retirement plans, but if a company finds that its retirement plans are not operating correctly, the IRS has developed a user-friendly, Web-based Fix-It Guide to identify, correct, and avoid frequently encountered errors.
Find it, Fix it, Avoid it
The IRS' Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System offers a comprehensive system of correction programs for sponsors of Qualified Plans, 403(b) Plans, SEPs and SIMPLE IRA Plans that fail to meet the applicable Code requirements.
EPCRS allows plan sponsors to correct qualification failures and continue to provide employees with retirement benefits on a tax-favored basis. The three components of the EPCRS are:
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The Self-Correction Program, which permits plan sponsors to correct certain plan failures without contacting the IRS;
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The Voluntary Correction Program, which permits a plan sponsor to be proactive any time before audit, and to pay a limited fee and receive the IRS' approval for correction of plan failures; and
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The Audit Closing Agreement Program, which permits a plan sponsor to pay a sanction and correct a plan failure while the plan is under audit.
These correction programs help retirement plans operate within the law and protect participant benefits. And they provide real incentives to identify and correct mistakes sooner rather than later. The bottom line is the faster a problem is fixed, the less expensive it will be.
Moderated by Les Witmer, the show’s panel of experts included Avaneesh Bhagat, IRS, program coordinator, Employee Plans Voluntary Compliance; Dan Morgan, partner, Dickstein Shapiro, LLP; Thomas G. Schendt, partner, Alston & Bird LLP; and Monika Templeman, IRS, director, Employee Plans Examination.
The entire July webcast is accessible for viewing via archive for 12 months at Tax Talk Today. A transcript of the show is also available, as well as an audio podcast.
Sponsored by the IRS, Tax Talk Today is a free, live, monthly interactive webcast aimed at educating tax professionals on the most contemporary and complex tax issues. In addition to viewing live webcasts and archived programs, listening to audio podcasts, and reading show transcripts, subscribers can order audio and video recordings.
More information on Tax Talk Today, including registration and CPE credits, is available on the Tax Talk Today Web site.
Tax Talk Today’s next show is on Tuesday, September 9 at 2 p.m. when the topic will be “EITC Due Diligence - It’s Your Responsibility.”
Related Links for Correcting Plan Errors:
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