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- What form should I file to have a retirement plan reviewed by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in order to receive a determination letter?
- What form should I file to have a master or prototype plan reviewed by the IRS in order to receive an opinion letter?
- What form should I file to have a volume submitter plan reviewed by the IRS in order to receive an advisory letter?
- What form should I file to notify the IRS of a plan merger, consolidation, spin-off, transfer of assets or liabilities, or of a qualified separate line of business?
- Where do I file my application or request for a letter?
- How do I get assistance?
- What items should I consider before filing to prevent delays in the processing of my application?
- What happens to my application after it is mailed?
- Is it important to retain copies of the application(s), demonstration(s), and related information that were submitted to the IRS?
- How do I obtain a copy of my prior determination letter?
- Is there one person at the IRS to whom a practitioner, who submits a large number of determination letter requests, can direct all of his/her submissions? Is it possible to have one person at the IRS review all of the applications submitted?
- If a plan sponsor electronically signs its M&P plan adoption agreement, as permitted under Rev. Proc. 2005-16, does any additional information need to be submitted with the determination letter application for the plan?
What form should I file to have a retirement plan reviewed by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in order to receive a determination letter?
Form 5300 & Instructions - Application for Determination for Employee Benefit Plan (including collectively bargained plans formerly filed on Form 5303)
Used by: Adopters of individually designed plans.
Form 5303 & Instructions - Application for Determination for Collectively Bargained Plan
Form 5307 & Instructions - Application for Determination for Adopters of Master or Prototype or Volume Submitter Plans
Used by: Adopters of one of the following:
- A prototype plan that has been approved by the IRS; or
- A volume submitter plan that has been approved by the IRS.
Form 5310 & Instructions - Application for Determination for Terminating Plan
Used by: The sponsor of any type of qualified plan which is terminating, except multi-employer plans covered by Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) insurance.
Schedule Q (Form 5300) & Instructions - Elective Determination Requests (formerly "Nondiscrimination Requirements")
Used by: Filers of Forms 5300, 5307, or 5310 to request specific determinations of plan compliance with the coverage and nondiscrimination requirements of IRC 401(a)(26), IRC 410(b) and IRC 401(a)(4).
Form 6406 & Instructions - Short Form Application for Determination for Minor Amendment of Employee Benefit Plan
Used by: Adopters of minor amendments for plans which currently have a GUST (GATT, SBJPA, USERRA, TRA'97, RRA'98 and CRA 2000) determination letter.
Form 6406 should not be used for amendments which include complex issues or restate the plan. Also, Form 6406 should not be used for the following:
- Significant changes to the plan's benefits or coverage, such as the addition of an IRC 401(k) or ESOP feature.
- Plan mergers, consolidations, transfers of assets or liabilities or terminations.
- EGTRRA restatements.
FORM 5300, 5307, 5310, & 6406 FILERS MUST ALSO SUBMIT:
- Form 8717, User Fee for Employee Plan Determination, Opinion, Advisory Letter Request
- Appropriate user fee payment
There are new submission procedures for individually designed plans, beginning February 1, 2006. A summary of the new submission procedures for individually designed plans is contained in New Submission Procedures for Pre-Approved Plans and Individually Designed Plans.
Under these new procedures, sponsors of individually designed plans will submit applications for determination letters once every five years, under a staggered system of 5-year cycles. Not all individually designed plans have the same cycle, so be sure that the plan you are submitting is submitted in the appropriate cycle. See CHART to determine your cycle. The submission period for Cycle A plans begins February 1, 2006 and ends January 31, 2007.
Applications for determination letters for individually designed plans that are filed on or after February 1, 2006 will be reviewed taking into account the requirements of EGTRRA as well as other changes in qualification requirements and guidance identified on the applicable Cumulative List. The Cumulative List for Cycle A plans is Notice 2005-101. Revenue Procedure 2008-6 contains revised procedures for issuing determination letters under this new program.
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What form should I file to have a master or prototype plan reviewed by the IRS in order to receive an opinion letter?
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What form should I file to have a volume submitter plan reviewed by the IRS in order to receive an advisory letter?
There are new procedures for master or prototype and volume submitter plans. The new program opened on February 17, 2005. See New Submission Procedures for Pre-Approved Plans and Individually Designed Plans.
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What form should I file to notify the IRS of a plan merger, consolidation, spin-off, transfer of assets or liabilities, or of a qualified separate line of business?
Form 5310-A & Instructions - Notice of Plan Merger or Consolidation, Spin-off, or Transfer of Plan Assets or Liabilities; Notice of Qualified Separate Lines of Business
See the Instructions for Form 5310-A for a more detailed description of the terms involved, e.g., spin-off, merger.
Form 5310-A should be sent to the following address:
Internal Revenue Service
P.O. Box 192
Covington, KY 41012-0192
NOTE: A determination letter will not be issued for this type of form.
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Where do I file my application or request for a letter?
A. Applications for individual determination letters should be sent to:
Internal Revenue Service
P.O. Box 192
Covington, KY 41012-0192
The address used for Express Mail or delivery services should be sent to:
Internal Revenue Service
201 West Rivercenter Blvd.
Attn: Extracting, Stop 312
Covington, KY 41011
B. Volume Submitter Specimen and Master and Prototype Plans are sent to:
Internal Revenue Service
P.O. Box 2508
Room 5106
Cincinnati, OH 45201
Attn: VS Coordinator or Master and Prototype Coordinator, as applicable
The address used for express mail or delivery services for Volume
Submitter Specimen and Master and Prototype Plans is:
Internal Revenue Service
550 Main Street
Room 5106
Cincinnati, OH 45202
Attn: VS Coordinator or Master and Prototype Coordinator, as applicable
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How do I get assistance?
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What items should I consider before filing to prevent delays in the processing of my application?
To insure a complete submission, please use the procedural requirements checklist on the last page of Forms 5300, 5307, 5310, and 6406.
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What happens to my application after it is mailed?
Once the application is received at the Processing Center in Covington, Kentucky, the user fee payment is processed and the application is established on an inventory control system. The application is forwarded to the Federal Office Building in Cincinnati where an Employee Plans (EP) specialist reviews the file for completeness.
If all required information and necessary items have been submitted, and if the plan is qualified without further development, the case will be approved as filed. (Occasionally, minor items may be secured and then the case will be closed.)
If the application cannot be approved as filed or by securing minor items, the file will be assigned to an EP specialist who will work the application to completion. The Employee Plans specialist will FAX, telephone, or write the plan sponsor and/or Power of Attorney if additional information or plan amendments are needed.
Some cases are selected for internal quality review before they are closed. This is done to ensure that consistency and quality are maintained in application review and development.
The Internal Revenue Service may not issue a determination letter until, at least, 60 days after receipt of the application. This allows interested parties a period of time to submit comments.
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Is it important to retain copies of the application(s), demonstration(s), and related information that were submitted to the IRS?
Yes, it is very important to retain copies of all of the following information submitted to the Internal Revenue Service:
- Application(s)
- Form(s)
- Demonstration(s)
- Cover letter
- Other correspondence
- Other information and plan data
This information must be retained to preserve reliance on a determination letter to the extent that it applies to an optional determination request.
If a determination of operational compliance with the coverage and/or nondiscrimination requirements is requested, such determination is based on the information in the written plan document, the application and relevant demonstrations and other supporting data submitted by the employer. Therefore, the employer/plan sponsor must retain copies of this information, or it will lose reliance on the letter with regard to the issues for which the information was provided.
See Publication 794 for a more detailed discussion of the significance of a favorable determination letter.
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How do I obtain a copy of my prior determination letter?
Call the Employee Plans toll-free telephone number at 1-877-829-5500, and provide:
- The Document Locator Number (DLN) or the Employer Identification Number (EIN),
- Plan number,
- Form number, and
- Plan sponsor's name.
NOTE: A copy of a prior letter is available to the public if the plan has more than 25 participants.
Determination letters for plans with 25 or fewer participants may only be disclosed to plan participants, authorized representatives of plan participants, the plan sponsor and/or the sponsor's power of attorney.
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Is there one person at the IRS to whom a practitioner, who submits a large number of determination letter requests, can direct all of his/her submissions? Is it possible to have one person at the IRS review all of the applications submitted?
On June 17, 2002, the Employee Plans (EP) Determinations function, implemented a program designed to keep submissions of practitioners meeting certain criteria together during the determination letter request process. As part of the participation requirements, participating practitioners must file at least 30 applications at a time and include the practitioner assignment number (in green ink) on the upper left hand corner of the first page of every application. This program was discussed in the Spring/Summer 2002 edition of the Employee Plans News (see page 8).
In February 2006, EP Determinations implemented the new staggered remedial amendment approach for receiving and processing determination applications under Revenue Procedure 2005-66. Due to the volume of processing changes encountered during the implementation of the staggered approach, EP Determinations temporarily suspended the practice of associating and working the “green number” associated applications.
However, EP Determinations anticipates that the “green number” program will be reinstituted again next year with the completion of our new automated inventory control system, Tax Exempt Determination System (TEDS). When the program is re-implemented, we will provide information and guidance on the details.
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If a plan sponsor electronically signs its M&P plan adoption agreement, as permitted under Rev. Proc. 2005-16, does any additional information need to be submitted with the determination letter application for the plan?
Section 5.11 of Rev. Proc. 2005-16, 2005-1 C.B. 674, requires an adopting employer of an M&P plan to sign the adoption agreement when the plan is adopted or restated and when adoption agreement elections are made or changed by the employer. This requirement may be satisfied by an electronic signature that reliably authenticates and verifies the employer’s adoption of the adoption agreement, or restatement, amendment or modification thereof.
During its review of a determination letter application for a plan, the Service checks whether the plan and amendments have been timely adopted. If an adopting employer of an M&P plan has electronically signed the adoption agreement, the employer should include with the determination letter application for the plan information that will allow the Service to determine that the plan or amendment was timely adopted. For example, if the employer electronically signed the adoption agreement through a system maintained by the M&P sponsor, the employer may include with the determination letter application a statement from the M&P sponsor that the employer electronically signed the adoption agreement through a system that reliably authenticates and verifies the employer’s adoption of the adoption agreement. The statement must also indicate the date on which the employer electronically signed the adoption agreement. The M&P sponsor's statement attesting to the employer's electronic signature would have to be signed by the M&P sponsor, but the Service will accept the M&P sponsor’s facsimile signature on the statement.
As an alternative, the employer could submit dated correspondence from the M&P sponsor acknowledging receipt of the employer’s electronically signed adoption agreement. Other types of information may also be acceptable. Failure to include with the determination letter application sufficient information to allow the Service to determine when the plan or amendment was adopted may lead to requests for additional information from the Service and delays in processing the application.
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