0916 Form 8951 (PDF) — verbatim text

Official source: IRS Forms, Instructions & Publications (https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8951.pdf), retrieved 2026-10-03. U.S. Government work (17 U.S.C. § 105).

1 Name of plan sponsor (employer if single-employer plan)

8 Reduced and alternative user fees for VCP submissions	Check box, if applicable and enter enclosed fee.
(a) Plan is a section 401(a) or 403(b) plan that qualifies for a reduced fee associated with specific failures and under certain conditions. See instructions.		Enter fee amount $
(b) VCP submission relates to a request for a minor modification of a previously issued compliance statement. See instructions.		Enter fee amount $
(c) Plan is a SEP, SARSEP, or SIMPLE IRA. See instructions.		Enter fee amount $
(d) Group submission from an eligible organization. See instructions.		Enter fee amount $
(e) Terminating orphan plan. A terminating orphan plan may be granted a waiver of the fee upon request. See instructions.		No fee is due at this time.
(f) Plan is a section 457(b) plan. See instructions.		No payment is due at the time of filing.

Form 8951 (Rev. 9-2016) Page 2

checks to the IRS for any fee matters unless the applicant has received specific instructions from the IRS.

User Fee for VCP Submissions

Line 7 For qualified retirement plans established under section 401(a) or 403(b), enter the

number of plans affected by the failure described in the VCP submission. An initial user fee payment must be included with the submission and must be attached to Form 8951. An additional user fee may also apply. The IRS will request the additional fee, if applicable.

Line 8(e). The IRS has discretionary authority to waive the user fee in the case of a terminating orphan plan, if requested by an eligible party. A VCP applicant who is an eligible party can request that the user fee be waived. Include a written explanation that explains why a waiver should be granted.

Section references are to the Internal Revenue Code unless otherwise noted.

Future Developments

For the latest information about developments related to Form 8951 and its instructions, such as legislation enacted after they were published, go to www.irs.gov/form8951.

What's New

VCP user fee.

program-fees.

submission.

Internal Revenue Service P.O. Box 12192 Covington, KY 41012-0192 VCP submissions shipped by express mail or a delivery service should be sent to:

Internal Revenue Service 201 West Rivercenter Blvd. Attn: Extracting Stop 312 Covington, KY 41011

Payment of User Fee

Generally, you must include a user fee payment with any VCP submission mailed to the IRS. If your submission is for a terminating orphan plan or a section 457(b) plan, no fee or payment is due at the time of filing. See the instructions for line 8(e) and line 8(f) for additional information.

Attach a check to Form 8951 payable to the “United States Treasury” for the full amount of the fee. If you do not include the full amount of the fee, your submission may be returned or closed with no action. In addition, include a photocopy of the check with your VCP submission.

If you have multiple plans (for example, a profit-sharing and a money purchase

Submission of Additional Fees

Line 6 The IRS's office of Employee Plans Voluntary Compliance may contact you regarding additional fees that may be due for a previously submitted VCP case. If you are instructed to submit an additional fee, file Form 8951 along with a check for the additional user fee, a copy of the check and an appropriate cover letter. Complete lines 1 – 5. It is important to complete line 6 by checking the box and entering the amount of the additional fee you are submitting plus the nine-digit VCP case number that has been assigned to your VCP submission. No other items on the Form 8951 need to be completed. Once a VCP submission has been mailed to the IRS, an applicant should not mail any

Form 8951 (Rev. 9-2016) Page 3

(a) Egregious qualification failures; (b) SEP, SARSEP, or SIMPLE IRA plans that choose to allow excess amounts to remain within the affected IRAs;

(c) Situations where the plan sponsor has requested that the IRS waive the additional 10% tax imposed by section 72(t) on certain plan distributions.

Washington, DC 20224 Do not send this form to this address. Instead, see Where To File .

Line 8(f). Do not include any payment at this time if the plan is a section 457(b) plan. If the IRS chooses to process the submission, it will collect a mutually acceptable sanction payment when the applicant signs a special closing agreement.

Determining the Proper User Fee

Step 1:

Step 2:

Multiemployer or multiple employer plans: If a submission relates to a multiemployer or multiple employer plan, the general user fee will normally be determined in accordance with the instructions in Step 1 and in the first paragraph of this Step 2. However, if all of the described failures in the submission apply to fewer than all of