SECTION 3. BACKGROUND

.01 Legislation authorizing user fees . § 10511 of the Revenue Act of 1987, Public Law No. 100–203, 101 Stat. 1330–382, 1330–446, enacted December 22, 1987, directed the Secretary of the Treasury or delegate (the ‘‘Secretary’’) to establish a program requiring the payment of user fees for requests to the Service for letter rulings, opinion letters, determination letters, and similar requests. The fees were to apply to requests made on or after February 1, 1988, and before September 30, 1990. § 11319 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990, Pub. L. 101– 508, 1991–2 C.B. 481, 511, enacted November 5, 1990, amended subsection (c) of § 10511 of the Revenue Act of 1987 so as to make the user fees

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.02 Requests to which a user fee does not apply . User fees do not apply to:

(1) Submissions with respect to the model amendment described in section 6 of Rev. Proc. 93–12, 1993–1 C.B. 479.

(2) Submissions with respect to the model amendment described in Rev. Proc. 93–47, 1993–2 C.B. 578.

(3) Elections made pursuant to section 4 of Rev. Proc. 92–85, 1992–2 C.B. 490, pertaining to automatic extensions of time under § 301.9100–1.

(4) Form 5305, Individual Retirement Trust Account. This model trust form may be used by an individual who wishes to adopt an individual retirement account under § 408(a) of the Internal Revenue Code. It should not be filed with the Service.

(5) Form 5305–A, Individual Retirement Custodial Account. This model custodial account form may be used by an individual who wishes to adopt an individual retirement account under § 408(a). It should not be filed with the Service.

(6) Requests for information letters. (7) Change in accounting period or

accounting method permitted to be made by a published automatic change revenue procedure.

.03 Exemptions from the user fee requirements . The user fee requirements do not apply to:

(1) Departments, agencies, or instrumentalities of the United States that certify that they are seeking a letter ruling, determination letter, opinion letter or similar letter on behalf of a program or activity funded by federal appropriations. The fact that a user fee is not charged has no bearing on whether an applicant is treated as an agency or instrumentality of the United States for purposes of any provision of the Code.

(2) Requests as to whether a worker is an employee for federal employment taxes and income tax withholding purposes (chapters 21, 22, 23, and 24 of subtitle C of the Code) submitted on Form SS–8, Information for Use in Determining Whether a Worker is an Employee for Federal Employment Taxes and Income Tax Withholding, or its equivalent. Such a request may be submitted in connection with an ap

plication for a determination on the qualification of a plan when it is necessary to determine whether an employer-employee relationship exists. See section 6.12 of Rev. Proc. 96–6, page 160, this bulletin. In that case, although no user fee applies to the request submitted on Form SS–8, the applicable user fee must be paid in connection with the application for determination on the plan’s qualification.

(3) Requests for an opinion letter or a notification letter with respect to an amendment of a previously approved master or prototype plan or a previously approved regional prototype plan, where the plan is being amended only to the extent necessary to meet the requirements of section 3 of Rev. Proc. 93–10, 1993–1 C.B. 476 (relating to nonstandardized safe harbor plans).