SECTION 17. WHAT IS — Internal Revenue Bulletin 2016-1

THE EFFECT OF THIS REVENUE PROCEDURE ON OTHER DOCUMENTS?

SECTION 18. EFFECTIVE DATE

SECTION 19. PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT

.01 Information letters that are issued by the Service to members of the public will be made available to the public. These documents provide general statements of well-defined law without applying them to a specific set of facts. Information letters that are issued by the field, however, will not be made available to the public. See section 3.06 of this revenue procedure.

The following documents also will not be available for public inspection as part of this process:

(1) letters that merely transmit Service publications or other publicly available material, without significant legal discussion;

(2) responses to taxpayer or third party contacts that are inquiries with respect to a pending request for a letter ruling, technical advice memorandum, or Chief Counsel Advice (whose public inspection is subject to § 6110); and

(3) responses to taxpayer or third party communications with respect to any investigation, audit, litigation, or other enforcement action.

.02 Before any information letter is made available to the public, the Service will delete any name, address, and other identifying information as appropriate under the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) (for example, FOIA personal privacy exemption of 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(6) and tax details exempt pursuant to § 6103, as incorporated into FOIA by 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(3)). Because information letters do not constitute written determinations (including Chief Counsel Advice) as defined in § 6110, these documents are not subject to public inspection under § 6110.

.03 Information letters are advisory only and have no binding effect on the Service. See section 3.06 of this revenue procedure. If the Service issues an information letter in response to a request for a letter ruling that does not meet the requirements of this revenue procedure, the information letter is not a substitute for a letter ruling.

Rev. Proc. 2015–4 is superseded.

This revenue procedure is effective January 4, 2016.

The collections of information contained in this revenue procedure have been reviewed and approved by the Office of Management and Budget in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. § 3507) under control number 1545-1520.

An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless the collection of information displays a valid OMB control number.

Sec. 19 January 4, 2016 180 Bulletin No. 2016–1

DRAFTING INFORMATION

The collections of information in this revenue procedure are in sections 7.07, 9.02, 9.03, 9.04, 9.05, 9.06, 10.02, 10.03, 11.03, 11.04(1)–(5), 11.06, 12.01, 12.06, 12.07, 13.10(1), 14.02(1), and in Appendices B and C. This information is required to evaluate and process the request for a letter ruling or determination letter. In addition, this information will be used to help the Service delete certain information from the text of the letter ruling or determination letter before it is made available for public inspection, as required by § 6110. The collections of information are required to obtain a letter ruling or determination letter. The likely respondents are businesses or other for-profit institutions.

The estimated total annual reporting and/or recordkeeping burden is 1,569 hours.

The estimated annual burden per respondent/recordkeeper varies from 15 minutes to 16 hours, depending on individual circumstances and the type of request involved, with an estimated average burden of 6.01 hours. The estimated number of respondents and/or recordkeepers is 261.

The estimated annual frequency of responses is one request per applicant, except that a taxpayer requesting a letter ruling may also request a presubmission conference.

Books or records relating to a collection of information must be retained as long as their contents may become material in the administration of any internal revenue law. Generally, tax returns and tax return information are confidential, as required by § 6103.

The principal authors of this revenue procedure are Maxine Terry and Jonathan S. Carter of the Office of Chief Counsel (Tax Exempt and Government Entities). For further information regarding submission and processing under this revenue procedure, contact Ms. Terry at (202) 317-4102 (not a toll-free number) or Mr. Carter at (202) 317-5800 (not a toll-free number).

Sec. 19 Bulletin No. 2016–1 181 January 4, 2016

APPENDIX A

SAMPLE FORMAT FOR A LETTER RULING REQUEST

( Insert the date of request )

[for Employee Plans] Internal Revenue Service Attention: EP Letter Rulings Stop 31 P.O. Box 12192 Covington, KY 41012-0192

Dear Sir or Madam:

( Insert the name of the taxpayer ) (the “Taxpayer”) requests a ruling on the proper treatment of ( insert the subject matter of the letter ruling request ) under § ( insert the number ) of the Internal Revenue Code.

[ If the taxpayer is requesting expedited handling, the letter ruling request must contain a statement to that effect. This state- ment must explain the need for expeditious handling. See section 9.03(3).]

A. STATEMENT OF FACTS

Taxpayer Information

[Provide the statements required by sections 9.02(1)(a), (b), and (c) of Rev. Proc. 2016–4, 2016–1 I.R.B. (Hereafter, all references are to Rev. Proc. 2016–4 unless otherwise noted.)]

For example, a taxpayer that maintains a qualified employee retirement plan and files an annual Form 5500 series of returns may include the following statement to satisfy sections 9.02(1)(a), (b), and (c):

The Taxpayer is a construction company with principal offices located at 100 Whatever Drive, Wherever, Maryland 12345, and its telephone number is (123) 456-7890. The Taxpayer’s federal employer identification number is 00-1234567. The Taxpayer uses the Form 5500 series of returns on a calendar year basis to report its qualified employee retirement plan and trust.

Detailed Description of the Transaction.

[The ruling request must contain a complete statement of the facts relating to the transaction that is the subject of the letter ruling request. This statement must include a detailed description of the transaction, including material facts in any accompanying documents, and the business reasons for the transaction. See sections 9.02(1)(b), 9.02(1)(c), and 9.02(2).]

B. RULING REQUESTED

[The ruling request should contain a concise statement of the ruling requested by the taxpayer.]

C. STATEMENT OF LAW

[The ruling request must contain a statement of the law in support of the taxpayer’s views or conclusion, including any authorities believed to be contrary to the position advanced in the ruling request. This statement must also identify any pending legislation that may affect the proposed transaction. See sections 9.02(6), 9.02(7), and 9.02(8).]

D. ANALYSIS

[The ruling request must contain a discussion of the facts and an analysis of the law. See sections 9.02(3), 9.02(6), 9.02(7), and 9.02(8).]

E. CONCLUSION

[The ruling request should contain a statement of the taxpayer’s conclusion on the ruling requested.]

January 4, 2016 182 Bulletin No. 2016–1

F. PROCEDURAL MATTERS

Rev. Proc. 2016–4 statements

a. [The statement required by section 9.02(4).]

b. [The statement required by section 9.02(5).]

c. [The statement required by section 9.02(6) regarding whether the law in connection with the letter ruling request is uncertain and whether the issue is adequately addressed by relevant authorities.]

d. [The statement required by section 9.02(7) when the taxpayer determines that there are no contrary authorities.]

e. [If the taxpayer wants to have a conference on the issues involved in the letter ruling request, the ruling request should contain a statement to that effect. See section 9.03(5).]

f. [If the taxpayer is requesting the letter ruling to be issued by fax, the ruling request should contain a statement to that effect. See section 9.03(4).]

g. [If the taxpayer is requesting separate letter rulings on multiple issues, the letter ruling request should contain a statement to that effect. See section 9.03(1).]

Administrative

a. A Power of Attorney is enclosed. [ See sections 9.02(12) and 9.03(2).]

b. The deletions statement and checklist required by Rev. Proc. 2016–4 are enclosed. [ See sections 9.02(9) and 9.02(17).]

c. The required user fee is enclosed. [ See section 9.02(14).]

Very truly yours,

( Insert the name of the taxpayer or the taxpayer’s autho- rized representative )

By:

Signature Date

Typed or printed name of person signing request

DECLARATION: [ See section 9.02(13).]

Under penalties of perjury, I declare that I have examined this request, including accompanying documents, and, to the best of my knowledge and belief, the request contains all the relevant facts relating to the request and such facts are true, correct, and complete.

( Insert the name of the taxpayer )

By:

Signature Title Date

Typed or printed name of person signing declaration

Bulletin No. 2016–1 183 January 4, 2016

APPENDIX B

CHECKLIST IS YOUR RULING REQUEST COMPLETE? INSTRUCTIONS

The Service will be able to respond more quickly to your letter ruling request if it is carefully prepared and complete. To ensure that your request is in order, use this checklist. Complete the four items of information requested before the checklist. Answer each question by circling “Yes,” “No,” or “N/A.” When a question contains a place for a page number, insert the page number (or numbers) of the request that gives the information called for by a yes answer to a question. Sign and date the checklist (as taxpayer or authorized representative) and place it on top of your request.

If you are an authorized representative submitting a request for a taxpayer, you must include a completed checklist with the request, or the request will either be returned to you or substantive consideration of it will be deferred until a completed checklist is submitted. If you are a taxpayer preparing your own request without professional assistance, an incomplete checklist will not be cause for returning your request or deferring substantive consideration of the request. However, you should still complete as much of the checklist as possible and submit it with your request.

TAXPAYER’S NAME ________________________________________

TAXPAYER’S I.D. No. ______________________________________

ATTORNEY/P.O.A. __________________________________________

PRIMARY CODE SECTION _____________________________________

CIRCLE ONE ITEM

Yes No N/A 1. Does your request involve an issue under the jurisdiction of the Commissioner, Tax Exempt and Government Entities Division? See section 5 of Rev. Proc. 2016–4, 2016–1 I.R.B., for issues under the jurisdiction of other offices. (Hereafter, all references are to Rev. Proc. 2016–4 unless otherwise noted.)

Yes No N/A 2. If your request involves a matter on which letter rulings are not ordinarily issued, have you given compelling reasons to justify the issuance of a private letter ruling? Before preparing your request, you may want to call the office responsible for substantive interpretations of the principal Internal Revenue Code section on which you are seeking a letter ruling to discuss the likelihood of an exception. The appropriate office to call for this information may be obtained by calling (202) 317-8700 (Employee Plans matters) (not a toll-free call).

Yes No N/A Page ___

If the request involves an employee plans qualification matter under § 401(a), § 409, or § 4975(e)(7), have you demonstrated that the request satisfies the three criteria in section 6.03 for a ruling?
If the request deals with a completed transaction, have you filed the return for the year in which the transaction was completed? See sections 6.01 and 6.02.

Yes No 5. Are you requesting a letter ruling on a hypothetical situation or question? See section 8.03.

Yes No 6. Are you requesting a letter ruling on alternative plans of a proposed transaction? See section 8.03.

Yes No 7. Are you requesting the letter ruling for only part of an integrated transaction? See section 8.04.

Yes No 8. Have you submitted another letter ruling request for the transaction covered by this request?

Yes No 9. Are you requesting the letter ruling for a business, trade, industrial association, or similar group concerning the application of tax law to its members? See section 6.07.

Yes No Page___

Have you included a complete statement of all the facts relevant to the transaction? See section 9.02(1).

Yes No N/A 11. Have you submitted with the request true copies of all wills, deeds, plan documents, and other documents relevant to the transaction, and labeled and attached them in alphabetical sequence? See section 9.02(2).

Yes No Page ___

Have you included, rather than merely by reference, all material facts from the documents in the request? Are they accompanied by an analysis of their bearing on the issues that specifies the document provisions that apply? See section 9.02(3).

January 4, 2016 184 Bulletin No. 2016–1

Yes No Page ___

Yes No N/A Page ___

Have you included the required statement regarding whether the same issue in the letter ruling request is in an earlier return of the taxpayer or in a return for any year of a related taxpayer? See section 9.02(4).
Have you included the required statement regarding whether the Service previously ruled on the same or similar issue for the taxpayer, a related taxpayer, or a predecessor? See section 9.02(5).
Have you included the required statement regarding whether the taxpayer, a related taxpayer, a predecessor, or any representatives previously submitted the same or similar issue but withdrew it before the letter ruling was issued? See section 9.02(5).
Have you included the required statement regarding whether the law in connection with the request is uncertain and whether the issue is adequately addressed by relevant authorities? See section 9.02(6).
Have you included the required statement of relevant authorities in support of your views? See section 9.02(6).
Does your request discuss the implications of any legislation, tax treaties, court decisions, regulations, notices, revenue rulings, or revenue procedures you determined to be contrary to the position advanced? See section 9.02(7), which states that taxpayers are encouraged to inform the Service of such authorities.
If you determined that there are no contrary authorities, have you included a statement to this effect in your request? See section 9.02(7).
Have you included in your request a statement identifying any pending legislation that may affect the proposed transaction? See section 9.02(8).

Yes No 21. Is the request accompanied by the deletions statement required by § 6110? See section 9.02(9).

Yes No N/A Page ___

Have you (or your authorized representative) signed and dated the request? See section 9.02(10).

Yes No N/A 23. If the request is signed by your representative, or if your representative will appear before the Service in connection with the request, is the request accompanied by a properly prepared and signed power of attorney with the signatory’s name typed or printed? See section 9.02(12).

Yes No N/A Page ___

Have you included, signed and dated, the penalties of perjury statement in the form required by section 9.02(13)?

Yes No N/A 25. Have you included the correct user fee with the request and made your check or money order payable to the United States Treasury? See section 9.02(14) and Rev. Proc. 2016–8, this Bulletin, for the correct amount and additional information on user fees.

Yes No N/A 26. Are you submitting your request in duplicate if necessary? See section 9.02(15).

Yes No N/A Page ___

If you are requesting separate letter rulings on different issues involving one factual situation, have you included a statement to that effect in each request? See section 9.03(1).
If you have more than one representative, have you designated whether the representatives listed on the power of attorney are to receive a copy of the letter ruling? See section 9.03(2).

Yes No N/A 29. If you want your letter ruling request to be processed ahead of the regular order or by a specific date, have you requested expedited handling in the form required by section 9.03(3) and stated a compelling need for such action in the request?

Yes No N/A Page ___

If you want to have a conference on the issues involved in the request, have you included a request for conference in the ruling request? See section 9.03(5).

Yes No N/A 31. If your request is covered by any of the guideline revenue procedures or other special requirements listed in section 10 of Rev. Proc. 2016–4, have you complied with all of the requirements of the applicable revenue procedure?

Yes No N/A Page ___

If you are requesting relief under § 7805(b) (regarding retroactive effect), have you complied with all of the requirements in section 13.10?

Bulletin No. 2016–1 185 January 4, 2016

Yes No N/A 33. Have you addressed your request to the appropriate office listed in section 9.04? Improperly addressed requests may be delayed (sometimes for over a week) in reaching the appropriate office for initial processing.

Signature Title or authority Date

Typed or printed name of person signing checklist

January 4, 2016 186 Bulletin No. 2016–1

APPENDIX C

Additional Checklist for Roth IRA Recharacterization Ruling Requests

In order to assist EP Technical in processing a ruling request involving a Roth IRA recharacterization, in addition to the items in Appendix B, please check the following list.

Yes No N/A Page ___

Yes No N/A Page __

Did you include the name(s) of trustee and/or custodian of the traditional individual retirement account (IRA) (generally, a financial institution)?
Is each IRA identification number present?
If the ruling request involves Roth conversions of a married couple, is the necessary information with respect to each IRA of each party present? Note: as long as the parties file a joint federal Form 1040, the Service can issue one ruling covering both parties. Furthermore, if a joint federal income tax return has been filed for the year or years in question, the Service only requires one user fee even if each spouse had failed conversions.
If there was one or more attempted conversions, are the applicable dates on which the attempted IRA conversion(s) occurred included?
If the reason that a conversion failed is that the taxpayer or related taxpayers relied upon advice of a tax professional such as a CPA, or an attorney, is the name and occupation of that adviser included?
Is certification that the taxpayer or taxpayers timely filed the relevant federal tax return(s) present?
Is there a short statement of facts with respect to the conversion? For example, if the ruling request involves a conversion attempted in 1998, there should be a statement of the facts that includes a representation of why the due date(s) found in Announcement 99–57 and Announcement 99–104 were not met.
If the taxpayer recharacterized his/her Roth IRA to a traditional IRA prior to submitting a request for § 9100 relief, are the date(s) of the recharacterization(s), name(s) of trustees and/or custodians, and the identification numbers of the traditional IRA(s) present?
Does the request include the type of contribution (i.e., regular or conversion) and amount of the contribution being recharacterized?

Bulletin No. 2016–1 187 January 4, 2016

26 CFR 601.201: Rulings and determination letters.

Rev. Proc. 2016–5

TABLE OF CONTENTS

SECTION 1. WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THIS REVENUE PROCEDURE? ...........................................................................................189

.01 Description of terms used in this revenue procedure ............................................................................................................189 .02 Updated annually.....................................................................................................................................................................190

SECTION 2. NATURE OF CHANGES AND RELATED REVENUE PROCEDURES .................................................................................190

.01 Rev. Proc. 2015–5 and Rev. Proc. 2015–9 are merged into one annual revenue procedure...............................................190 .02 Related revenue procedures ....................................................................................................................................................190 .03 What changes have been made to Rev. Proc. 2015–5 and Rev. Proc. 2015–9?..................................................................190

SECTION 3. WHAT ARE THE PROCEDURES FOR REQUESTING RECOGNITION OF EXEMPT STATUS? ................................190

.01 In general .................................................................................................................................................................................190 .02 User fee....................................................................................................................................................................................190 .03 Form 1023 application ............................................................................................................................................................190 .04 Form 1023–EZ application......................................................................................................................................................191 .05 Eligibility for Form 1023–EZ application..............................................................................................................................191 .06 Ineligibility for Form 1023–EZ application ...........................................................................................................................191 .07 Form 1024 application ............................................................................................................................................................191 .08 Letter application.....................................................................................................................................................................192 .09 Form 1028 application ............................................................................................................................................................192 .10 Form 8871 notice for political organizations .........................................................................................................................192 .11 Applications for reinstatement after automatic revocation ....................................................................................................192 .12 Requirements for a completed application other than a Form 1023–EZ application...........................................................192 .13 Requirements for a completed Form 1023–EZ application...................................................................................................192 .14 Terrorist organizations not eligible to apply for recognition of exemption..........................................................................192

SECTION 4. WHAT ARE THE STANDARDS FOR ISSUING A DETERMINATION LETTER ON EXEMPT STATUS? .................193

.01 Exempt status must be established in application, including attestation and supporting documents ..................................193 .02 Determination letter based solely on administrative record ..................................................................................................193 .03 Exempt status may be recognized in advance of actual operations......................................................................................193 .04 No letter if exempt status issue in litigation or under consideration within the Service .....................................................193 .05 Incomplete application other than Form 1023–EZ application .............................................................................................193 .06 Non-acceptance for processing of Form 1023–EZ application .............................................................................................193 .07 Even if application is complete, additional information may be required............................................................................194 .08 Expedited handling..................................................................................................................................................................194 .09 May decline to issue group exemption...................................................................................................................................194

SECTION 5. WHAT OFFICE ISSUES AN EXEMPT STATUS DETERMINATION LETTER? ...............................................................194

.01 EO Determinations issues a determination letter ...................................................................................................................194 .02 Transition Rule for applications transferred to the former EO Technical office..................................................................194 .03 Technical advice may be requested in certain cases..............................................................................................................194

SECTION 6. WITHDRAWAL OF AN APPLICATION .....................................................................................................................................194

.01 Application may be withdrawn prior to issuance of a determination letter..........................................................................194 .02 Withdrawal of a pending Form 1023 in order to file a Form 1023–EZ...............................................................................194 .03 § 7428 implications of withdrawal of application under § 501(c)(3) ...................................................................................195

SECTION 7. WHAT ARE THE PROCEDURES WHEN EXEMPT STATUS IS DENIED? .......................................................................195

.01 Proposed adverse determination letter....................................................................................................................................195 .02 Appeal of a proposed adverse determination letter issued by EO Rulings and Agreements...............................................195 .03 Final adverse determination letter where no appeal or protest is submitted.........................................................................195 .04 How EO Rulings and Agreements administers an appeal of a proposed adverse determination letter...............................195

January 4, 2016 188 Bulletin No. 2016–1

.05 Consideration by the Appeals Office......................................................................................................................................195 .06 An appeal or protest may be withdrawn ................................................................................................................................195 .07 Appeal and conference rights not applicable in certain situations........................................................................................195

SECTION 8. DISCLOSURE OF APPLICATIONS AND DETERMINATION LETTERS ...........................................................................195

.01 Disclosure of applications, supporting documents, and favorable determination letters......................................................195 .02 Disclosure of adverse determination letters............................................................................................................................196 .03 Disclosure to State officials when the Service refuses to recognize exemption under § 501(c)(3).....................................196 .04 Disclosure to State officials of information about § 501(c)(3) applicants............................................................................196

SECTION 9. REVIEW OF DETERMINATION LETTERS ..............................................................................................................................196

.01 Determination letters may be post-reviewed..........................................................................................................................196 .02 Procedures for addressing determination letters reviewed and found to have been issued in error....................................196

SECTION 10. DECLARATORY JUDGMENT PROVISIONS OF § 7428 .......................................................................................................196

.01 Actual controversy involving certain issues...........................................................................................................................196 .02 Exhaustion of administrative remedies...................................................................................................................................196 .03 Not earlier than 270 days after seeking determination..........................................................................................................197 .04 Service must have reasonable time to act on an appeal or protest .......................................................................................197 .05 Final determination to which § 7428 applies.........................................................................................................................197

SECTION 11. EFFECT OF DETERMINATION LETTER RECOGNIZING EXEMPTION .......................................................................197

.01 Effective date of exemption....................................................................................................................................................197 .02 Reliance on determination letter .............................................................................................................................................198

SECTION 12. REVOCATION OR MODIFICATION OF DETERMINATION LETTER RECOGNIZING EXEMPTION ...................198

.01 Revocation or modification of a determination letter may be retroactive.............................................................................198 .02 Appeal and conference procedures in the case of revocation or modification of exempt status letter ...............................198

SECTION 13. EFFECT ON OTHER REVENUE PROCEDURES ...................................................................................................................198

SECTION 14. EFFECTIVE DATE .........................................................................................................................................................................198

SECTION 15. PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT ..............................................................................................................................................198

DRAFTING INFORMATION .................................................................................................................................................................................199

(2) The term “application” means the appropriate form or letter that an organization must file or submit to the Service for recognition of exemption from Federal income tax under the applicable section of the Internal Revenue Code. See section 3 for information on specific forms.

(3) The term “EO Determinations” means the office in EO Rulings and Agreements of the Service that is primarily responsible for processing initial applications for tax-exempt status.

(4) The term “EO Rulings and Agreements” means the office in EO that is primarily responsible for up-front, customer-initiated activities such as determination applications, taxpayer assistance, and assistance to other EO offices. The EO Rulings and Agreements office included the former EO Technical office.