SECTION 4. WHAT ARE — Internal Revenue Bulletin 2018-1

THE GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR REQUESTING DETERMINATION LETTERS?

.05 A determination letter is issued based solely upon the facts, attestations, and representations contained in the administrative record.

(1) The taxpayer is responsible for the accuracy of any factual representations or attestations contained in the request.

(2) Any oral representation of additional facts, or modification of facts, as represented or alleged in the request, must be reduced to writing and signed by the taxpayer under a penalty of perjury statement, in accordance with section 4.06 of this revenue procedure.

(3) The failure to disclose a material fact or misrepresentation of a material fact on the request, which includes an incorrect representation or attestation, may adversely affect the reliance that would otherwise be obtained through issuance by the Service of a favorable determination letter. See section 11.02 for additional information.

In general .01 This section explains the general instructions for requesting determination letters. However, certain procedures do not apply to requests submitted on Form 1023-EZ, Streamlined Application for Recognition of Exemption Under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, as indicated in this revenue procedure or in the form and its instructions. In addition to these general instructions, specific procedures apply to requests submitted by letter (as described in section 5), applications for recognition of exemption from Federal income tax under § 501 or § 521 (as described in section 6), and to requests for determinations submitted on Form 8940, Request for Miscellaneous Determination (as described in section 7).

Format of request .02 Which form, if any, should be used for the request? Some requests are made by letter and some requests are made by submitting a specific form.

Form 1023 application (1) Form 1023 application. An organization seeking recognition of exemption under § 501(c)(3) (including an organization that is additionally seeking a determination that it is described in § 501(e), (f), (k), (n), (q), or (r)) must submit a completed Form 1023, Application for Recognition of Exemption Under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code . In the case of an organization that provides credit counseling services, see § 501(q). In the case of an organization that is a hospital and is seeking exemption under § 501(c)(3), see § 501(r). Notwithstanding the foregoing, eligible organizations may seek recognition of exemption under § 501(c) (3) by submitting a completed Form 1023-EZ, as described in section 6.06(2) of this revenue procedure, rather than by submitting Form 1023.

Form 1023-EZ application (2) Form 1023-EZ application. An eligible organization, as described in section 6.05 of this revenue procedure, may, but is not required to, seek recognition of tax-exempt status under § 501(c)(3) by submitting a completed electronic Form 1023-EZ.

Alternatively, an eligible organization may seek exemption under § 501(c)(3) by submitting a completed Form 1023, as described in section 6.06(1).

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For additional information about the electronic submission process, refer to Form 1023-EZ and its Instructions.

Form 1024 application (3) Form 1024 application. An organization seeking a determination letter from the Service recognizing exemption under § 501(c)(2), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), (9), (10), (12), (13), (15), (17), (19), or (25) must submit a completed Form 1024, Application for Recognition of Exemption Under Section 501(a), along with Form 8718, User Fee for Exempt Organization Determination Letter Request . In the case of an organization that provides credit counseling services and seeks recognition of exemption under § 501(c)(4), see § 501(q).

Organizations that seek to operate under § 501(c)(9) or (17) must apply for recognition of tax-exempt status. See § 505. Other organizations may choose to seek a determination letter recognizing exemption under § 501 by filing Form 1024, but are not required to do so except in certain cases (see, for example, § 6033(j)(2) regarding failures to file annual information returns or annual electronic notifications required under § 6033 (a) or (i)).

Form 1028 application (4) Form 1028 application. An organization seeking recognition of exemption under § 521 must submit a completed Form 1028, Application for Recognition of Exemption Under Section 521 of the Internal Revenue Code, along with Form 8718.

Form 8940 request for miscellaneous determination

(5) Form 8940 request for miscellaneous determination. The Form 8940, Request for Miscellaneous Determination, is used for the following determination letter requests:

(a) Advance approval of certain set-asides described in § 4942(g)(2);

(b) Advance approval of voter registration activities described in § 4945(f);

(d) Exemption from Form 990 filing requirements;

(e) Advance approval that a potential grant or contribution constitutes an “unusual grant”;

(f) Change in Type (or initial determination of Type) of a § 509(a)(3) organization;

(g) Reclassification of foundation status, including a voluntary request from a public charity for private foundation status;

(h) Termination of private foundation status under § 507(b)(1)(B)—advance ruling request; and

(i) Termination of private foundation status under § 507(b)(1)(B)—60-month period ended.

Letter request (6) Letter request.

(a) Letter applications. (i) An organization seeking recognition of exemption under § 501(c)(11), (14), (16), (18), (21), (22), (23), (26), (27), (28), or (29), or under § 501(d), must submit a letter application along with Form 8718.

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(ii) A central organization that has previously received or is concurrently requesting recognition of its own exemption can request a group exemption letter by submitting a letter application along with Form 8718.

(b) Other letter requests. Any determination letter request which is not required to be submitted on a form may be submitted by letter.

Language requirements .03 All requests must be submitted in English. All documents submitted in support of such requests must be in English, or accompanied by an accurate and complete English translation.

Signature on request .04 Signature on request. The request for determination letter must be signed and dated by the taxpayer or, when applicable, the taxpayer’s representative. Neither a stamped signature nor a faxed signature is permitted.

(1) Individual authorized to sign Form 1023, 1023-EZ, or 8940 on behalf of an organi- zation. In the case of a request for a determination letter made by filing Form 1023, Form 1023-EZ, or Form 8940, an officer, director, trustee, or other official who is authorized to sign for the organization must sign the applicable form. The signature of a representative authorized by a power of attorney who is not an officer, director, trustee, or other official of the organization will not satisfy the signature requirement for Form 1023, Form 1023-EZ, or Form 8940. See the instructions to the applicable form for more information on who may sign the application on behalf of an organization.

(2) Individual or representative authorized to sign Form 1024. In the case of a request for a determination letter made by filing Form 1024, an officer, a trustee who is authorized to sign, or a representative authorized by a power of attorney (see section 4.05 of this revenue procedure), must sign the application.

(3) Authorized representatives for all other requests. Except as provided in section 4.04(1) and (2), to sign the request, or to appear before the Service in connection with the request, the representative must be listed in Appendix B.

Power of attorney and declaration of representative

Penalty of perjury statement

.05 Power of attorney and declaration of representative. Any representative authorized by a power of attorney, whether or not enrolled to practice, must comply with the conference and practice requirements of the Statement of Procedural Rules (26 C.F.R. § 601.501–601.509) and Treasury Department Circular No. 230, which provide the rules for representing a taxpayer before the Service.

Form 2848, Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative, must be used to provide the representative’s authorization (Part I of Form 2848, Power of Attorney) and the representative’s qualification (Part II of Form 2848, Declaration of Representative).

The name of the individual signing Part I of Form 2848 should also be typed or printed on this form. A stamped signature is not permitted.

An original, a copy, or a facsimile transmission (fax) of the power of attorney is acceptable so long as its authenticity is not reasonably disputed.

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(1) Penalty of perjury statement requirements for requests for determination letters made on Form 1023, 1023-EZ, 1024, or 8940. The signature of an individual described in section 4.04(1) or (2) of this revenue procedure meets the penalty of perjury statement signature requirements for requests on Form 1023, 1023-EZ, 1024, or 8940, as applicable.

(2) Penalty of perjury statement requirements for letter requests and responses to requests for additional information. Any letter request or information submitted at a later time (regardless of the format of the original request), must be accompanied by the following declaration—

“Under penalties of perjury, I declare that I have examined this request, or this modification to

the request, including accompanying documents, and, to the best of my knowledge and belief, the request or the modification contains all the relevant facts relating to the request, and such facts are true, correct, and complete.”

This declaration must be signed and dated by the taxpayer, not the taxpayer’s representative authorized by a power of attorney. The signature of an individual described in section 4.04(1) is the signature of the taxpayer for purposes of the penalty of perjury statement. The signature of an authorized representative described in section 4.04(2) or (3) will not meet the penalty of perjury statement requirements (except as otherwise provided in Appendix B). See the instructions to the relevant form for additional detail. Neither a stamped signature nor a faxed signature is permitted.

The individual who signs for a corporate taxpayer must be an officer of the corporate taxpayer who has personal knowledge of the facts, and whose duties are not limited to obtaining a determination letter from the Service.

The individual signing for a trust, a state law partnership, or a limited liability company must be, respectively, a trustee, general partner, or member-manager who has personal knowledge of the facts.

Applicable user fee .07 Section 7528 of the Code requires taxpayers to pay user fees for requests for determination letters. See section 14 and Appendix A of this revenue procedure for more information.

Where will copies of the determination letter be sent?

.08 The original of the determination letter will be sent to the taxpayer and a copy of the determination letter will be sent to up to two representatives listed on Form 2848 as appointed to receive notices and communications.

Expedited processing .09 Requests for determination letters are normally processed in the order of receipt by the Service. However, expedited processing of a request for a determination letter may be approved where a request for expedited processing is made in writing and contains a compelling reason for processing the request for a determination letter ahead of others. Upon approval of a request for expedited processing, a request for a determination letter will be considered ahead of the normal order. This does not mean the request for a determination letter will be immediately approved or denied.

(1) Procedures for requesting expedited handling. The request for expedited handling must be made in writing, preferably in a separate letter sent with, or soon after filing, the request for the determination letter. If the request is not made in a separate letter, then the letter in which the determination letter request is made should say, at the top of the first page: “ Expedited Handling Is Requested. See page ___ of this letter. ”

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Non-acceptance for processing

A request for expedited handling will not be forwarded to the appropriate group for action until the check or money order for the user fee in the correct amount is received.

Whether the request will be granted is within the Service’s discretion. Circumstances generally warranting expedited processing include:

(a) a grant to the applicant is pending and the failure to secure the grant may have an adverse impact on the organization’s ability to continue to operate;

(b) the purpose of the newly created organization is to provide disaster relief to victims of emergencies such as flood and hurricane; and

Because most requests for determination letters cannot be processed ahead of their regular order, the Service urges all taxpayers to submit their requests well in advance of the contemplated transaction. In addition, in order to facilitate prompt action on determination letter requests, taxpayers are encouraged to ensure that their initial submissions comply with all of the requirements of this revenue procedure, and to promptly provide any additional information requested by the Service.

(2) Applications on Form 1023-EZ are ineligible for expedited handling. An organization may not request expedited handling of a Form 1023-EZ.

.10 The Service will not accept for processing any request that is substantially incomplete.

(1) Requests other than Form 1023-EZ. An application other than Form 1023-EZ that is missing any item of information listed in section 6.06(1) will be considered substantially incomplete and will not be accepted for processing. A request other than an application may be considered substantially incomplete if it does not contain the information, documentation, and other materials required by sections 4, 5, or 7 of this revenue procedure, or Form 8940 and its instructions, as applicable to the particular request.

(2) Requests on Form 1023-EZ. (a) Incomplete Form 1023-EZ. A submitted Form 1023-EZ that is not a completed Form 1023-EZ within the meaning of section 6.06(2) of this revenue procedure will not be accepted for processing by the Service. The Service may, but is not required to, request additional information to validate information presented or to clarify an inconsistency on a Form 1023-EZ.

(b) Form 1023-EZ and pending application. The Service will not accept for processing a Form 1023-EZ from an organization that has an application for recognition of tax-exempt status pending with the Service.

(3) Effect of non-acceptance. An organization will be notified if its request is not accepted for processing and any user fee that was paid with the request will be returned or refunded. See section 14.09. An organization may then submit a new request, including the missing information, with a new user fee.

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How to check on status of request