SECTION 32. WHAT IS — Internal Revenue Bulletin 2018-1

THE EFFECT OF THIS REVENUE PROCEDURE ON OTHER DOCUMENTS?

SECTION 33. EFFECTIVE DATE

SECTION 34. PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT

Internal Revenue Service

Attn: Pre-Approved Plans Coordinator

550 Main Street

Room 5106: Group 7521

Cincinnati, OH 45202

.03

(1) VCP submissions are handled by the EP Voluntary Compliance function and should be sent to the Internal Revenue Service in Covington, Kentucky, at the address shown below. Submission procedures for VCP are set forth in section 11 of Rev. Proc. 2016–51. Refer to instructions associated with Form 8950. Forms 8950 and 8951 must accompany the VCP submission.

Internal Revenue Service

P.O. Box 12192

Covington, KY 41012-0192

(2) VCP submissions shipped by Express Mail or a delivery service should be sent to:

Internal Revenue Service

201 West Rivercenter Boulevard

Attn: Extracting Stop 312

Covington, KY 41011

Rev. Proc. 2017–4 is superseded. Section 3.04 of Rev. Proc. 2004–15 is modified.

This revenue procedure is effective January 2, 2018.

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.

The collections of information in this revenue procedure are in sections 6.02, 6.03, 6.05, 6.06, 10.03, 10.04, 10.12, 10.15, 10.16, 10.18, 11.04, 16, 17, 18, 21.02, 22.03, 23.02, 23.08, 27.05, 27.06, 27.07, 27.08, 27.09, 27.10, 27.13, 28.01, 28.06, 28.07, and 29.10, and in Appendices C, E, and F. This information is required to evaluate and process the request for a letter ruling or determination letter, and with respect to determination letters, information collected will be used to determine whether a plan is entitled to favorable tax treatment as a qualified plan. In addition, this information will be used to help the Service delete certain information from the text of the

Bulletin No. 2018–1 219 January 2, 2018

DRAFTING INFORMATION

letter ruling or determination letter before it is made available for public inspection, as required by §§ 6110 and 6104. The collections of information are required to obtain a letter ruling or determination letter. The likely respondents are individuals, businesses or other for-profit institutions, tax exempt organizations, and government entities.

The estimated total annual reporting and/or recordkeeping burden with respect to letter ruling requests is 769 hours. The estimated total annual reporting and/or recordkeeping burden with respect to determination letters is 17,382 hours.

The estimated annual burden per respondent/recordkeeper varies from 15 minutes to 40 hours, depending on individual circumstances and the type of request involved, with an estimated average burden of 6.01 hours for letter ruling requests and 2.02 hours for determination letter requests. The estimated number of respondents and/or recordkeepers is 128 for letter rulings and 8,605 for determination letters.

For letter rulings, 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.

For determination letters, the estimated annual frequency of responses (used for reporting requirements only) is once every three years.

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 author of this revenue procedure is Kathleen Herrmann of the Office of Chief Counsel (Tax Exempt and Government Entities). For further information regarding submission and processing of requests under this revenue procedure, contact Don Kieffer of Employee Plans Rulings and Agreements, at 908-301-2655 (not a toll-free number).

January 2, 2018 220 Bulletin No. 2018–1

APPENDIX A

SCHEDULE OF USER FEES

The amount of the user fee payable with respect to each category or subcategory of submission is as set forth in the following schedule.

CATEGORY USER FEE

.01 Letter ruling requests

(1) Computation of exclusion for annuitant under § 72 $1,000

(2) Change in plan year (Form 5308) $1,000

Note: No user fee is required if the requested change is permitted to be made pursuant to the procedure for automatic approval set forth in Rev. Proc. 87–27, 1987–1 C.B. 769. In such a case, Form 5308 should not be submitted to the Service.

(3) Five-Year Automatic Extension of the Amortization Period $1,000

(4) All other letter rulings under jurisdiction of the Employee Plans Office ( see section 24.01) $10,000

.02 Opinion letters on prototype individual retirement accounts and/or annuities, SEPs, SIMPLE IRAs, $2,500 SIMPLE IRA Plans, Roth IRAs and dual-purpose IRAs

Note: If a mass submitter submits, in any 12-month period ending January 31, more than 300 applications on behalf of word-for-word adopters of prototype IRAs or prototype dual-purpose IRAs with respect to a particular plan document, only the first 300 such applications will be subject to the fee; no fee will apply to those in excess of the first 300 such applications submitted within the 12-month period.

.03 Opinion letters on master and prototype plans submitted pursuant to Rev. Proc. 2015–36

(1) Mass submitter M&P plan

(a) per basic plan document, new or amended, with one adoption agreement $16,000

(b) per each additional adoption agreement $11,000

(2) Sponsor’s word-for-word identical adoption of M&P mass submitter’s basic plan document (or an $300

amendment thereof), per adoption agreement

(3) Sponsor’s minor modification of M&P mass submitter’s basic plan document, per adoption agreement $700

(4) Non-mass submitter M&P plan

(a) per basic plan document, new or amended, with one adoption agreement $16,000

(b) per each additional adoption agreement $11,000

(5) M&P mass submitter’s request for an opinion letter with respect to the addition of optional provisions $1000

following issuance of a favorable opinion letter, per basic plan document (regardless of the number of adoption agreements) ( see section 12.03(1)(c) of Rev. Proc. 2015–36)

(6) Assumption of sponsorship of an approved M&P plan, without any amendment to the plan document,

by a new entity, as evidenced by a change of employer identification number, per basic plan document

$300

(7) Change in name and/or address of sponsor of an approved M&P plan, per basic plan document None

(8) Mass submitter or non-mass submitter sponsor per trust document in excess of 10 $600

Note : If a mass submitter submits, in any 12-month period ending January 31, more than 300 applications on behalf of word-for-word adopters with respect to a particular adoption agreement, only the first 300 such applications will be subject to the fee; no fee will apply to those in excess of the first 300 such applications submitted within the 12-month period.

.04 Advisory letters on VS plans submitted pursuant to Rev. Proc. 2015–36

(1) VS specimen plan (mass and non-mass submitter) including one adoption agreement $28,000

(2) Each additional adoption agreement $28,000

(3) VS specimen plan that is word-for-word identical to a mass submitter specimen plan $300

(4) Assumption of sponsorship of an approved VS plan, without any amendment to the plan document, $300

by a new entity, as evidenced by a change of employer identification number, per basic plan document

Bulletin No. 2018–1 221 January 2, 2018

CATEGORY USER FEE

(5) Change in name and/or address of practitioner of an approved VS specimen plan, per basic plan doc- None

ument

(6) Mass submitter or non-mass submitter practitioner per trust document in excess of 10 $600

.05 Opinion letters on pre-approved plans submitted pursuant to Rev. Proc. 2017–41

(1) Mass submitter and non-mass submitter plans with adoption agreements

(a) per basic plan document, new or amended, with one adoption agreement $16,000

(b) per each additional adoption agreement $11,000

(2) Mass submitter and non-mass submitter single document plans (no adoption agreements)

(a) per each single document plan $28,000

(3) Provider’s word-for-word adoption of mass submitter’s basic plan document per adoption agreement $300

or single document plan

(4) Provider’s minor modification of mass submitter’s basic plan document per adoption agreement or

single document plan

.06 Determination letters

(1) Determination Letters:

$700

(a) Form 5300 (A pplication for Determination for Employee Benefit Plan) $2,500

(b) Form 5307 (Application for Determination for Adopters of Modified Volume Submitter Plans) $800

(d) Multiple employer plans (Form 5300) $4,000

(e) Multiple employer plans (Form 5310), regardless of number of participants $4,000

(2) Group trusts contemplated by Rev. Rul. 81–100, 1981–1 C.B. 326, Rev. Rul. 2004–67, 2004–2 C.B. $1,000

28, Rev. Rul. 2011–1, 2011–2 I.R.B. 251, Rev. Rul. 2014–24, 2014–37 I.R.B. 529. Form 5316 is available for group trust submissions.

.07 Opinion letters on § 403(b) prototype plans

(1) Mass submitter § 403(b) prototype plan

(a) per basic plan document with one adoption agreement $16,000

(b) per each additional adoption agreement $11,000

(2) Section 403(b) prototype plan of a word-for-word identical adopter of a § 403(b) prototype mass sub- $300

mitter’s basic plan document (or an amendment thereof), per adoption agreement

(3) Section 403(b) prototype plan of a minor modifier of a § 403(b) prototype mass submitter’s basic

plan document, per adoption agreement

(4) Non-mass submitter § 403(b) prototype plan

$700

(a) per basic plan document with one adoption agreement $16,000

(b) per each additional adoption agreement $11,000

(5) Assumption of sponsorship of an approved § 403(b) prototype plan, without any amendment to the $300

plan document, by a new entity, as evidenced by a change of employer identification number, per basic plan document

(6) Change in name and/or address of sponsor of an approved § 403(b) prototype plan, per basic plan

document

None

Note : If a mass submitter submits, during the period set forth in Rev. Proc. 2013–22, more than 300 applications on behalf of word-for-word adopters with respect to a particular adoption agreement, only the first 300 such applications will be subject to the fee; no fee will apply to those in excess of the first 300 such applications submitted within the 12-month period.

.08 Advisory letters on § 403(b) VS plans

(1) Section 403(b) VS specimen plan (mass and non-mass submitter) including one adoption agreement $28,000

(2) Each additional adoption agreement $28,000

(3) Section 403(b) VS specimen plan of a word-for-word identical adopter of a mass submitter specimen $300

plan

(4) Section 403(b) VS specimen plan of a minor modifier of a § 403(b) VS mass submitter specimen

plan (or per adoption agreement if applicable)

$700

January 2, 2018 222 Bulletin No. 2018–1

CATEGORY USER FEE

(5) Assumption of sponsorship of an approved § 403(b) VS plan, without any amendment to the plan $300

document, by a new entity, as evidenced by a change of employer identification number, per specimen plan

(6) Change in name and/or address of practitioner of an approved § 403(b) VS specimen plan, per speci men plan

.09 User Fees for VCP submissions under EPCRS Revenue Procedure 2016–51

(1) Regular submissions under VCP, including Anonymous Submissions. (For a special rule relating to

terminating Orphan Plans see section 4.08 of Rev. Proc. 2016–51):

Plans with assets of

None

(a) $500,000 or less $1,500

(b) Over $500,000 to $10,000,000 $3,000

Note: In general . User fees under this section are determined based on end of year net assets of a plan as reported on the most recently filed Form 5500 series return. Plans not required to file Form 5500 Series . If the plan sponsor is not required to file a Form 5500 series return with regard to a plan eligible for VCP, the amount of net assets for user fee purposes generally will be the amount of net assets as of the last day of the most recently completed plan year preceding the date of the VCP submission. However, if this information has not been compiled by the time the plan sponsor is ready to make a VCP submission to the IRS, the plan sponsor may use the amount of net assets associated with the most recently completed prior plan year for which information on the amount of net assets is available. This exception will not apply if the VCP submission is mailed to the IRS more than seven months after the close of the most recently completed plan year preceding the date of the VCP submission.

(2) VCP fee for Group Submissions, initial fee for first 20 plans $10,000

Note: The fee for a group submission is based on the number of plans affected by the failure as described in the compliance statement. The initial fee is due at the time of submission. An additional fee is due equal to the product of the number of plans in excess of 20 multiplied by $250. The maximum fee for a group submission is $50,000. If additional plans are added following the group submission, the additional fee is paid subject to the $50,000 maximum fee. With respect to pre-approved plans, the fee is determined based on the number of basic plan documents submitted and the number of employers who have adopted each basic plan document by using an adoption agreement associated with that basic plan document. See Form 8951 and Rev. Proc. 2016–51, sections 10.10 and 11.06.

Bulletin No. 2018–1 223 January 2, 2018

APPENDIX B

SAMPLE NOTICE TO INTERESTED PARTIES

The sample notice set forth below may be used to satisfy the requirements of section 20 of this revenue procedure.

SAMPLE NOTICE TO INTERESTED PARTIES

Notice To:______________________________[describe class or classes of interested parties] An application is to be made to the Internal Revenue Service for an advance determination on the qualification of the following employee pension benefit plan:

(name of plan)

(plan number)

(name and address of applicant)

(applicant EIN)

(name and address of plan administrator)

The application will be filed on _______________ for an advance determination as to whether the plan meets the qualification requirements of § 401 or § 403(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, with respect to the plan’s _________________________ [initial qualification, termination, or partial termination]. The application will be filed with:

Internal Revenue Service

Attention: EP Determination Letters

Stop 31

P.O. Box 12192

Covington, KY 41012-0192

The employees eligible to participate under the plan are:
The Internal Revenue Service [has/has not] previously issued a determination letter with respect to the qualification of this plan.

RIGHTS OF INTERESTED PARTIES

You have the right to submit to EP Determinations, either individually or jointly with other interested parties, your comments as to whether this plan meets the qualification requirements of the Internal Revenue Code. Label your comments “Interested Party Statement.” Your comments to EP Determinations should be submitted to:

Internal Revenue Service

EP Determinations

Attn: Customer Service Manager

P.O. Box 2508

Cincinnati, OH 45202

January 2, 2018 224 Bulletin No. 2018–1

You may instead, individually or jointly with other interested parties, request the DOL to submit, on your behalf, comments to EP Determinations regarding qualification of the plan. If the DOL declines to comment on all or some of the matters you raise, you may, individually, or jointly if your request was made to the DOL jointly, submit your comments on these matters directly to EP Determinations at the Cincinnati address above.

REQUESTS FOR COMMENTS BY THE DOL

The DOL may not comment on behalf of interested parties unless requested to do so by the lesser of 10 employees or 10 percent of the employees who qualify as interested parties. The number of persons needed for the DOL to comment with respect to this plan is _____________________. If you request the DOL to comment, your request must be in writing and must specify the matters upon which comments are requested, and must also include:

(1) the information contained in items 2 through 5 of this Notice; and

(2) the number of persons needed for the DOL to comment.

A request to the DOL to comment should be addressed as follows:

Deputy Assistant Secretary

Employee Benefits Security Administration

U.S. Department of Labor,

200 Constitution Avenue, N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20210

Attention: 3001 Comment Request

COMMENTS TO THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE

Comments submitted by you to EP Determinations must be in writing and received by it by ________________. However, if there are matters that you request the DOL to comment upon on your behalf, and the DOL declines, you may submit comments on these matters to EP Determinations to be received by it within 15 days from the time the DOL notifies you that it will not comment on a particular matter, or by ____________, whichever is later, but not after ____________. A request to the DOL to comment on your behalf must be received by it by _________________ if you wish to preserve your right to comment on a matter upon which the DOL declines to comment, or by ____________ if you wish to waive that right.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Detailed instructions regarding the requirements for notification of interested parties may be found in sections 19 and 20 of Rev. Proc. 2018–4. Additional information concerning this application (including, where applicable, an updated copy of the plan and related trust; the application for determination; any additional documents dealing with the application that have submitted to the Service; and copies of section 19 of Rev. Proc. 2018–4 are available at _________________ during the hours of _________________ for inspection and copying. (There is a nominal charge for copying and/or mailing.)

Bulletin No. 2018–1 225 January 2, 2018

APPENDIX C

CHECKLIST FOR SECTION 401(h) AND SECTION 420 DETERMINATION LETTERS

As part of a § 401(h) or § 420 determination letter request described in section 18 of this revenue procedure the following checklist must be completed and attached to the determination letter request. If the request relates to § 401(h) but not to § 420, complete Part I only. If the request relates to § 420, complete Parts I and II. Answer each question by circling “Yes” or “No.” If a question contains a place for a section number, insert the section number that gives the information called for by a yes answer to a question.