Announcement 2018-05 — Internal Revenue Bulletin 2020-25

461, provides that an adopting employer who adopts, by April 30, 2020, a master and prototype (M&P) or volume submitter (VS) defined benefit plan that was approved based on Notice 2012-76, 2012-52 IRB 775 (2012 Cumulative List), will be considered to have adopted the plan within the second six-year remedial amendment cycle. Announcement 2018-05 also provides that an adopting employer of an M&P or VS plan may apply for an individual determination letter (if otherwise eligible) during the period beginning on May 1, 2018, and ending April 30, 2020. Announcement 2018-05 further provides that April 30, 2020, is the end of the second six-year remedial amendment cycle for pre-approved defined benefit plans. Rev. Proc. 2020-10, 2020-2 IRB 295, provides that the third six-year remedial amendment cycle for pre-approved defined benefit plans begins on the following day, and ends on January 31, 2025.

c. Deadlines for voluntary correction under EPCRS

Rev. Proc. 2019-19, 2019-19 IRB 1086, sets forth a system of correction programs for sponsors of retirement plans that are intended to satisfy the requirements of

section 401(a), 403(a), 403(b), 408(k), or 408(p). The Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS) permits employers sponsoring these plans to correct certain failures and thereby continue to provide their employees with retirement benefits on a tax-favored basis. The components of EPCRS are the Self-Correction Program (SCP), the Voluntary Correction Program (VCP), and the Audit Closing Agreement Program (Audit CAP).

Under VCP, a plan sponsor may, at any time before audit, pay a limited fee and receive the IRS’s approval for correction of a plan failure that has been identified to the IRS, in writing, by the plan sponsor. Once agreement has been reached with the plan sponsor as to the appropriate corrective action to be undertaken, the IRS will send the plan sponsor a compliance statement specifying the corrective action required. Pursuant to section 10.06(9) of Rev. Proc. 2019-19, the plan sponsor must implement the corrective action set forth in the compliance statement within 150 days of the date of the compliance statement. In addition, if the corrective action specified in the compliance statement includes the adoption of a corrective plan amendment, the corrective amendment must be adopted no later than 150 days after the date of the compliance statement (with a later deadline in the case of a governmental plan described in section 414(d)).

d. Substitute mortality tables

Rev. Proc. 2017–55, 2017–43 IRB 373, provides guidance with respect to the use of a substitute mortality table in accordance with section 430(h)(3)(C). Section 4 of Rev. Proc. 2017-55 notes that, under section 430(h)(3)(C)(v)(I), a request for approval to use substitute mortality tables generally must be submitted at least 7 months before the first day of the first plan year for which the substitute mortality tables are to apply.

D. Exempt organizations

Form 990-N electronic notice requirement for certain small exempt organizations

Section 6033(i) requires organizations that are excused from filing an annual

information return (Form 990 series) by reason of normally having annual gross receipts below a certain specified amount (currently $50,000) to furnish an annual electronic notification. The annual electronic notification (Form 990-N, e-Postcard) is due by the 15th day of the fifth month after the close of the organization’s tax year.

Time for filing suit for declaratory judgment

Section 7428 provides that an organization may file, within a specified period, an appropriate pleading for declaratory judgment with the United States Tax Court, the United States Court of Federal Claims, or the district court of the United States for the District of Columbia, involving the IRS’s determination, or failure to make a determination, with respect to the organization’s initial or continuing qualification or classification as an exempt organization described in section 501(c) or (d) and exempt from tax under section 501(a), an organization described in section 170(c)(2), a private foundation under section 509(a), a private operating foundation under section 4942(j)(3), or a cooperative described in section 521(b). Although Notice 2020-23 postponed the time to commence an action for declaratory judgment with the United States Tax Court, it did not cover similar suits filed with the Court of Federal Claims or the district court of the United States for the District of Columbia.

E. Forms 5498, -ESA, -SA

Form 5498, IRA Contribution Information, Form 5498-ESA, Coverdell ESA Contribution Information, and Form 5498SA, HSA, Archer MSA, or Medicare Advantage MSA Information, must be filed with the IRS and furnished to participants and beneficiaries by the times specified in the instructions to these forms.

III. RELIEF GRANTED

This notice amplifies the definition of Affected Taxpayer as provided in Notice 2020-23 to include Affected Taxpayers as defined in section III.A of this notice. This notice also amplifies the definition

June 15, 2020 950 Bulletin No. 2020–25

of Specified Time-Sensitive Actions as provided in Notice 2020-23 to include the Time-Sensitive Actions described in section III.B of this notice that are due to be performed on or after March 30, 2020, and before July 15, 2020. These amplified definitions, rather than the definitions in Notice 2020-23, apply for purposes of the relief described in this section III.

Pursuant to this notice, the revised deadline for an Affected Taxpayer to perform a Time-Sensitive Action described in section III.B of this notice is July 15, 2020, unless a different revised deadline is specified under section III.B.2(e) or III.B.4 of this notice. In the case of Time-Sensitive Actions with respect to provisions of the Code for which there are parallel provisions in ERISA, the relief provided under this section III also applies for purposes of those provisions under ERISA.

This notice also provides a temporary waiver of the requirement under § 31.3511-1(g)(2) that CPEOs file certain employment tax returns, and their accompanying schedules, on magnetic media (including electronic filing). This temporary waiver is extended to all CPEOs; individual requests for waiver do not need to be submitted. The waiver applies only to Forms 941 filed for the second, third, and fourth quarter of 2020 and only to Forms 943 filed for calendar year 2020, and their accompanying schedules. Accordingly, CPEOs are permitted, but not required, to file a paper Form 941, and its accompanying schedules, in lieu of electronic submission for the second, third, and fourth quarters of calendar year 2020. In addition, CPEOs are permitted, but not required, to file a paper Form 943, and its accompanying schedules, in lieu of electronic submission for calendar year 2020.

A. Affected Taxpayers

For purposes of the relief provided with respect to Time-Sensitive Actions described in section III.B of this notice, Affected Taxpayers include:

With respect to employment taxes, employers who perform a Time-Sensitive Action described in section III.B.1 of this notice.
With respect to employee benefit plans, the plan (including a section 403(b) plan, a governmental section 457(b) plan, a SEP plan described in section 408(k), or a SIMPLE IRA plan described in section 408(p)), or any sponsor, administrator, participant, beneficiary, disqualified person, or other person with respect to such a plan who performs a Time-Sensitive Action described in section III.B.2 of this notice.
With respect to exempt organizations, those persons performing a Time-Sensitive Action described in section III.B.3 of this notice.
Filers of a Form 5498, Form 5498SA, or 5498-ESA for whom filing the form is a Time-Sensitive Action described in section III.B.4 of this notice.

B. Time-Sensitive Actions

The Time-Sensitive Actions to which the relief under this section III applies are:

Correction of employment tax report- ing errors using the interest-free ad- justment process under sections 6205 and 6413 Actions to correct underpayments or overpayments pursuant to sections 6205 and 6413, respectively.
Qualified retirement plans a. Funding waiver Application for a funding waiver under section 412(c) for a defined benefit pension plan that is not a multiemployer plan. b. Multiemployer plan funding With respect to a multiemployer defined benefit pension plan, actions due to be performed on or before the dates described in:
- Section 432(b)(3) for the certification of funded status and the notice to interested parties of that certification.

Sections 432(c)(1) and 432(e)(1) for the adoption of, and the notification to the bargaining parties of the schedules under, a funding improvement plan or rehabilitation plan.
- Sections 432(c)(6) and

432(e)(3) for the annual

update of a funding improvement plan and its contribution schedules, or rehabilitation plan and its contribution schedules, and the filing of those updates with the Form 5500 annual return. c. CSEC plans With respect to a CSEC plan, actions to be performed on or before the date described in:

Section 433(c)(9) for making the contribution required to be made for the plan year.
Section 433(f)(3)(B) for making required quarterly installments.
Section 433(j)(3) for the adoption of a funding restoration plan.
Section 433(j)(4) for the certification of funded status. d. Form 5330 Filing of Form 5330 and payment of the associated excise taxes. The period beginning on March 30, 2020, and ending on July 15, 2020, will be disregarded in the calculation of any interest or penalty for failure to file the Form 5330 or to pay the excise tax postponed by this notice. Interest and penalties with respect to such postponed filing and payment obligations will begin to accrue on July 16, 2020. e. Tax Exempt and Government En- tities Division, Employee Plans programs
Extension of initial reme- dial amendment period for section 403(b) plans. With respect to the remedial amendment period and plan amendment rules for section 403(b) plans described in Rev. Proc. 2017-18 and Rev. Proc. 2019-39, actions that are otherwise required to be performed on or before March 31, 2020, with respect to form defects or plan amendments. The deadline for those actions is postponed to June 30, 2020 (and “June 30, 2020” should be

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substituted for all references to “March 31, 2020” in Rev. Proc. 2017-18 and in Rev. Proc. 2019-39).

Pre-approved defined ben-

efit plans . With respect to pre-approved defined benefit plans, the deadline for the following actions is postponed until July 31, 2020:

Adoption of a pre-approved defined benefit

plan that was approved based on the 2012 Cumulative List;

Submission of a determination letter application under the second six-year remedial

amendment cycle; and

Actions that are otherwise required to be

performed with respect to disqualifying provisions during the remedial amendment period that would otherwise end on April 30, 2020.

EPCRS . With respect to a

compliance statement issued under VCP, implementation of all corrective actions, including adoption of corrective amendments, required by the compliance statement.

Substitute mortality table. Request for approval of a substitute mortality table in accordance with section 430(h)(3)(C).

Exempt organizations a. Form 990-N electronic notice requirement for certain small ex- empt organizations Electronic submissions of Form 990-N under section 6033(i). b. Time for Commencing a Suit for Declaratory Judgment Pursuant to Section 7428 Filings by organizations listed in section 7428(a)(1) of an appropriate pleading for declaratory judgment with the United States Court of Federal Claims

or the district court of the United States for the District of Columbia, within the period specified in section 7428(b)(3). 4. Form 5498 series With respect to the Form 5498, IRA Contribution Information, Form 5498-ESA, Coverdell ESA Contribution Information, and the Form 5498SA, HSA, Archer MSA, or Medicare Advantage MSA Information, the due date for filing and furnishing the forms is postponed to August 31, 2020. The period beginning on the original due date of those forms and ending on August 31, 2020, will be disregarded in the calculation of any penalty for failure to file those forms. Penalties with respect to such a postponed filing will begin to accrue on September 1, 2020.

IV. EFFECT ON OTHER DOCUMENTS