SECTION 11. WHAT

IS THE PROCESS FOR REQUESTING DETERMINATION LETTERS FOR INDIVIDUALLY DESIGNED PLANS?

.17 A request for a status conference with the Director, EP Rulings and Agreements is to be made in writing and is to be sent to the specialist assigned to review the application or, if the applicant does not know who is reviewing the application, to the Director, EP Rulings and Agreements at the address provided in section 31 of this revenue procedure.

January 2, 2024 198 Bulletin No. 2024–1

Requesting determination letters

.01 This section 11 contains the procedures for requesting determination letters for individually designed plans for qualified plans and for § 403(b) plans. Determination letters will be issued with respect to individually designed plans solely in the following circumstances:

(1) Initial plan determination. See Rev. Proc. 2022-40, section 9.02, for a description of which plans may be submitted on a Form 5300, Application for Determination for Employee Benefit Plan , for initial plan determination;

(2) Determination upon plan termination. See section 15 of this revenue procedure and section 9.04 of Rev. Proc. 2022-40 for additional procedures for requesting determination upon plan termination;

(3) Merged Plans. Individually designed qualified plan resulting from merged plans of previously unrelated entities, under the conditions set forth in section 9.05 of Rev. Proc. 2022-40; and

(4) Certain other circumstances as may be set forth in guidance published in the Internal Revenue Bulletin (see section 9.06 of Rev. Proc. 2022-40).

Forms .02 A determination letter request for the items listed in section 11.01 of this revenue procedure is made by filing the appropriate form and submitting as an attachment any related documents on www.pay.gov according to the instructions to the form and any prevailing revenue procedures, notices, and announcements.

(1) Form 5300, Application for Determination for Employee Benefit Plan, must be filed to request a determination letter for an individually designed plan, including a collectively bargained plan. See section 12 of this revenue procedure for circumstances under which an adopting employer that has modified a pre-approved plan may submit a determination letter request. In accordance with Rev. Proc. 2022-40, section 9.02(1), an employer may submit a plan for initial plan qualification on a Form 5300 as long as a favorable determination letter has never been issued with respect to the plan as an individually designed plan. Employers submitting requests on behalf of individually designed plans should file the most recent version of the Form 5300.

(2) Form 5309, Application for Determination of Employee Stock Ownership Plan, must be filed as an attachment with a Form 5300 to request a determination whether the plan is an ESOP under § 409 or § 4975(e)(7).

(3) Form 5310, Application for Determination for Terminating Plan, must be filed to request a determination for a terminating plan. Also, see section 15 of this revenue procedure for additional procedures pertaining to applications for determination upon plan termination. See sections 6.02(2)(b) and 30.07 of this revenue procedure for procedures relating to electronic submissions. These forms, any applicable user fee, and all related documents must be filed electronically on www.pay.gov, as described in section 30.07(1) of this revenue procedure. When completing the form, taxpayers should refer to the applicable Employee Plans user fees listed in Appendix A of this revenue procedure.

(4) Form 2848, Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative.

(5) Form 8821, Tax Information Authorization.

Bulletin No. 2024–1 199 January 2, 2024

Application must include a copy of plan and amendments

.03 The application must include a copy of all signed and dated plan amendments (including interim amendments, if applicable) adopted or effective subsequent to the most recent determination letter issued with respect to the plan, even if these amendments are dated earlier than a previous determination letter issued with respect to the plan. The application must also include a copy of the restated plan, if applicable. If a plan did not receive a favorable determination letter, all plan documents and amendments must be submitted. EP Determinations has the discretion to request copies of any other amendments during its review of a plan. If the submitted plan is the result of a merger of two or more plans, the applicant must include, for each of the plans involved in the merger, a copy of the prior plan document, or if applicable, the adoption agreement, the opinion or advisory letter, and applicable amendments. See section 10.06 of this revenue procedure for further detail on information required for plans involving mergers.

Restatements required .04 An individually designed plan must be restated when it is submitted for a determination letter unless it is a terminating plan. Sponsors of terminating plans are encouraged, but not required, to submit a restatement when submitting a determination letter application. Plans submitted during 2024 must be restated for compliance for the items described in section 9 of this revenue procedure, as applicable. A plan sponsor of a dual-qualified plan that is intended to comply with both the Code and the Código de Rentas Internas para un Nuevo Puerto Rico de la Ley Núm. 1 de 31 de enero de 2011 (“Puerto Rico Code”) must submit a restatement showing compliance with these lists and the qualification requirements of the Code when submitting a determination letter application.

Section 414(x) combined plans