SECTION 27. HOW

DOES EMPLOYEE PLANS RULINGS AND AGREEMENTS HANDLE LETTER RULING REQUESTS?

(2) The provisions of section 25.08(1) of this revenue procedure will not apply if the taxpayer or affected related party (a) consents to the disclosure of all relevant information requested by Employee Plans Rulings and Agreements in processing the ruling request or in the course of an examination to verify the accuracy of the representations made and to otherwise analyze or examine the tax issues involved in the ruling request, and (b) waives all claims to protection of bank and commercial secrecy laws in the foreign jurisdiction with respect to the information requested by the Service.

In the event the taxpayer’s or related party’s consent to disclose relevant information or to waive protection of bank or commercial secrecy is determined by the Service to be ineffective or of no force and effect, then the Service may retroactively rescind any ruling rendered in reliance on such consent.

.01 The procedures in section 6 of this revenue procedure are generally applicable to requests for letter rulings.

.02 The following specific revenue procedures and notices supplement the general instructions for requests described in section 24 of this revenue procedure and apply to requests for a letter ruling regarding the Code sections and matters listed in this section. These revenue procedures and notices may be revised or supplemented.

(1) For requests by the plan sponsor of a multiemployer pension plan for approval of an extension of an amortization period in accordance with § 431(d), see Rev. Proc. 2010-52, 2010-52 IRB 927.

(2) For requests by administrators or sponsors of a defined benefit plan to obtain approval for a change in funding method, see Rev. Proc. 2017-57.

(3) For requests for the return to the employer of certain nondeductible contributions, see Rev. Proc. 90-49, 1990-2 CB 620.

(4) For requests for approval of the use of a substitute mortality table in accordance with § 430(h)(3)(C), see Rev. Proc. 2024-32.

PART IIIB. PROCESSING LETTER RULING REQUESTS

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In general

Is not bound by informal opinion expressed

Will return any letter ruling request mistakenly sent to wrong address

Tells taxpayer if request lacks essential information during initial contact

Information must be submitted within 30 calendar days

Requires prompt submission of additional information requested after initial contact

Encourages use of fax, Taxpayer Digital Communications Secure Messaging, and the IRS Document Upload Tool

.01 Employee Plans Rulings and Agreements will issue letter rulings on the matters and under the circumstances described in section 24 of this revenue procedure and in the manner described in this section and section 29 of this revenue procedure.

.02 Employee Plans Rulings and Agreements will not be bound by the informal opinion expressed by any authorized Service representative under this procedure, and such an opinion cannot be relied upon as a basis for obtaining retroactive relief under the provisions of § 7805(b).

.03 A request for a letter ruling sent to EP Determinations will be returned to the sender so that the taxpayer can submit it to the appropriate office.

.04 If a request for a letter ruling does not comply with all the provisions of this revenue procedure, the request will be acknowledged, and the Employee Plans Rulings and Agreements representative will tell the taxpayer during the initial contact which requirements have not been met.

.05 If the request lacks essential information, which may include additional information needed to satisfy the procedural requirements of this revenue procedure, as well as substantive changes to transactions or documents needed from the taxpayer, the Employee Plans Rulings and Agreements representative will inform the taxpayer during the initial contact that the request will be closed if Employee Plans Rulings and Agreements does not receive the information within 30 calendar days and extension of time is not granted. See section 27.10 of this revenue procedure for information on extension of time and instructions on submissions of additional information.

.06 Material facts furnished to Employee Plans Rulings and Agreements by telephone or fax, or orally at a conference, must be promptly confirmed by letter to Employee Plans Rulings and Agreements. This confirmation and any additional information requested by Employee Plans Rulings and Agreements that is not part of the information requested during the initial contact must be furnished within 21 calendar days to be considered part of the request.

Additional information submitted to Employee Plans Rulings and Agreements must be accompanied by the following declaration: “Under penalties of perjury, I declare that I have examined this information, including accompanying documents, and, to the best of my knowledge and belief, the information contains all the relevant facts relating to the request for the information, and such facts are true, correct, and complete.” This declaration must be signed in accordance with the requirements in section 6.02(14)(b) of this revenue procedure. A taxpayer who submits additional factual information on several occasions may provide one declaration subsequent to all submissions that refers to all submissions.

.07 To facilitate prompt action on letter ruling requests, taxpayers are encouraged to submit additional information by fax as soon as the information is available. The Employee Plans Rulings and Agreements representative who requests additional information can provide a telephone number to which the information can be faxed. A copy of this information and signed penalties of perjury statement, however, must be mailed or delivered to Employee Plans Rulings and Agreements.

Taxpayers may be offered the option of using Taxpayer Digital Communications Secure Messaging, which provides secure messaging and document sharing between the Service, taxpayers, and their representatives. For more information on secure messaging, see Publication 5295, Secure Messaging for Tax Exempt and Government Entities.

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Where to send additional information

Number of copies of additional information to be submitted

Extension of 30-day or 21-day period may be granted if justified

Case closed if taxpayer does not submit additional information

Near the completion of the ruling process, advises taxpayer of conclusions and, if Employee Plans Rulings and Agreements will rule adversely, offers the taxpayer the opportunity to withdraw the letter ruling request

May request draft of proposed letter ruling near the completion of the ruling process

The Service also provides the option of using the IRS Document Upload Tool, which provides a safe means for exchanging documentation with the Service online. The IRS Document Upload Tool can be accessed using an access code provided for each exchange in a notice or letter, or, if no access code is provided, by entering the number and title of the notice or letter for each exchange. More information on the IRS Document Upload Tool can be found at www.irs.gov/ help/irs-document-upload-tool.

.08 Additional information can be sent by fax, Taxpayer Digital Communications Secure Messaging, the IRS Document Upload Tool, or to the address provided by the Service representative who requested the information. See section 31 of this revenue procedure for a list of Employee Plans addresses. The additional information should include the name and room number of the Service representative who requested the information and the taxpayer’s name and the case control number (which the Employee Plans Rulings and Agreements representative can provide).

.09 Generally, a taxpayer needs to submit only one copy of the additional information. However, in appropriate cases, Employee Plans Rulings and Agreements may request additional copies of the information.

.10 An extension of the 30-day period under section 27.05 of this revenue procedure or the 21-day period under section 27.06 of this revenue procedure will be granted only if justified in writing by the taxpayer and approved by the manager of the group to which the case is assigned. A request for extension should be submitted before the end of the 30-day or 21-day period. If unusual circumstances close to the end of the 30-day or 21-day period make a written request impractical, the taxpayer, or authorized representative, should notify Employee Plans Rulings and Agreements within the 30-day or 21-day period that there is a problem and that the written request for extension will be coming soon. The taxpayer, or their authorized representative, will be told promptly of the approval or denial of the requested extension, which will be confirmed later in writing. If the extension request is denied, there is no right of appeal.

.11 If the taxpayer does not follow the instructions for submitting additional information or requesting an extension within the time provided, a letter ruling will be issued on the basis of the information on hand, or, if appropriate, no letter ruling will be issued. If Employee Plans Rulings and Agreements determines not to issue a letter ruling because essential information is lacking, the case will be closed, and the taxpayer notified in writing. If Employee Plans Rulings and Agreements receives the information after the letter ruling request is closed, the request may be reopened and treated as a new request. However, the taxpayer may be required to pay another user fee before the case can be reopened.

.12 Generally, after the conference of right is held and before the letter ruling is issued, the Employee Plans Rulings and Agreements representative will inform the taxpayer or the taxpayer’s authorized representative of Employee Plans Rulings and Agreements’ final conclusions on the issues for which the letter ruling is sought. If Employee Plans Rulings and Agreements is going to rule adversely, the taxpayer will be offered the opportunity to withdraw the letter ruling request. If the taxpayer or the taxpayer’s representative does not promptly notify the Employee Plans Rulings and Agreements representative of a decision to withdraw the ruling request, the adverse letter will be issued. The user fee will not be refunded for a letter ruling request that is withdrawn. See section 30.10 of this revenue procedure.

.13 To accelerate issuance of letter rulings, in appropriate cases near the completion of the ruling process, the Employee Plans Rulings and Agreements representative may request that the taxpayer or the taxpayer’s representative submit a proposed draft of the letter ruling on the basis of discussions of the issues. The taxpayer, however, is not required to prepare a draft letter ruling to receive a letter ruling.

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