SECTION 1. WHAT IS

THE PURPOSE OF THIS REVENUE PROCEDURE?

Purpose of revenue procedure

Organization of revenue procedure

.01 This revenue procedure explains how the Internal Revenue Service (Service) provides advice to taxpayers on issues under the jurisdiction of the Commissioner, Tax Exempt and Government Entities Division, Employee Plans Rulings and Agreements Office (Employee Plans Rulings and Agreements). It also details the types of advice available to taxpayers, and the procedures for requesting and receiving such advice.

.02

(1) Part I of this revenue procedure sets forth general information about the types of advice provided by Employee Plans Rulings and Agreements and the procedures that apply to both requests for determination letters and requests for private letter rulings. Part II contains procedures for determination letters for various types of plans and transactions. Part III contains procedures for private letter rulings within the jurisdiction of Employee Plans Rulings and Agreements. Part IV sets forth the rules for user fees that are required to be paid when requesting various types of advice.

December 30, 2024 164 Bulletin No. 2025–1

Other guidance affecting this revenue procedure

(2) Employee Plans Rulings and Agreements issues letter rulings only on certain matters specified in section 24.01 of this revenue procedure. Rev. Proc. 2025-1, this Bulletin, sets forth procedures for obtaining letter rulings from the Office of Associate Chief Counsel, including letter rulings relating to qualified retirement plans, § 403(b) plans, and individual retirement arrangements (IRAs). Rev. Proc. 2025-2, this Bulletin, sets forth procedures for requesting technical advice from the Office of Associate Chief Counsel.

.03

(1) Guidance applicable to the individually designed determination letter program

(a) Rev. Proc. 2022-40, 2022-47 IRB 487, provides the circumstances under which a plan sponsor may submit an individually designed plan determination letter application to Employee Plans Rulings and Agreements. Under Rev. Proc. 2022-40, an employer sponsoring an individually designed plan, including a § 403(b) individually designed plan, generally may file a determination letter application only for initial plan determination, for plan termination, and in certain other circumstances identified by the Service in guidance published in the Internal Revenue Bulletin. Plan sponsors may also submit a determination letter application in other specified circumstances, including a submission for a qualified individually designed Merged Plan, as defined in Rev. Proc. 2022-40.

A plan sponsor of a § 403(b) individually designed plan may submit the plan for an initial plan determination no earlier than the dates provided in the chart below. The dates are based on the last digit of a plan sponsor’s EIN. A plan sponsor may submit a determination letter application in any year after the year identified in the chart.

(b) Each year a Required Amendments List is issued, which establishes the end of the remedial amendment period for an individually designed plan with respect to changes in qualification requirements that appear on the list. The 2024 Required Amendments List for Qualified Retirement Plans and § 403(b) Retirement Plans is set forth in Notice 2024-82, 2024-52 IRB ___. See https:// www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/required-amendments-list for all Required Amendments Lists.

(c) Notice 2017-1, 2017-2 IRB 367, provides an exemption from the requirement to pay a user fee for certain requests to the Service for determination letters with respect to the qualified status of pension, profit-sharing, stock bonus, annuity, and employee stock ownership (ESOP) plans maintained by small employers.

(2) Guidance applicable to pre-approved plans – fourth remedial amendment cycle (Cycle 4) or a later remedial amendment cycle for defined contribution qualified pre-approved plans ¹ ; Cycle 4 or a later remedial amendment cycle for defined benefit qualified pre-approved plans ² ; and

1 Cycle 4 for defined contribution qualified pre-approved plans began on February 1, 2023.

2 Cycle 4 for defined benefit qualified pre-approved plans begins April 1, 2025.

Bulletin No. 2025–1 165 December 30, 2024

third remedial amendment cycle (Cycle 3) or a later remedial amendment cycle for § 403(b) preapproved plans

(a) Rev. Proc. 2023-37, 2023-51 IRB 1491, sets forth the rules regarding qualified pre‑approved plans and § 403(b) pre-approved plans, and combines, conforms, clarifies, and updates rules for qualified pre-approved plans and § 403(b) pre-approved plans previously set forth in prior revenue procedures. In general, Rev. Proc. 2023-37 is effective on November 21, 2023. Sections 9 through 24 of Rev. Proc. 2023-37 (regarding procedures for applications for opinion letters) are effective with respect to:

(i) a Cycle 4 (or later) defined contribution qualified pre-approved plan;

(ii) a Cycle 4 (or later) defined benefit qualified pre-approved plan; and

(iii) a Cycle 3 (or later) § 403(b) pre-approved plan.

Section 25 of Rev. Proc. 2023-37 (regarding procedures for applications for a determination letter) is effective with respect to:

(i) an application for a determination letter submitted by an adopting employer with respect to a Cycle 4 (or later) defined contribution qualified pre-approved plan;

(ii) an application for a determination letter submitted by an adopting employer with respect to a Cycle 4 (or later) defined benefit qualified pre-approved plan; and

(iii) an application for a determination letter submitted by an adopting employer with respect to the second remedial amendment cycle (Cycle 2) or a later remedial amendment cycle for a § 403(b) pre-approved plan.

(b) Notice 2024-3, 2024-2 IRB 338, sets forth the 2023 Cumulative List, which is used by the Service in its review of opinion letter applications for defined contribution qualified pre-approved plans during Cycle 4.

(c) Announcement 2024-38, 2024-50 IRB 1230, in relevant part, announces that the Department of the Treasury (Treasury Department) and the Service intend to clarify in future guidance that the restatement rule in Rev. Proc. 2019-39, 2019-42 IRB 945, and Rev. Proc. 2016-37, 2016-29 IRB 136, continues to apply to all pre-approved plans, including Cycle 2 (and future) § 403(b) pre-approved plans and Cycle 3 (and future) qualified pre-approved plans. See section 12.08 of this revenue procedure.

(3) Guidance applicable to defined benefit qualified pre-approved plans – Cycle 3 ³

(a) Rev. Proc. 2016-37 ⁴ sets forth a system of remedial amendment cycles that applies to qualified pre-approved plans and the deadlines to submit applications for opinion letters. In

3 Cycle 3 for defined benefit qualified pre-approved plans ends March 31, 2025.

4 For purposes of this revenue procedure, references to Rev. Proc. 2016-37 are to Rev. Proc. 2016-37, as modified by Rev. Proc. 2017-41, 2017-29 IRB 92, Rev. Proc. 2020-40, 2020-38 IRB 575, and Rev. Proc. 2021-38, 2021-38 IRB 425, but not as modified by Rev. Proc. 2022-40 or Rev. Proc. 2023-37.

December 30, 2024 166 Bulletin No. 2025–1

addition, section 15.07 of Rev. Proc. 2016-37 provides a procedural rule regarding restatements. See section 12.08 of this revenue procedure.

(b) Rev. Proc. 2017-41 modifies the pre-approved program for qualified plans by eliminating the distinction between master and prototype (M&P) and volume submitter (VS) plans, liberalizing the types of plans eligible for pre-approved status, and affording greater flexibility in plan design. In addition, Rev. Proc. 2017-41 sets forth the procedures for obtaining an opinion letter for qualified pre-approved plans submitted with respect to Cycle 3.

(c) Rev. Proc. 2020-10, 2020-21 IRB 295, provides that Cycle 3 for defined benefit qualified pre-approved plans began on May 1, 2020, and the on-cycle submission period for providers to submit opinion letter applications began on August 1, 2020.

(d) Notice 2020-14, 2020-13 IRB 555, sets forth the 2020 Cumulative List, which is used by the Service in its review of opinion letter applications for defined benefit qualified pre-approved plans during Cycle 3.

(e) Rev. Proc. 2020-40 modifies Rev. Proc. 2016-37 to provide that the general deadline for adopting a discretionary amendment made to a qualified pre‑approved plan (generally the end of the plan year for which the plan amendment is put into effect) applies unless a statutory provision, regulations, or other guidance published in the Internal Revenue Bulletin sets forth a different deadline.

(f) Rev. Proc. 2021-38 modifies the interim amendment deadline set forth in section 15.04(1) of Rev. Proc. 2016-37 to provide that an interim amendment made to a pre-approved plan qualified under § 401(a) is adopted timely if the amendment is adopted by the end of the second calendar year after the calendar year in which the change in qualification requirements is effective with respect to the plan. Rev. Proc. 2021-38 applies to disqualifying provisions that are effective with respect to a plan after December 31, 2020.

(g) Announcement 2023-6, 2023-9 IRB 501, provides that the Service intends to issue opinion letters with respect to Cycle 3 for defined benefit qualified pre-approved plans by February 28, 2023, or soon thereafter. Announcement 2023-6 also provides that an employer adopting a newly approved defined benefit plan will be required to adopt the plan document by March 31, 2025, and that, from April 1, 2023, to March 31, 2025, the Service will accept applications for determination letters from employers who adopt such plans under Cycle 3 and are otherwise eligible to submit a determination letter request.

(4) Guidance applicable to § 403(b) pre-approved plans – first remedial amendment cycle (Cycle 1) and Cycle 2

(a) Rev. Proc. 2017-18, as modified by Notice 2020-35, 2020-25 IRB 948, provides that the last day of the initial remedial amendment cycle for § 403(b) pre-approved plans was generally June 30, 2020. Consequently, Cycle 2 for § 403(b) pre-approved plans began on July 1, 2020.

(b) Rev. Proc. 2019-39, as modified by Rev. Proc. 2020-40, Notice 2020-35, and Rev. Proc. 2021-37, 2021-38 IRB 385, sets forth a system of recurring remedial amendment periods for correcting form defects in § 403(b) individually designed plans and § 403(b) pre-approved plans first occurring after the initial remedial amendment period ends. Rev. Proc. 2019-39 also provides plan amendment deadlines for § 403(b) individually designed and pre-approved plans. Rev. Proc. 2020-40 modifies Rev. Proc. 2019-39 to provide that the general deadline for adopting a

Bulletin No. 2025–1 167 December 30, 2024

discretionary amendment made to a § 403(b) pre-approved plan (generally the end of the plan year for which the plan amendment is put into effect) applies unless a statutory provision, regulations, or other guidance published in the Internal Revenue Bulletin, sets forth a different deadline. In addition, section 13.04 of Rev. Proc. 2019-39 provides a procedural rule regarding restatements for Cycle 1 § 403(b) pre-approved plans. See section 12.08 of this revenue procedure.

(c) Rev. Proc. 2021-37 provides rules for opinion letter applications submitted with respect to Cycle 2 for a § 403(b) pre-approved plan.

(d) Announcement 2024-38 provides that the Service intends to issue opinion letters with respect to Cycle 2 for § 403(b) pre-approved plans by November 29, 2024, or soon thereafter. Announcement 2024-38 also provides that an employer adopting a newly approved § 403(b) plan will be required to adopt the plan document by December 31, 2026, and that, from January 1, 2025, to December 31, 2026, the Service will accept applications for determination letters from employers who adopt such plans under Cycle 2 and are otherwise eligible to submit a determination letter request. Announcement 2024-38 also announces that the Treasury Department and the Service intend to clarify in future guidance that the restatement rule in Rev. Proc. 2019-39 and Rev. Proc. 2016-37 continues to apply to all pre-approved plans, including Cycle 2 (and future) § 403(b) pre-approved plans and Cycle 3 (and future) qualified pre-approved plans. See section 12.08 of this revenue procedure.

(5) Guidance applicable to the IRA opinion letter program