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5500 Preparer's Manual for 2012 Plan Years
The premier resource in the field of Form 5500 preparation, 5500 Preparer's Manual will help you handle the required annual Form 5500 filings for both pension benefits and welfare benefit plans.
The IRS has published its general instructions and procedures to be used by taxpayers requesting letter rulings and determination letters. The revenue procedure is generally effective as of January 7, 2008.
The newly-issued fee schedule found in Appendix A has excepted information letters from the requirement to pay user fees for information letter requests received after February 1, 2008. Some other user fees not directly affecting employee plans have changed for requests received after February 1, 2008. Some of these fees are higher; others have decreased.
The IRS has issued revised procedures for issuing determination letters on the qualified status of pension, profit-sharing, stock bonus, annuity, and employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs), and the status for exemption of any related trusts or custodial accounts. The revised procedures are effective January 7, 2008.
The first part of the revenue procedure includes instructions for requesting determination letters; the second part includes guidance on providing notice to interested parties regarding such requests; and the third part explains the processing of these requests and the effect of determination letters. Section 6.05 has been revised to require that all changes made to the prior plan document be identified and that all interim amendments be submitted with a determination letter application. In addition, the revenue procedure makes clear that all determination letter submissions (other than for terminating plans) must include a restated plan or working copy of the plan in a restated format.
The IRS has issued procedures, updated for 2008, explaining when and how Employee Plans (EP) Technical, or Exempt Organizations (EO) Technical issue technical advice memoranda (TAMs) to EP and EO Examinations Area managers, EP and EO Determinations managers, or Appeals Area Directors, in the employee plans (including actuarial matters) and exempt organizations areas. The procedures are effective January 7, 2008.
Regarding employee plans, TAMs are required where adverse or revocation letters are proposed for collectively bargained plans, or when a revocation letter is proposed due to alleged fiduciary duty violations. Also explained in the revenue procedure are the rights of taxpayers when a TAM is requested arising from a request for a determination letter, or as a result of any other matter under the jurisdiction of EP or EO Examinations or Determinations.
The procedures for issuing letter rulings, revenue rulings, and other determination, opinion, notification, and information letters on matters relating to Code provisions under the jurisdiction of the Commissioner, Tax Exempt and Government Entities Division (TE/GE) have been updated by the IRS. The revenue procedure, which is effective January 7, 2008, contains the IRS’s general procedures applicable to letter ruling requests from employee plans and exempt organizations. A sample format of a request for a letter ruling is included in Appendix A.
The IRS has updated its user fee schedule, effective January 7, 2008, for requests for various types of employee plan letter rulings and determination letters, and other matters under the jurisdiction of the Commissioner, Tax Exempt and Government Entities Division.
The procedure reflects Section 8244 of the U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans’ Care, Katrina Recovery, and Iraq Accountability Appropriations Act (P.L. 110-28), which makes user fees permanent. Also, two new user fees have been added to section 6.01 as a result of ongoing practice and the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (P.L. 109-280). The user fee for Form 6406, Short Form Application for Determination for Minor Amendment of Employee Benefit Plan, has been removed due to the elimination of that form. Rev. Proc. 2008-8 is effective for requests postmarked, or if not mailed, received on or after January 7, 2008.
The IRS has published a revised revenue procedure that explains when and how technical advice memoranda (TAMs) are issued to a director or appeals area director. TAMs are requested when there is a lack of uniformity regarding the disposition of an issue or when an issue is unusual or complex enough to warrant consideration by an Associate office. The procedure also explains the rights of a taxpayer when a field office requests a TAM regarding a tax matter. The revenue procedure is effective January 7, 2008.
The IRS has released a revenue procedure providing a revised list of those areas of the Code on which it will not issue letter rulings or determination letters. The revenue procedure is effective as of January 7, 2008.
An area in which the IRS will not issue rulings or determination letters now includes the income tax consequences of a transaction in which the holder of an annuity contract irrevocably elects to apply only a portion of the contract to purchase a stream of annuity payments under the contract, leaving the remainder of the contract to accumulate income on a tax-deferred basis.
The IRS has released a revenue procedure providing a revised list of those areas of the Code under the jurisdiction of the Associate Chief Counsel (International) on which the IRS will not issue letter rulings or determination letters. Among other things, the revenue procedure precludes rulings on the source of pension payments to nonresident alien individuals from a trust under a qualified defined benefit plan. In addition, the IRS will not issue letter rulings or determination letters regarding whether an alien individual is a nonresident of the U.S., including whether the individual has met the requirements of the substantial presence test or exceptions to the substantial presence test.
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