Rev. Proc. 75-47

Section 1. Purpose.

This Revenue Procedure provides supplemental and revised procedures of the Internal Revenue Service for issuing determination letters relating to the qualification of individually designed pension, annuity, profit-sharing, stock bonus, and bond purchase plans under sections 401, 403(a), and 405 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, as amended by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (Public Law 93-406) [1974-3 C.B.], approved September 2, 1974 (hereinafter referred to as "the Act").

Sec. 2. Background and general information.

The general procedures of the Service relating to the issuance of rulings, determination letters, and opinion letters are set forth in Rev. Proc. 72-3, 1972-1 C.B. 698. Rev. Proc. 72-6, 1972-1 C.B. 710, and section 601.201(o) of the Statement of Procedural Rules (26 CFR Part 601, 40 Federal Register 32,322) provide the detailed procedures relating to the issuance of determination letters as to qualification of employees' plans under sections 401, 403(a), and 405 of the Code and to the exempt status of related trusts or custodial accounts, if any, under section 501(a). Rev. Proc. 74-38, 1974-2 C.B. 492, temporarily limited the issuance of determination letters on the qualification of plans to those that can qualify under the provisions of section 401 or 405 as in effect prior to September 2, 1974. The purpose of that limitation was to enable the Service to develop guidelines for determining whether plans meet the provisions of the Act. Rev. Proc. 75-5, 1975-1 C.B. 645, was published after the development of guidelines to determine whether certain defined contribution plans meet the requirements of the Act. Further guidelines have now been developed to determine whether additional types of defined contribution plans and defined benefit plans meet the requirements of the Act, and this Revenue Procedure sets forth the procedures to be followed in connection with requests for determination letters with respect to those plans.

For purposes of this Revenue Procedure, the terms "defined contribution" plan and "defined benefit" plan have the meanings given in section 414(i) and (j), respectively, of the Code. Generally, profit-sharing plans, money purchase pension plans (including target benefit plans), and stock bonus plans are considered defined contribution plans. Other pension plans are generally considered defined benefit plans.

Sec. 3. Determination letters.

.01 The key District Directors designated in section 601.201(o)(4) of the Statement of Procedural Rules are authorized to issue determination letters with respect to the qualification of pension, annuity, profit-sharing, stock bonus, and bond purchase plans and the status for exemption of related trusts or custodial accounts (if any). The determination letters authorized by this subsection are those on new plans that have not previously received a determination letter, plans that have been amended to meet the requirements of the Act, and plans that have received a determination letter that was restricted to plan provisions required by the Act at the time the determination letter was issued. Determination letters will not be issued with respect to investments by an employees' trust in the stock or securities of the employer.

.02 Notwithstanding the foregoing, determination letters authorized by this Revenue Procedure will be issued by the key District Directors only if the applicant has properly notified interested parties of the filing of the request for a determination in accordance with the provisions of regulations prescribed under section 7476(b)(2) of the Code (see temporary regulations T.D. 7358, page 498, this Bulletin) and the instructions contained in Rev. Proc. 75-31, page 551, this Bulletin. Furthermore, a determination letter will not be issued with respect to a defined contribution plan (including a target benefit plan) under which the test for prohibited discrimination under section 401(a)(4) is to be made by reference to benefits rather than contributions.

.03 Plans with respect to which determination letters are issued pursuant to subsection .01 will have to be amended if any provisions therein fail to meet the requirements of regulations adopted subsequent to the time the determination letters are issued.

Sec. 4. Instructions to taxpayers.

.01 All the provisions of Rev. Proc. 72-3 and section 601.201(o) of the Statement of Procedural Rules are applicable to the requests for determination letters authorized by this Revenue Procedure. The provisions of Rev. Proc. 72-6 are applicable to requests for determination letters with respect to plans and trusts that are not subject to the provisions of the Act except to the extent inconsistent with section 601.201(o) of the Statement of Procedural Rules and this Revenue Procedure. This appeal procedure which is set out in section 601.201(o)(6) and (7) of the Statement of Procedural Rules differs from that described in section 7 of Rev. Proc. 72-6. All appeals filed after the date of this Revenue Procedure must be filed and will be processed under the appropriate provisions of the Statement of Procedural Rules. Appeals which have already been submitted to the National Office will be processed in accordance with the procedure set forth in Rev. Proc. 72-6.

.02 An employer requesting a determination letter with respect to a plan that is subject to the requirements of section 410 of the Code other than section 410(c) shall file the forms prescribed below:

(1) If the plan is a defined benefit plan, other than a plan described in paragraph (3), below, file form 5300, Application for Determination of Defined Benefit Plan, and Form 5302, Employee Census.

(2) If the plan is a defined contribution plan, other than a plan described in paragraph (3), below, file Form 5301, Application for Determination of Defined Contribution Plan, and Form 5302, Employee Census.

(3) If the plan is a collectively bargained plan, file Form 5303, Application for Determination Collectively-Bargained Plan. In addition, if the plan covers labor union employees, file Form 5302, Employee Census.

.03 Requests relating to the qualification of a bond purchase plan will, as before, be filed on Form 4578, Application for Approval of Bond Purchase Plan that Includes Self-Employed Individuals.

Sec. 5. Effect on other documents.

.01 Rev. Procs. 74-38 and 75-5 are hereby superseded.

.02 Rev. Proc. 72-6 is hereby modified to the extent required by section 4.01 above.

Sec. 6. Effective date.

This Revenue Procedure is effective November 4, 1975.

¹ Also released as TIR-1411, dated November 3, 1975.