IRS Revises Procedures For Correcting Modified Endowment Contracts.

This revenue procedure provides a procedure by which an issuer of a life insurance contract may remedy an inadvertent non-egregious failure to comply with the modified endowment contract rules under § 7702A of the Internal Revenue Code. Rev. Proc. 2001-42, 2001-2 C.B. 212, and Rev. Proc. 2007-19, 2007-1 C.B. 515, are superseded.

SECTION 2. BACKGROUND

.01 Definition of a modified endowment contract (MEC).

(1) Section 7702A(a) provides that a life insurance contract is a MEC if the contract --

(a) is entered into on or after June 21, 1988, and fails to meet the 7-pay test of § 7702A(b), or

(b) is received in exchange for a contract described in paragraph (a) of this section 2.01(1).

(2) A contract fails to meet the 7-pay test if the accumulated amount paid under the contract at any time during the first 7 contract years exceeds the sum of the net level premiums which would have to be paid on or before such time if the contract were to provide for paid-up future benefits (as defined in §§ 7702A(c)(3) and 7702(f)(4)) after the payment of 7 level annual premiums.

(3) Section 72(e)(12) provides that, for purposes of determining amounts includible in gross income, all MECs issued by the same company to the same contract holder during any calendar year are treated as one MEC.

.02 Tax treatment of amounts received under a MEC. Section 72(e)(10) provides that a MEC is subject to the rules of § 72(e)(2)(B), which tax non-annuity distributions on an income-out-first basis, and the rules of § 72(e)(4)(A) (as modified by §§ 72(e)(10)(A)(ii) and 72(e)(10)(B)), which generally deem loans and assignments or pledges of any portion of the value of a MEC to be non-annuity distributions. Moreover, under § 72(v), the portion of any annuity or non-annuity distribution received under a MEC that is includible in gross income is subject to a 10% additional tax unless the distribution is made on or after the date on which the taxpayer attains age 59 1/2, is attributable to the taxpayer's becoming disabled (within the meaning of § 72(m)(7)), or is part of a series of substantially equal periodic payments (not less frequently than annually) made for the life (or life expectancy) of the taxpayer or the joint lives (or joint life expectancies) of such taxpayer and the taxpayer's beneficiary.

.03 Authority to enter into closing agreements. Under § 7121, the Secretary is authorized to enter into an agreement in writing with any person relating to the liability of such person (or of the person or estate for whom he acts) in respect of any internal revenue tax for any period. Such agreement is generally final and conclusive, except upon a showing of fraud, malfeasance, or misrepresentation of a material fact.

.04 Correction procedure for inadvertent MECs. Rev. Proc. 2001-42 set forth circumstances under which the Internal Revenue Service (Service) would enter into closing agreements under which life insurance contracts would be treated as if they were not MECs, notwithstanding inadvertent non-egregious failures to comply with the rules of § 7702A. Under Rev. Proc. 2001-42, an issuer was required to provide information about the contracts that were subject to the closing agreement, including a template for each contract setting forth the cumulative amounts paid under the contract, the contract's cumulative 7-pay premium, the overage, if any, for each contract year, the earnings rate applicable for each contract year, and the overage earnings for each contract year. In addition, the issuer was required to pay under the closing agreement an amount based on the contract's overage, overage earnings, and tax and interest thereon. Rev. Proc. 2001-42 was modified and amplified by Rev. Proc. 2007-19, primarily to use indices that are more accessible to taxpayers than those previously required to be used and to permit the submission of information in an electronic format.

.05 Changes to correction procedure. In Notice 2007-15, 2007-1 C.B. 503, the Service requested comments as to how various correction procedures -- including those for inadvertent MECs under Rev. Proc. 2001-42 -- may be improved. This revenue procedure incorporates a number of changes that taxpayers suggested in response to Notice 2007-15. Significant changes include providing an alternative computation of the amount required to be paid under a closing agreement with regard to an inadvertent MEC, eliminating certain informational items that must be submitted, and revising some language of the model closing agreement.

SECTION 3. DEFINITIONS

The following definitions and rules apply solely for purposes of this revenue procedure.

.01 Testing period. The 7-year period described in § 7702A(b) or such additional period as may be required under § 7702A(c)(3) if a contract undergoes a material change.

.02 Amount paid. The amount paid (as defined in § 7702A(e)(1)) under a contract in any contract year (as defined in § 7702A(e)(2)) equals the premiums paid for the contract during the year, reduced by amounts to which § 72(e) applies (determined without regard to § 72(e)(4)(A)) but not including amounts includible in gross income. For this purpose, premiums paid do not include --

(1) any portion of any premium paid during the contract year that is returned (with interest) to the contract holder within 60 days after the end of the contract year in order to comply with the 7-pay test, or

(2) the cash surrender value (as defined in § 7702(f)(2)(A)) of another life insurance contract (other than a contract that fails the 7-pay test) exchanged for the contract.

.03 7-pay premium.

(1) In general. Except as otherwise provided in section 3.03(2) of this revenue procedure, the 7-pay premium for a contract is the net level premium (computed in accordance with the rules in § 7702A(c)) that would have to be paid for the contract if the contract were to provide for paid up future benefits after the payment of 7 level annual premiums.

(2) 7-pay premium for a contract that undergoes a material change. If a contract (other than a contract that fails the 7-pay test) is materially changed, the contract is treated as newly issued on the date of the material change and the 7-pay premium for the changed contract is an amount equal to the excess, if any, of --

(a) the net level premium (computed in accordance with the rules in § 7702A(c)) that would have to be paid for the changed contract if the contract were to provide for paid up future benefits after the payment of 7 level annual premiums, over

(b) a proportionate share of the cash surrender value (as defined in section 3.04 of this revenue procedure) under the contract.

.04 Proportionate share of cash surrender value. The proportionate share of the cash surrender value of a contract is the amount obtained by multiplying --

(1) the cash surrender value (as defined in § 7702(f)(2)(A)) of the contract, by

(2) a fraction, the numerator of which is the net level premium (computed in accordance with the rules in § 7702A(c)) that would have to be paid for the changed or new contract if such contract were to provide for paid up future benefits after the payment of 7 level annual premiums, and the denominator of which is the net single premium (determined using the rules in § 7702) for such contract at that time.

.05 Overage. A contract's overage is the amount of the excess, if any, of --

(1) the sum of amounts paid under the contract during the testing period for the contract year and all prior contract years, over

(2) the sum of the 7-pay premiums for the contract year and all prior contract years of the testing period.

.06 Overage earnings. The overage earnings for a contract year is the amount obtained by multiplying --

(1) the sum of a contract's overage for the contract year and its cumulative overage earnings for all prior contract years, by --

(2) the earnings rate set forth in section 3.07 of this revenue procedure.

.07 Earnings rates.

(1) Contracts other than variable contracts. Except as otherwise provided in sections 3.07(3) and 3.07(8) of this revenue procedure, the earnings rate applicable to a contract year is the general account total return (as defined in section 3.07(2) of this revenue procedure) for the calendar year in which the contract year begins.

(2) General account total return.

(a) Pre-2008 contract years. The general account total return applicable to a contract year that begins before January 1, 2008, is the rate set forth in the following table for the calendar year in which the contract year begins.

 Year                     General Account Total Return 1988

(i) Moody's Seasoned Corporate Aaa Bond Yield, frequency annual, or any successor thereto; and

(ii) Moody's Seasoned Corporate Baa Bond Yield, frequency annual, or any successor thereto. Both rates are publicly available at www.federalreserve.gov. Thus, for example, under this methodology the general account total return for 2007 is (5.555833 + 6.4825)/2 = 6.0191665 = 6.0%.

(3) Variable contracts described in § 817(d).

(a) Pre-2008 contract years. The earnings rate applicable to a contract year that begins before January 1, 2008, is the rate set forth in the following table for the calendar year in which the contract year begins.

 Year                          Variable Contracts Earnings Rate

(i) 10 percent of the general account total return (as defined in section 3.07(2) of this revenue procedure), and

(ii) 90 percent of the separate account total return (as defined in section 3.07(4) of this revenue procedure) for the calendar year in which the contract year begins.

(4) Separate account total return. Except as otherwise provided in section 3.07(8) of this revenue procedure, the separate account total return equals --

(a) 75 percent of the equity fund total return (as defined in section 3.07(5) of this revenue procedure), plus

(b) 25 percent of the bond fund total return (as defined in section 3.07(6) of this revenue procedure), less (c) 1.1 percentage point.

(5) Equity fund total return. The equity fund total return equals --

(a) the calendar year percentage return (as defined in section 3.07(7) of this revenue procedure) represented by the end-of-year values of the Standard and Poor's (S&P) 500 Total Return Index, with daily dividend reinvestment, or any successor thereto, less

(b) 1.5 percentage point.

(6) Bond fund total return. The bond fund total return equals --

(a) the calendar year percentage return (as defined in section 3.07(7) of this revenue procedure) represented by the end-of-year values of the Merrill Lynch U.S. Corporate Master Index (C0A0), or any successor thereto, less

(b) 1.0 percentage point.

The Merrill Lynch U.S. Corporate Master Index (C0A0) is publicly available at www.mlindex.ml.com. Under this methodology, the bond fund total return for 2007 is (1689.135-1614.188) /1614.188 - .01 = 3.64301 percent.

(7) Calendar year percentage return. The calendar year percentage return for an index described in section 3.07(5) or section 3.07(6) of this revenue procedure is calculated by --

(a) dividing the end-of-year value of the index for the calendar year by the end-of-year value of the index for the immediately preceding calendar year, and

(b) subtracting 1 from the result obtained under paragraph (a) of this section 3.07(7).

(8) Incomplete calendar year. If the general account total return or the separate account total return for a calendar year cannot be determined because the calendar year in which the contract year begins has not ended, then the earnings rate for the contract year (or portion thereof) is determined using the general account total return and, if applicable, the average separate account total return, for the 3 calendar years immediately preceding the calendar year in which the contract year begins.

.08 Proportionate share of overage earnings allocable to taxable distributions. The proportionate share of overage earnings allocable to taxable distributions under a contract is the amount obtained by multiplying --

(1) the total amount of the taxable distributions under the contract, by

(2) a fraction, the numerator of which is the contract's cumulative overage earnings and the denominator of which is the total income on the contract.

.09 Total income on a contract. The total income on a contract as of any date is an amount equal to the excess, if any, of --

(1) the contract's cash surrender value (as defined in § 7702(f)(2)(A)) on such date, over

(2) the premiums paid under the contract before such date, reduced by amounts to which § 72(e) applies (determined without regard to § 72(e)(4)(A)) but not including amounts includible in the contract holder's gross income.

.10 Distribution frequency factor. The distribution frequency factor for a contract is --

(1) .8, if --

(a) the interest rate with respect to any portion of a policy loan that could be made under the contract at any time (including policy loans that could be made after a contractually specified date in the future) is guaranteed not to exceed the sum of:

(i) 1 percentage point, plus

(ii) the rate at which earnings are credited to the portion of the contract's cash surrender value (as defined in § 7702(f)(2)(A)) that is allocable to such portion of the policy loan; or

(b) the contract holder has an option to make a partial withdrawal of the contract's cash surrender value that reduces the death benefit (as defined in § 7702(f)(3)) under the contract by less than an amount determined by multiplying --

(i) the death benefit under the contract immediately before the withdrawal, by (ii) the percentage obtained by dividing the withdrawn amount by the contract's cash surrender value (as defined in § 7702(f)(2)(A)) immediately before the withdrawal; and

(2) .5 for all other contracts.

.11 Applicable percentage.

(1) In general. The applicable percentage for a contract is --

(a) 15%, if the death benefit under the contract is less than $50,000,

(b) 28%, if the death benefit under the contract is equal to or exceeds $50,000 but is less than $180,000, and

(c) 36%, if the death benefit under the contract is equal to or exceeds $180,000.

(2) Determination of amount of death benefit. For purposes of determining the applicable percentage, the death benefit under the contract is the death benefit (as defined in § 7702(f)(3)) as of any date within 120 days of the date of the request for closing agreement, or the last day the contract is in force.

.12 Reported amount. The reported amount for a contract is the amount that --

(1) the issuer reports on a timely filed information return as includible in the contract holder's gross income, or

(2) the contract holder includes in gross income on a timely filed income tax return.

.13 Aggregation of contracts. All MECs issued by the same issuer to the same contract holder during any calendar year are treated as one MEC.

SECTION 4. SCOPE

.01 Applicability. Except as provided in section 4.02, this revenue procedure applies to any issuer of one or more life insurance contracts that desires to remedy the inadvertent non-egregious failure of contracts to comply with the requirements of § 7702A. For this purpose, the term "issuer" means any company that issues a contract that is intended to satisfy the definition of a life insurance contract under § 7702 and comply with the MEC rules under § 7702A. The term also includes a company that insures a contract holder under a contract originally issued by another company.

.02 Inapplicability. The Service may exclude a contract from the correction mechanism provided under this revenue procedure if the contract's status as a MEC resulted from a failure to comply with the requirements of § 7702A that --

(1) is attributable to one or more defective interpretations or positions that the Service determines to be a significant feature of a program to sell investment oriented contracts, or

(2) arises where the controlling statutory provision, as supplemented by any legislative history or guidance published by the Service, is clear on its face and the Service determines that failure to follow the provision results in a significant increase in the investment orientation of a contract.

.03 Example. Pursuant to section 4.02 of this revenue procedure, the Service generally will not apply the correction mechanism under this revenue procedure to a MEC if the contract provides for paid-up future benefits after the payment of less than 7 level annual premiums.

SECTION 5. PROCEDURE

.01 Request for a ruling. An issuer that seeks relief under this revenue procedure must submit a request for a ruling that meets the requirements of Rev. Proc. 2008-1, 2008-1 I.R.B. 1 (or any successor). Additionally, the submission must contain the following information:

(1) the policy number for each contract;

(2) a description of the defect[s] that caused the contract[s] to fail to comply with the 7-pay test, including an explanation of how and why the defect[s] arose; and

(3) a description of the administrative procedures the issuer has implemented to ensure that none of its contracts will inadvertently fail the 7-pay test in the future.

.02 Closing agreement. The issuer also must submit a proposed closing agreement, in triplicate, executed by the issuer, in the same form as the model closing agreement in section 6 of this revenue procedure. The amount shown in Section 1(A) of the proposed closing agreement is the amount required to be paid (determined under section 5.03 of this revenue procedure) for all of the contracts covered by the agreement.

.03 Determination of amount required to be paid with regard to a contract. The amount required to be paid with regard to a contract under this section 5.03 is either the amount determined based on overage earnings under section 5.03(1) or, at the election of the issuer, the amount determined based on overage under section 5.03(2).

(1) Amount determined based on overage earnings.

(a) In general. Except as provided in section 5.03(1)(b) of this revenue procedure, the amount determined based on overage earnings under this section 5.03(1) is the sum of --

(i) the income tax (determined using, in lieu of the contract holder's actual tax rate, the applicable percentage for the contract under section 3.11 of this revenue procedure) and the additional tax under § 72(v) with regard to amounts (other than reported amounts (as defined in section 3.12 of this revenue procedure)) received (or deemed received) under the contract during the period commencing with the date 2 years before the date on which the contract first failed to satisfy the MEC rules and ending on the effective date of the closing agreement;

(ii) any interest computed under § 6621(a)(2) as if the amounts determined under section 5.03(1)(a)(i) of this revenue procedure are underpayments by the contract holder[s] for the tax year[s] in which the amounts are received (or deemed received); and

(iii) an amount, not less than $0, obtained by multiplying -- (A) the excess, if any, of the contract's cumulative overage earnings over the proportionate share of overage earnings allocable to taxable distributions under the contract, by

(B) the applicable percentage for the contract, and by

(C) the distribution frequency factor for the contract under section 3.10 of this revenue procedure.

(b) Special rule for contracts with de minimis overage earnings. If the overage earnings of a contract at all times during the testing period do not exceed $100, then the amount determined under this section 5.03(1) of this revenue procedure is determined without regard to paragraphs (i) and (ii) of section 5.03(1)(a) of this revenue procedure.

(2) Amount determined based on overage. An issuer may elect to pay an amount equal to 100% of the overage as defined in section 3.05 of this revenue procedure, rather than the amount determined under section 5.03(1)(a) of this revenue procedure based on overage earnings with respect to a contract.

(3) Examples of the determination of the amount required to be paid with regard to a contract.

(a) Example 1. A, an individual, purchases a life insurance contract other than a contract described in sections 3.07(3) or 4.02 of this revenue procedure. The death benefit of the contract exceeds $180,000 on every day within 120 days of the date of the request for closing agreement. The net level premium (assuming paid-up future benefits after seven annual premium payments) for the contract is $10,490. The contract provides that, within 60 days after the end of a contract year, the issuer will return (with interest) the amount of any excess premium that would cause the contract to be a MEC under § 7702A.

The interest rate on all portions of any policy loans will always exceed the rate at which interest is credited to the contract's associated cash value by more than 1 percentage point. A partial withdrawal of the cash surrender value (within the meaning of § 7702(f)(2)(A)) always reduces the death benefit by an amount not less than the amount determined by multiplying the death benefit immediately before the withdrawal by the percentage obtained by dividing the withdrawn amount by the cash surrender value immediately before the withdrawal.

A pays a premium of $10,000 when the contract is issued on January 1, 2001. At the beginning of each of the next 6 contract years, A pays additional premiums of $10,750, $10,800, $10,700, $11,500, $11,000, and $10,000, respectively. Due to an inadvertent error, the issuer fails to return any of the excess premiums.

The issuer desires to enter into a closing agreement to remedy the failure to comply with § 7702A. The issuer prepares the following template with regard to the contract. Contract

 Contract   Cumulative  Cumulative    Overage    Earnings   Overage

Upon payment of the $10,800 premium at the beginning of contract year 3, however, the cumulative amount paid for the contract ($31,550) exceeds the contract's cumulative 7-pay premiums ($31,470) by $80. As the earnings rate for the calendar year in which contract year 3 begins is 6.2%, the contract's overage earnings for contract year 3 equal $4.96 ($80 x 6.2%).

For contract year 4, the overage is $290 ($42,250 - $41,960). The cumulative overage earnings for all prior contract years equal $4.96. The earnings rate is 6.1%. The overage earnings for contract year 4 equal $17.99 (($290 + $4.96) x 6.1%).

For contract year 5, the overage is $1,300 ($53,750 - $52,450). The cumulative overage earnings for all prior contract years equal $22.95 ($4.96 + $17.99). The earnings rate is 5.6%. The overage earnings for contract year 5 equal $74.09 (($1,300 + $22.95) x 5.6%).

For contract year 6, the overage is $1,810 ($64,750 - $62,940). The cumulative overage earnings for all prior contract years equal $97.04 ($4.96 + $17.99 + $74.09). The earnings rate is 6.0%. The overage earnings for contract year 6 equal $114.42 ($1,810 + $97.04) x 6.0%).

For contract year 7, the overage is $1,320 ($74,750 - $73,430). The cumulative overage earnings for all prior contract years equal $211.46 ($4.96 + $17.99 + $74.09 + $114.42). The earnings rate is 6.0%. The overage earnings for contract year 7 equal $91.89 (($1,320 + $211.46) x 6.0%).

The cumulative overage earnings for the contract equal $303.35 ($4.96 + $17.99 + $74.09 + $114.42 + $91.89). Under sections 3.10 and 3.11 of this revenue procedure, the distribution frequency factor is .5 and the applicable percentage is 36%. Accordingly, the amount determined based on overage earnings under section 5.03(1) of this revenue procedure is $54.60 ($303.35 x .5 x 36%).

The amount determined based on overage under section 5.03(2) of this revenue procedure is equal to 100% of the overage, or $1,320. The issuer may elect to pay either this amount or the amount determined under section 5.03(1) of this revenue procedure ($54.60) under the terms of the closing agreement with regard to the contract.

(b) Example 2. The facts are the same as in Example 1 except that, at the beginning of contract year 5, A receives $3,000 as a policy loan. The contract's cash value (within the meaning of § 72(e)(3)(A)(i)) immediately prior to the loan is $58,500, which exceeds A's investment in the contract ($53,750) by $4,750. Each year A pays the interest on the policy loan. The issuer does not file a timely information return with regard to the deemed distribution resulting from the policy loan and A does not include the distribution in gross income reported on the income tax return for the taxable years in which the deemed distribution is received. The total income on the contract (as defined in section 3.09 of this revenue procedure) is $14,500.

The amount determined based on overage earnings under section 5.03(1) of this revenue procedure is the sum of --

(1) an amount equal to the income tax (determined using an applicable percentage of 36%) and the additional tax under § 72(v) with regard to the $3,000 deemed distribution in contract year 5;

(2) interest computed under § 6621(a)(2) as if the amounts determined under (1) were underpayments for the taxable year in which the distributions are deemed to have occurred; and

(3) 36% of $120.30, which is the excess of the contract's cumulative overage earnings over the proportionate share of the overage earnings allocable to taxable distributions ($303.35 - $62.76), multiplied by the distribution frequency factor (.5). (The proportionate share of overage earnings allocable to taxable distributions is obtained by multiplying the total amount of the taxable distribution under the contract ($3,000), by a fraction, the numerator of which is the contract's cumulative overage earnings ($303.35) and the denominator of which is the total income on the contract ($14,500).)

The amount determined based on overage under section 5.03(2) of this revenue procedure is equal to 100% of the overage, or $1,320. The issuer may elect to pay either this amount or the amount determined under section 5.03(1) of this revenue procedure under the terms of the closing agreement with regard to the contract.

.04 Payment of amount. The issuer is required to pay the amount determined under section 5.03 of this revenue procedure within 60 days of the date of execution of the closing agreement by the Service. Payment shall be made by check payable to the "United States Treasury" delivered, together with a fully executed copy of the closing agreement, to Internal Revenue Service, Receipt & Control Stop 31, 201 W. Rivercenter Blvd., Covington, KY 41011.

.05 Correction of contracts.

(1) General rules. If, on the date of the execution of the closing agreement by the Service, the testing period (as defined in section 3.01 of this revenue procedure) for a contract has more than 90 days remaining, then the issuer must bring the contract into compliance with § 7702A. The issuer may bring a contract into compliance with § 7702A either by either increasing the contract's death benefit or returning the contract's excess premiums and earnings thereon to the contract holder. The issuer shall take the corrective action required under this section 5.05(1) of this revenue procedure within 90 days of the date of execution of the closing agreement by the Service.

(2) No corrective action required if Service executes closing agreement on a date within ninety (90) days of the expiration of testing period. If the testing period for a contract expires on or before the date within 90 days of the execution of the closing agreement by the Service, then the issuer is not required to take any corrective action under section 5.05(1) of this revenue procedure.

.06 Representations. The submission must include representations to the effect that the issuer is within the scope of section 4 of this revenue procedure and that amount due to the Service under the closing agreement is computed correctly under section 5.03(1) or (2) of this revenue procedure, as applicable. The representations must be executed under penalties of perjury by an appropriate party (as set forth in section 7.01 of Rev. Proc. 2008-1 (or its successor). The issuer must retain documentation available for audit to support the representations.

.07 Electronic submissions. The information required under section 5.01(1) of this revenue procedure may be submitted to the Service electronically, in read-only format, on a CD-ROM. Adobe Portable Document format is a suitable format. Other formats may be arranged on a case-by-case basis. The issuer must provide a total of three CD-ROMs, one for each of the three copies of the closing agreement.

SECTION 6. MODEL CLOSING AGREEMENT

WHEREAS,

A. Taxpayer is the issuer of one or more life insurance contracts under § 7702.

B. Pursuant to Rev. Proc. 2008-39, 2008-29, an issuer under certain circumstances may remedy an inadvertent non-egregious failure to comply with the modified endowment contract rules under § 7702A.

C. By letter dated [Insert date ], Taxpayer submitted to the Service, pursuant to Rev. Proc. 2008-1, 2008-1 I.R.B. 1 [or successor Rev. Proc., if applicable], a request for this Agreement covering [Insert number] modified endowment contracts identified on Exhibit A attached to this Agreement (the "Contracts").

D. Taxpayer intended that each of the Contracts not be a modified endowment contract under § 7702A. Taxpayer represents that the Contract[s] is [are] not described in Sec. 4.02 of Rev. Proc. 2008-39 and that the Contracts identified on Exhibit A are eligible for relief under Rev. Proc. 2008-39.

E. Taxpayer represents that the amount determined under Sec. 5.03 of Rev. Proc. 2008-39 is $ [Insert amount]. Taxpayer represents that this amount has been computed correctly under the provisions of Rev. Proc. 2008-39.

F. To ensure that the Contract[s] is [are] not treated as [a] modified endowment contract[s], Taxpayer and the Service have entered into this Agreement.

NOW THEREFORE IT IS HEREBY FURTHER DETERMINED AND AGREED BETWEEN TAXPAYER AND THE SERVICE AS FOLLOWS:

1. In consideration for the agreement of the Service as set forth in Section 2 below, Taxpayer agrees as follows:

4. This Agreement is, and shall be construed as being, for the benefit of Taxpayer. The Contract holders covered by this Agreement are intended beneficiaries of this Agreement. This Agreement shall not be construed as creating any liability of an issuer to the Contract holders.

5. Neither the Service nor Taxpayer shall endeavor by litigation or other means to attack the validity of this Agreement.

6. This Agreement may not be cited or relied upon as precedent in the disposition of any other matter.

NOW THIS CLOSING AGREEMENT FURTHER WITNESSETH, that Taxpayer and the Service mutually agree that the matters so determined shall be final and conclusive, except as follows:

1. The matter to which this Agreement relates may be reopened in the event of fraud, malfeasance, or misrepresentation of material facts set forth herein.

2. This Agreement is subject to sections of the Code that expressly provide that effect be given to their provisions (including any stated exception for Code § 7122) notwithstanding any other law or rule of law.

3. To the extent this Agreement relates to any tax period after the date on which it is executed, it is subject to any law, enacted after such date, that applies to that tax period.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have subscribed their names in triplicate. By signing the above parties certify that they have read and agreed to the terms of this document.

 [Insert Taxpayer name]

This revenue procedure is effective July 21, 2008, the date of its publication in the Internal Revenue Bulletin.

SECTION 8. EFFECT ON OTHER DOCUMENTS

This revenue procedure supersedes Rev. Proc. 2001-42 and Rev. Proc. 2007-19.

SECTION 9. PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT

The collections of information in this revenue procedure have been reviewed and approved by the Office of Management and Budget in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3507) under control number 1545-1752.

An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless the collection of information displays a valid OMB control number.

Books and records relating to a collection of information must be retained as long as their contents may become material in the administration of any internal revenue law. Generally tax returns and return information are confidential, as required by 26 U.S.C. 6103.

DRAFTING INFORMATION

The principal author of this revenue procedure is Katherine A. Hossofsky of the Office of Associate Chief Counsel (Financial Institutions & Products). For further information regarding this revenue procedure contact Branch 4 of that office at (202) 622-3970 (not a toll-free call).