Part 7. Rulings and Agreements
Chapter 13. Employee Plans Automated Processing Procedures
Section 5. Letter Generation
7.13.5 Letter Generation
Manual Transmittal
July 20, 2023
Purpose
(1) This transmits revised IRM 7.13.5, Employee Plans Automated Processing Procedures, Letter Generation.
Material Changes
(1) Updated Exhibit IRM 7.13.5-1 to provide a current List of all EP Determinations Letters.
(2) Updated throughout for editorial changes and plain language and current Revenue Procedures.
Effect on Other Documents
This supersedes IRM 7.13.5 dated July 15, 2022.
Audience
Tax Exempt and Government EntitiesEmployee Plans
Effective Date
(07-20-2023)
Eric D. Slack
Director, Employee Plans
Tax Exempt and Government Entities
Program Scope and Objectives
(1) Purpose: This IRM describes the procedures and guidelines for creating closing letters in the Forms/Pubs/Products Repository.
(2) Audience: Employee Plans (EP) Determinations and Quality Assurance (QA) staff.
(3) Policy Owner: Director, Employee Plans.
(4) Program Owner: Employee Plans.
(5) Program Goals: The goal of EP Determinations is to ensure that plans are in compliance with the tax laws by reviewing applications for determination and advisory letters, and to protect the public interest by applying the tax law with integrity and fairness to all.
Background
(1) All letters to develop cases are in the Forms/Pubs/Products Repository.
(2) See Exhibit 7.13.5-1, List of All EP Determinations Letters (When to Use and Where to Access), for a complete list of letters and a description of when to use each one.
(3) The Forms/Pubs/Products Repository operates using letter and paragraph numbers. Each letter consists of one or more of the following types of paragraphs:
Type of Paragraph | Description |
|---|---|
Automatic |
|
Required |
|
Selective |
|
Customized |
|
Authority
(1) Delegation Order 7-1, delegates the authority to issue Determination Letters (DL) on the qualified status of pension, profit-sharing, stock bonus, annuity, and employee stock ownership plans to the Director, EP. IRM 1.1.2.2.8.1.
(2) A complete list of delegation orders governing EP Rulings and Agreements can be found at http://www.irs.gov/uac/Delegation-Orders-by-Process1.
(3) See IRM 7.1.1, Exhibit 7.1.1-1 for a complete list of the major EP revenue procedures currently in effect.
Acronyms
(1) The table lists commonly used acronyms and their definitions.
Acronym | Definition |
|---|---|
DL | Determination Letter |
EP | Employee Plans |
EDS | EP/EO Determination System |
IDRS | Integrated Data Retrieval System |
QA | Quality Assurance |
RAC | Remedial Amendment Cycle |
TEDS | Tax Exempt Determination System |
Entity Information
(1) Input entity information via the enclosed Form 53XX and Form 2848/8821 (if applicable).
Signature & Date
(1) All letters must contain a signature. You may digitally stamp letters with the appropriate signature.
(2) Date is electronically added with the date the case is closed.
List of All EP Determinations Letters (When to Use and Where to Access)
Letter Number | Title | Description/When to Use | Where to Access |
|---|---|---|---|
937-A | Transmittal of Information to Power of Attorney | Letter used to transmit copies of the correspondence address to the Power of Attorney. | Forms/Pubs/Products Repository |
1132 | Favorable Determination Letter - Termination of Plan | Favorable DL for plan terminations (Form 5310). | Forms/Pubs/Products Repository |
1196 | Information Request | First request for information. | Forms/Pubs/Products Repository |
1399-A | Technical Advice Notification | Sent to plan sponsor for final comment on proposed statement of issues and facts before case is sent to Associate Chief Counsel for tech advice. | Forms/Pubs/Products Repository |
1520 | Favorable for Group Trust Arrangement | Favorable DL for trust ruling only(Form 5316). | Forms/Pubs/Products Repository |
1595 | Draft Closing Agreement Request for Taxpayer Signature Transmittal | A cover letter when sending draft copies of a closing agreement to a taxpayer. | Forms/Pubs/Products Repository |
1595-B | Closing Agreement Return for Correction Transmittal | Used as a cover letter when returning a closing agreement because of improper payment or improper execution. | Forms/Pubs/Products Repository |
1595-D | Final Signed and Approved Closing Agreement Transmittal Letter | Used as a cover letter when forwarding a final, signed IRS approved closing agreement to the taxpayer when the closing agreement is signed by the Director of Employee Plans. | Forms/Pubs/Products Repository |
1724 | Final Adverse - (No Appeal Requested) | Final Adverse DL when no appeal is requested. | Forms/Pubs/Products Repository |
1755 | Proposed Adverse | Sent before the final adverse DL for proposed adverse cases, gives taxpayer a chance to appeal. | Forms/Pubs/Products Repository |
1924 | Not Authorized to Rule | Return application because not authorized to rule. | Forms/Pubs/Products Repository |
1935 | Interested Party Transmittal | Sent to each interested party that submitted comments after the IRS issues a favorable DL to the plan. | Forms/Pubs/Products Repository |
1938 | Suspense Letter | Application is suspended while waiting for additional guidance, the end of a court case, or action from another federal agency. | Forms/Pubs/Products Repository |
1939 | Interested Party Comment Transmittal to Plan Sponsor | Sent to plan sponsor to inform them that the Service received comments from interested parties but it was determined that the comments do not affect the plan's qualification for favorable tax treatment. | Forms/Pubs/Products Repository |
1939-A | TE/GE Customer Service - Interested Party Comments | Transmittal letter for providing copies of interested party comments to plan sponsor. | Forms/Pubs/Products Repository |
1955 | Additional Information Request | Partial response received from first request and need additional information. | Forms/Pubs/Products Repository |
2052 | Final Adverse After Technical Advice | Final Adverse DL after Technical Advice. | Forms/Pubs/Products Repository |
2927 | Dishonored Payment | Non-sufficient fee or stop payment. | Forms/Pubs/Products Repository |
3336-C | EP Determination Acknowledgement Letter | Sent to plan sponsor to acknowledge receipt of the application. This is a Correspondence letter generated by the Integrated Data Retrieval System (IDRS). | Forms/Pubs/Products Repository |
5274 | Favorable Letter | Favorable DL for 1st RAC and later. Note: Replaced Letter 2002. | Forms/Pubs/Products Repository |
5275 | Withdrawal Letter | Taxpayer withdraws application, no refund issued or Application is off-cycle and taxpayer withdraws instead of placing case in suspense and refund issued. Note: Replaced Letter 2045 and has been combined with Letter 2044. | Forms/Pubs/Products Repository |
5276 | QAS Case Assignment | Sent by QAS when an application is selected for QAS review. Note: Replaced Letter 3577. | Forms/Pubs/Products Repository |
5277 | IRC 6104 Request With and Without Cost | Used by EP Determinations Customer Service specialists to send copies of a plan during a FOIA request and to inform the recipient that there is a fee because the documents were in excess of 100 pages. | Forms/Pubs/Products Repository |
5446 | Acknowledgement of Interested Party | Sent to acknowledge interested party comments and to inform the interested party that their comments will be considered in the determination process. | Forms/Pubs/Products Repository |
5537 | Extension Granted - Employee Plans | Documents 10-day extension to Letter 1196 or 1955 deadline. | Forms/Pubs/Products Repository |
5542 | Area Manager Extension Granted | Documents extension granted by Area Manager Extension Letter. | Forms/Pubs/Products Repository |
5544 | Technically Incomplete - Request for Missing Items | Request additional information after the Technical Review. Note: Use for cycle E2 and later cases and terminations received on or after February 1, 2015. | Forms/Pubs/Products Repository |
5888 | Failure to Respond - Rev. Proc. 2016-37 Cases | For applications submitted on or after January 1, 2017, under the post-RAC rules of Rev. Proc. 2016-37 and the sponsor doesn’t provide timely and complete response to a Letter 5544. | Forms/Pubs/Products Repository |
5889 | Partial Termination Letter | Informs the sponsor of the determination whether a partial termination occurred when sponsor requests a partial termination ruling when the plan is not otherwise eligible to apply for a determination letter. See Rev. Proc. 2021-4, section 9.09 (updated annually). | Forms/Pubs/Products Repository |
6458 | Paper Application Rejection | Used to return a paper application submission, along with user fee check and all applicable documents to the taxpayer who submits after the published date for mandatory use of Pay.gov. | Forms/Pubs/Products Repository |
6480 | Closing Agreement Offer Letter | Sent by Specialist if they determine a need for a closing agreement. | Forms/Pubs/Products Repository |
6480A | Closing Agreement 10-Day Letter | Sent by Specialist if taxpayer has not sent the closing agreement package within two weeks from the date the offer letter was dated. | Forms/Pubs/Products Repository |
