Table of Contents
File Form 5300 to request a DL from the IRS for the initial qualification of a defined benefit or a defined contribution plan and the exempt status of any related trust. See Type of Determination Letter Requested later for more information.
Note.
The application should be filed in accordance with Rev. Proc. 2007-44.
File Form 5307, Application for Determination for Adopters of Master or Prototype or Volume Submitter Plans, instead of Form 5300 if this is a Master and Prototype (M&P) or volume submitter plan. However, use Form 5300 instead of Form 5307 if you are also requesting a determination on affiliated service group status, leased employee status, or a partial termination.
A Defined Contribution Plan (DCP) is a plan that provides an individual account for each participant and for benefits based only:
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On the amount contributed to the participant's account, and
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Any income, expenses, gains and losses, and any forfeiture of accounts of other participants that may be allocated to the participant's account.
A Defined Benefit Plan (DBP) is any plan that is not a DCP.
Note.
A qualified plan must satisfy section 401(a) including, but not limited to, participation, vesting, nondiscriminatory contributions or benefits, distributions, and contribution and benefit limitations.
This form may be filed by any:
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Employer, including a sole proprietor, partnership, plan sponsor, or a plan administrator that has adopted an individually designed plan to request a DL on:
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Initial qualification of a plan;
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Qualification of an entire plan as amended;
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Partial termination of a plan;
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Affiliated Service Group (ASG) status (section 414(m)); or
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Leased employee status (section 414(n)).
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Plan sponsor or plan administrator to request a DL for a plan maintained by an employer that is part of a controlled group of corporations (section 414(b)), or trades or businesses under common control (section 414(c)), or an ASG (section 414(m)).
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Plan sponsor or plan administrator to request a DL for a multiemployer or multiple-employer plan (a plan maintained by more than one employer considering all employers combined under section 414(b), (c), or (m) as one employer).
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Employer, plan sponsor, or plan administrator to request a DL for compliance with the applicable requirements of a foreign situs trust for the taxability of beneficiaries (section 402(c)) and deductions for employer contributions (section 401(a)(4)).
Note.
This application will be processed in accordance with Rev. Proc. 2007-44.
This form may not be filed by an adopter of:
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A collectively bargained plan, where a Form 5307 is applicable, or
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A master or prototype plan where the applicant is not requesting a determination on ASG status, leased employee status, or a partial termination (instead, file Form 5307).
File Form 5300 at the address indicated below:
Internal Revenue Service
P.O. Box 12192
Covington, KY 41012-0192
Requests shipped by express mail or a delivery service should be sent to:
Internal Revenue Service
201 West Rivercenter Blvd.
Attn: Extracting Stop 312
Covington, KY 41011
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DHL Express (DHL): DHL Same Day Service.
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Federal Express (FedEx): FedEx Priority Overnight, FedEx Standard Overnight, FedEx 2Day, FedEx International Priority, FedEx International First.
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United Parcel Service (UPS): UPS Next Day Air, UPS Next Day Air Saver, UPS 2nd Day Air, UPS 2nd Day Air A.M., UPS Worldwide Express Plus, and UPS Worldwide Express.
The private delivery service can tell you how to get written proof of the mailing date.
Applications are screened for completeness. The application must be signed by the employer, plan administrator, or authorized representative.
Note.
Stamped signatures are not acceptable; see Rev. Proc. 2011-4, 2011-1 I.R.B. 123 available at www.irs.gov/irb/2011-01_IRB/index.html.
Incomplete applications may be returned to the applicant. For this reason, it is important that an appropriate response be entered for each item. In completing the application, pay careful attention to the following:
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N/A (not applicable) is accepted as a response only if an N/A block is provided.
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If a number is requested, a number must be entered.
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If an item provides a choice of boxes to check, check only one box unless instructed otherwise.
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If an item provides a box to check, written responses are not acceptable.
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Governmental plans and non-electing church plans do not have to complete lines 10 and 12a.
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The application has formatted fields that will limit the number of characters entered per field.
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All data input will need to be entered in Courier 10 point font.
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Alpha characters should be entered in capital letters.
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Enter spaces between any words. Spaces do count as characters.
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All date fields are entered as an eight-digit field (MMDDYYYY).
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Rev. Proc. 2007-44 requires a plan restatement and the IRS may, at its discretion, require additional information any time it is deemed necessary. See section 7.05 of Rev. Proc. 2011-6, 2011-1 I.R.B. 195 available at www.irs.gov/irb/2011-01_IRB/index.html.
Note.
Rev. Proc. 2011-6 publishes the guidance under which the DL program is administered. It is updated annually and can be found in the Internal Revenue Bulletin (I.R.B.). Example: Rev. Proc. 2011-6 superseded Rev. Proc. 2010-6.
| Partial Termination Worksheet | Year | Year | Year of partial termination | Year | ||
| 1 | Participants employed: | |||||
| a | Number at beginning of plan year | |||||
| b | Number added during the plan year | |||||
| c | Total, add lines a and b | |||||
| d | Number dropped during the plan year | |||||
| e | Number at end of plan year, subtract d from c | |||||
| f | Total number of participants in this plan separated from service without full vesting | |||||
| 2 | Present value (as of month / / day during the year of | |||||
| a | Plan assets | |||||
| b | Accrued benefits | |||||
| c | Vested benefits | |||||
| 3 | Submit a description of the actions that may have resulted (or might result) in a partial termination. Include an explanation of how the plan meets the requirements of section 411(d)(3). | |||||
Note.
Payments for sanction fees, compliance fees, etc. should be submitted on separate checks.
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A check for the appropriate user fee, if applicable, and Form 8717, User Fee for Employee Plan Determination, Opinion, and Advisory Letter Request. Please submit a separate check for each application. Make checks payable to the “United States Treasury.”
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A completed Form 5300, which consists of pages 1–11.
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Schedule Q (Form 5300), if any elective determinations are being requested, and any additional schedules or demonstrations required by these instructions or by the instructions for Schedule Q.
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A copy of the plan's last DL.
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A copy of the plan and all required attachments and statements.
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A copy of all amendments, including a copy of the Good Faith Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (EGTRRA) amendments and all interim amendments.
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Any other information or material required by the IRS.
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A copy of any compliance statement or closing agreements entered into in regards to this plan.
(See the Procedural Requirements Checklist on Form 5300 to ensure that your submitted package is complete.)
For initial qualification of a plan file one copy of all instruments that make up the plan.
When requesting a DL on the entire plan as amended after initial qualification file:
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One copy of the restated plan and trust plus all amendments made to date;
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One copy of the latest DL, including caveats; and
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A statement explaining how any amendments made since the last DL affect this or any other plan of the employer.
Note.
Rev. Proc. 2007-44 requires that all plan documents must be restated for the current cumulative list.
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Complex amendments. Use Form 5300, as described under Entire Plan as Amended on this page, for complex amendments, including amendments with significant changes to plan benefits or coverage.
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Partial termination. For a partial termination you must:
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File the application form and the appropriate documents and statements.
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Attach a statement indicating if a partial termination may have occurred or might occur as a result of proposed actions.
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Using the format in the Partial Termination Worksheet above, submit a schedule of information for the plan year in which the partial (or potential partial) termination began. Also, submit a schedule for the next plan year, as well as for the 2 prior plan years, to the extent information is available.
If the plan has more than one benefit computation formula, complete the Partial Termination Worksheet. Also attach a sheet showing the information separately in the same format as lines 1a through 1f of the worksheet for each benefit computation formula.
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Submit a description of the actions that may have resulted in a partial termination.
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Include an explanation of how the plan meets the requirements of section 411(d)(3).
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Termination of Plan. If you are terminating your plan, file Form 5310, Application for Determination for Terminating Plan, to request a DL for the complete termination of a DBP or a DCP. This form should be filed to request a DL involving the complete termination of a multi-employer plan covered by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) insurance program.
In addition, include:
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One copy of the plan;
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One copy of the latest DL;
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A copy of all actions taken to terminate the plan; and
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If necessary, Form 6088, Distributable Benefits From Employee Pension Benefit Plans. Form 6088 is required if the plan is a DBP or if the plan is an underfunded DCP that benefits non-collectively bargained employees or more than 2% of the employees who are covered under a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) are professional employees. (See Regulations section 1.410(b)-9 for definitions.)
If you wish to stop benefit accruals or stop making contributions to your plan, and your plan trust will continue, the plan will not be considered terminated. If you want to receive a DL, you must use Form 5300. Do not file Form 5310 if the plan trust will continue.
Note.
If a DBP is amended to become a DCP, or if the merger of a DBP with a DCP results solely in a DCP, the DBP is considered terminated.
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See the Procedural Requirements Checklist on Form 5300.
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For a determination on an ASG status, submit:
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A copy of the appropriate documents, and
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Statements listed in the instructions for lines 3a and 6.
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For plans of controlled groups of corporations or trades or businesses under common control, submit the statement specified in the instructions for line 6.
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For multiple employer plans that do not involve collective bargaining, submit:
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One application for the plan and any additional required schedules or demonstrations, and
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Form 5300 (lines 1 through 8 only) for each employer who adopts the plan (all employers in each ASG or controlled group are considered one employer). Form 5300 must be signed by the respective employers.
Note.
If the employer has no employees, the taxpayer cannot submit as the sponsor of the plan.
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For a governmental or non-electing church plan, skip lines 10 and 12a. A non-electing church plan is a plan for which an election under section 410(d) has not been made.
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For an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), attach Form 5309, Application for Determination of Employee Stock Ownership Plan.
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