Beginning January 1, 2022, the IRS no longer permits VCP submissions to be made anonymously. If an authorized representative wishes to discuss a potential VCP submission with the IRS an anonymous written request for a pre-submission conference can be made. See Revenue Procedure 2021-30PDF, Section 10.10. Through December 31, 2021, the IRS continues to accept anonymous VCP submissions. Follow the submission procedures set forth in Revenue Procedure 2019-19, Section 10.09 as discussed below. If you maintain a retirement plan, you may make an anonymous submission through the Voluntary Correction Program (VCP) (Rev. Proc. 2019-19, section 10.09) if you: haven’t been operating your plan according to its written document or the Internal Revenue Code (IRC); want to propose an alternative way to correct plan errors under the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS); and don’t want to identify yourself to the IRS. However, carefully consider some of the differences between coming in anonymously, as opposed to disclosed, before making an anonymous VCP submission: If the IRS can’t agree with you on a correction and closes the case without issuing a compliance statement, you will not be refunded your paid user fee. The submission provides no audit protection as the IRS lacks the plan and plan sponsor’s identity. If the IRS audits the plan before you disclose the identity of the plan and the plan sponsor to the IRS it will not be eligible for VCP. Anonymous VCP submissions don’t receive priority processing by the IRS. Preparing an anonymous submission may require extra time because you must remove identifying information from any supporting documents (for example, you must redact the plan sponsor’s and the plan’s identity before submitting documents, etc.). Additional resources Correcting Plan Errors Voluntary Correction Program (VCP) – General Description
