With the looming end of the determination letter program as we know it, the IRS has issued an updated Revenue Procedure for the Employee Plans Compliance Resolutions System (EPCRS). Released on September 29, 2016, Rev. Proc. 2016-51 updates the EPCRS procedures, replaces Rev. Proc. 2013-12 and integrates the changes provided in Rev. Proc. 2015-27 and Rev. Proc. 2015-28. The updated revenue procedure is effective January 1, 2017 and its provisions cannot be used until that date. Rev. Proc. 2013-12, as modified by Rev. Proc. 2015-27 and Rev. Proc. 2015-28, should be used for any corrections under the EPCRS for the remainder of 2016. Highlights from the new revenue procedure are outlined below.

Changes

• Determination Letter Applications. Determination letter applications are no longer required to be submitted as part of corrections that include plan amendments. The new revenue procedure also clarifies that any compliance statement for a correction through plan amendment will not constitute a determination that the plan amendment satisfies the qualification requirements.
• Favorable Letter Requirements. A qualified individually designed plan submitted under the Self Correction Program (SCP) will still satisfy the Favorable Letter requirement when correcting significant failures even if its determination letter is out of date.
• Fees. The Voluntary Correction Program (VCP) fees are now user fees. Effective January 1, 2017 a plan sponsor must refer to the annual Employee Plans user fees revenue procedure to determine the applicable VCP user fees.
• Model Forms. The model forms for a VCP submission (Forms 14568-A through 14568-I) can now be found on the IRS website.
• Audit CAP Sanctions. The method used to determine Audit Closing Agreement Program (Audit CAP) sanctions has been revised. Sanctions will no longer be a negotiated percentage of the Maximum Payment Amount (MPA), but will be determined by the IRS on a “facts and circumstances” basis. The MPA will be one factor used to determine a sanction. Generally, sanctions will not be less than VCP fees.
• Refunds. The IRS will no longer refund half of the user fee if there is disagreement over a proposed correction in an Anonymous Submission.

Incorporations

• The provisions of Rev. Proc. 2015-27, which clarify the methods that may be used to correct overpayment failures, modify the SCP for Code Section 415(c) failures to extend eligibility to certain plans with repeated corrections of excess annual additions so long as elective deferrals are returned to affected employees within 9½ months after the end of the plan’s limitation year, and lower the fees for certain VCP submissions, have been incorporated.
• The provisions of Rev. Proc. 2015-28, which modify EPCRS by adding safe harbor correction methods for employee elective deferral failures in both 401(k) and 403(b) plans, have also been incorporated into Rev. Proc. 2016-51.

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