Revenue Procedure 2011-44 modifies the procedures for submitting a private letter ruling request that a retirement plan constitutes a church plan to include a requirement that the applicant provide a notice to certain interested persons. The guidance provides rules regarding the timing and method for providing the notice as well as a Model Notice that applicants can modify as required.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently released Rev. Proc. 2011-44, which modifies the procedures for submitting a private letter ruling request that a retirement plan constitutes a church plan. The procedures apply to any tax-qualified retirement plan (under Internal Revenue Code Section 401(a)) or employee annuity plan (under Code Section 403(a) or 403(b)) that meets the church plan definition and to which the sponsor has not made the Code Section 410(d) irrevocable election to apply all the federal tax and ERISA rules as though the plan were not a church plan. In connection with church plan ruling requests, Rev. Proc. 2011-44 adds a notice requirement and requires the plan sponsor to represent that the Section 410(d) election has not been made. The revenue procedure applies to ruling requests pending with the IRS on, or received after, September 26, 2011.