Federal Compliance Fee for Application for Voluntary Correction Program (VCP)

Compliance Fee for Application for Voluntary Correction Program (VCP)
Form 8951 (Rev. September 2016)
Form 8951 is filed electronically only on Pay.gov.
Go to www.irs.gov/form8951 for additional filing information.

Form

8951

User Fee for Application for Voluntary
Correction Program (VCP)

For IRS Use Only

Under the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS)

(Rev. September 2016)
Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service

OMB No. 1545-1673

▶

Information about Form 8951 and its instructions is at www.irs.gov/form8951.
▶ Attach to Form 8950.

Amount paid
$

1 Name of plan sponsor (employer if single-employer plan)

2 Plan sponsor’s employer identification number

3 Plan number

4 Plan name

5 Number of plan participants. See instructions to determine this number.

6 If you are submitting a check for an additional VCP user fee that has been requested by an IRS employee in Voluntary
Compliance, check this box
and the VCP case number
and provide the check amount $

.

7 For qualified retirement plans under sections 401(a) and 403(b) that do not qualify for a reduced or alternative user fee, as
described below on line 8. Enter the general user fee amount $
based on the number of plan participants.
Do not complete line 7 if you qualify for a reduced or alternative fee as described below on line 8.
Check box, if applicable and
enter enclosed fee.

8 Reduced and alternative user fees for VCP submissions
(a) Plan is a section 401(a) or 403(b) plan that qualifies for a reduced fee associated with
specific failures and under certain conditions. See instructions.

Enter fee amount $

(b) VCP submission relates to a request for a minor modification of a previously issued
compliance statement. See instructions.

Enter fee amount $

(c) Plan is a SEP, SARSEP, or SIMPLE IRA. See instructions.

Enter fee amount $

(d) Group submission from an eligible organization. See instructions.

Enter fee amount $

(e) Terminating orphan plan. A terminating orphan plan may be granted a waiver of the fee
upon request. See instructions.

No fee is due at this time.

(f) Plan is a section 457(b) plan. See instructions.

No payment is due at the
time of filing.

For Paperwork Reduction Act Notice, see instructions.

Cat. No. 37771W

Form 8951 (Rev. 9-2016)

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Form 8951 (Rev. 9-2016)

Section references are to the Internal
Revenue Code unless otherwise noted.

Future Developments
For the latest information about
developments related to Form 8951 and
its instructions, such as legislation
enacted after they were published, go to
www.irs.gov/form8951.

What's New
The IRS has classified fees associated with
the Voluntary Correction Program (VCP) as
user fees subject to section 7528. For
2016, user fees for VCP submissions are
set forth in Rev. Proc. 2016-8, section 6.08.
User fees for VCP submissions are
currently published as part of the annual
revenue procedure for the user fee
program of the IRS as it pertains to
requests for letter rulings, determination
letters, etc., on matters under the
jurisdiction of the Commissioner, Tax
Exempt and Government Entities Division.
Beginning in 2017 and each year
thereafter, the user fees for VCP
submissions will be published as part of an
annual Employee Plans revenue procedure.
Taxpayers should refer to the revenue
procedure in effect at the time they file their
submission with the IRS to determine the
VCP user fee.
The IRS no longer lists specific user fee
amounts on this form. Applicants will enter
the applicable fee amount when
completing the form. For the current user
fees, go to the applicable annual revenue
procedure or IRS.gov at www.irs.gov/
retirement-plans/voluntary-correctionprogram-fees.

General Instructions

Attach a check to Form 8951 payable
to the “United States Treasury” for the full
amount of the fee. If you do not
include the full amount of the fee, your
submission may be returned or closed with
no action. In addition, include a photocopy
of the check with your VCP submission.
If you have multiple plans (for example, a
profit-sharing and a money purchase
plan), submit a separate VCP
submission (including a separate Form
8951) for each plan. Submit a separate
check, including a photocopy of the
check, for each VCP submission.
Your check may be converted to an
electronic fund transfer. An electronic fund
transfer is the process by which the IRS
electronically instructs your financial
institution to transfer funds from your
account to the Treasury's account,
rather than processing your check. By
sending your completed, signed check
to the IRS, you authorize the IRS to copy
your check and to use the account
information from your check to make an
electronic fund transfer from your account
for the same amount as the check. If the
electronic fund transfer cannot be
processed for technical reasons, you
authorize the IRS to process the copy of
your check. The electronic fund transfer
from your account will usually occur within
24 hours, which is faster than a check is
normally processed, so it is important
that you have sufficient funds available in
your checking account when you send the
IRS your check. Your financial institution
will not return your cancelled check to you.
Information about correcting plan errors
and examples of how to determine the user
fee is available at www.irs.gov/retirementplans/correcting-plan-errors.

Purpose of Form

Specific Instructions

Generally, a user fee is required with
each VCP submission. Use Form 8951 to
submit the applicable fee for the VCP
submission.

Lines 1–5

Where To File
Include Form 8951 and the applicable fee
with your VCP submission.
Send the documents to:
Internal Revenue Service
P.O. Box 12192
Covington, KY 41012-0192
VCP submissions 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

Payment of User Fee
Generally, you must include a user fee
payment with any VCP submission mailed
to the IRS. If your submission is for a
terminating orphan plan or a section 457(b)
plan, no fee or payment is due at the time
of filing. See the instructions for line 8(e)
and line 8(f) for additional information.

Lines 1 through 5 should correspond to the
information you entered for line 1a, 1i, 4b,
4a, and 4e, respectively, on the related
Form 8950, Application for Voluntary
Correction Program (VCP) under the
Employee Plans Compliance Resolution
System (EPCRS).

Submission of Additional Fees
Line 6
The IRS's office of Employee Plans
Voluntary Compliance may contact you
regarding additional fees that may be due
for a previously submitted VCP case. If you
are instructed to submit an additional fee,
file Form 8951 along with a check for the
additional user fee, a copy of the check
and an appropriate cover letter. Complete
lines 1–5. It is important to complete line 6
by checking the box and entering the
amount of the additional fee you are
submitting plus the nine-digit VCP case
number that has been assigned to your
VCP submission. No other items on the
Form 8951 need to be completed. Once a
VCP submission has been mailed to the
IRS, an applicant should not mail any

checks to the IRS for any fee matters
unless the applicant has received specific
instructions from the IRS.

User Fee for VCP Submissions
Line 7
For qualified retirement plans established
under section 401(a) or 403(b), enter the
amount of the applicable general user fee
you are including with your VCP
submission. The general user fee amounts
for these types of retirement plans are
based upon the number of plan
participants. Follow the Determining the
Proper User Fee section in these
instructions, later. Do not complete this
item if you qualify for a reduced or
alternative VCP fee listed on line 8. For the
current user fees, go to the applicable
annual revenue procedure on IRS.gov at
www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/voluntarycorrection-program-fees.

Lines 8(a)–(f)
Check the appropriate box and if
applicable, enter the user fee for VCP
submissions involving reduced or
alternative fees for certain section 401(a)
and section 403(b) plans, SEP, SARSEP, or
SIMPLE IRA retirement plans; group
submissions; terminating orphan plans;
457(b) plans and minor modifications of a
previously issued compliance statement.
For the current user fees, go to the
applicable annual revenue procedure on
IRS.gov at www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/
voluntary-correction-program-fees.
• Line 8(a). For section 401(a) and section
403(b) plans, a reduced user fee may be
available under limited circumstances.
• Line 8(b). The VCP submission is limited
to a request for a minor modification of a
previously issued compliance statement
and the request is mailed to the IRS before
the end of the correction period provided
for in the compliance statement.
• Line 8(c). There is a special user fee for a
SEP, SARSEP, or a SIMPLE IRA VCP
submission.
• Line 8(d). If the VCP submission is a
group submission from an eligible
organization for section 401(a) and section
403(b) plans, the user fee is based on the
number of plans affected by the failure
described in the VCP submission. An initial
user fee payment must be included with
the submission and must be attached to
Form 8951. An additional user fee may also
apply. The IRS will request the additional
fee, if applicable.
• Line 8(e). The IRS has discretionary
authority to waive the user fee in the case
of a terminating orphan plan, if requested
by an eligible party. A VCP applicant who is
an eligible party can request that the user
fee be waived. Include a written
explanation that explains why a waiver
should be granted.

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Form 8951 (Rev. 9-2016)

• Line 8(f). Do not include any payment at
this time if the plan is a section 457(b) plan.
If the IRS chooses to process the
submission, it will collect a mutually
acceptable sanction payment when the
applicant signs a special closing
agreement.

Determining the Proper User Fee
Step 1:
On line 5, enter the total number of plan
participants at the end of the plan year
recorded on line 6(f) of the retirement
plan’s most recently filed Form 5500 return.
Filers of Form 5500-SF or EZ will use the
equivalent line item specified on their
forms. For applicants that are exempt from
filing a Form 5500 series return, enter the
number of plan participants determined as
of the last day of the most recently ended
plan year. However, if this information is
not available at the time the VCP
submission is being mailed to the IRS, it is
acceptable to use the most recently ended
prior plan year for which information on the
number of plan participants is available.
The exception does not apply if the VCP
submission is mailed to the IRS more than
seven months after the close of the most
recently ended plan year preceding the
date of the VCP submission. Plans that
have terminated and filed a final Form
5500 series return should enter the number
of participants on the return filed for the
year prior to the year all assets were
distributed. Your entry should correspond
to the information on Form 8950, line 4e.

Step 2:
Single employer plans:
For those VCP submissions that pertain to
a qualified retirement plan under section
401(a) or 403(b) that do not qualify for any
reduced user fees, the general user fee is
based on the number of plan participants.

Multiemployer or multiple employer
plans:
If a submission relates to a multiemployer
or multiple employer plan, the general user
fee will normally be determined in
accordance with the instructions in Step 1
and in the first paragraph of this Step 2.
However, if all of the described failures in
the submission apply to fewer than all of
the employers under the plan, the plan
administrator may choose to have the
general user fee computed separately for
each affected employer based on the
participants attributable to that employer
rather than the total participants of the
entire plan. This may apply, for example,
when the plan administrator believes each
failure is attributable in whole or in part to
data, information, actions, or inactions that
are within the control of the employers
rather than the multiemployer or multiple
employer plan (such as attribution in whole
or in part to the failure of an employer to
provide the plan administrator with full and
complete information).
If you are using this special methodology
to determine the general user fee, attach a
written explanation that details how the
user fee was determined. When completing
Form 8951, the plan administrator would
complete line 5 in the normal manner by
using the total participant count reported
on the most recently filed Form 5500 series
return for the entire plan.

Step 3:
If a VCP submission consists solely of
multiple failures that qualify for reduced
user fees, then the user fee amount will be
the lesser of: the sum of the reduced user
fee amounts or the general user fee
amount. If the total of the applicable
reduced user fee amounts is less than the
general user fee amount for qualified
retirement plans under sections 401(a) and
403(b), include a worksheet showing how
you determined the user fee for your
submission.
Note: Additional payments to the IRS may
be due under certain situations that involve:

(a) Egregious qualification failures;
(b) SEP, SARSEP, or SIMPLE IRA plans
that choose to allow excess amounts to
remain within the affected IRAs;
(c) Situations where the plan sponsor
has requested that the IRS waive the
additional 10% tax imposed by section
72(t) on certain plan distributions.
Go to the correcting plan errors web
page on IRS.gov to find additional
information. If applicable, the IRS will
discuss the matter with the plan sponsor
and solicit the additional payment during
the review of the VCP submission.
Paperwork Reduction Act Notice. We
ask for the information on this form to carry
out the Internal Revenue laws of the United
States. If you want to have your VCP
submission approved by the IRS, you are
required to give us the information. We
need it to determine whether your
correction proposals meet the legal
requirements applicable to qualified
retirement plans.
You are not required to provide the
information requested on a form that is
subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act
unless the form displays a valid OMB
control number. Books or records relating
to a form or its instructions must be
retained as long as their contents
may become material in the administration
of any Internal Revenue law. Generally, tax
returns and return information are
confidential, as required by section 6103.
The estimated average time is:
Recordkeeping . . . . 3 hr., 21 min.
Learning about the
law or the form . . . . 2 hr., 39 min.
Preparing the form . . . 3 hr., 45 min.
Copying, assembling, and
sending the form to the IRS 0 hr., 16 min.
If you have comments concerning the
accuracy of this time estimate or
suggestions for making this form
simpler, we would be happy to hear from
you. You can send your comments to:
Internal Revenue Service
Tax Forms and Publications Division
1111 Constitution Ave. NW, IR-6526
Washington, DC 20224
Do not send this form to this address.
Instead, see Where To File.