Instructions for Form 5300 (Rev. January 2017) Application for Determination for Employee Benefit Plan Section references are to the Internal Revenue Code unless otherwise noted. Department of the Treasury Internal Revenue Service Future Developments For the latest information about developments related to Form 5300 and its instructions, such as legislation enacted after they were published, go to www.irs.gov/form5300. submits one Form 5300 application for the plan in the name of the controlling member. Any application for an employer wishing to receive its own determination letter must be submitted with the application of the controlling member. Disclosure request by taxpayer. A taxpayer can authorize the IRS to disclose and discuss the taxpayer's return and/or return information with any person(s) the taxpayer designates in a written request. Use Form 2848, Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative, or Form 8821, Tax Information Authorization, for this purpose. See Pub. 947, Practice Before the IRS and Power of Attorney, for more information. Public inspection. Form 5300 is open to public inspection if there are more than 25 plan participants. The total number of participants must be shown on line 3e. See the instructions for line 3e for a definition of "participant." a DC plan, the DB plan is considered terminated. Terminating plan. If the plan is a terminating plan, file Form 5310, Application for Determination for Terminating Plan. If benefit accruals or contributions have ceased, the plan and trust won't be considered terminated until formal action has been taken to terminate the plan. What's New Revised form. The form and instructions have undergone major revisions in format and information required. Note. Filers permitted to submit from 2/1/16 to 1/31/17 (Cycle A3 filers) should use the prior version of Form 5300 (Rev. December 2013). Many of the revisions reflect the changes affecting individually designed plans described in Rev. Proc. 2016-37, 2016-29 I.R.B. 136, available at www.irs.gov/irb/2016-29_IRB/ar10.html, including (1) eliminating 5-year remedial amendment cycles, and (2) generally limiting determination letter (DL) requests to initial plan qualification and qualification on plan termination, effective January 1, 2017. In addition, sponsors may submit requests for determinations on partial termination regardless of their ability to request DLs on their plan document. Many other changes are intended to reduce burdens on filers. Note. The DL program is administered under Rev. Proc. 2016-6, 2016-1 I.R.B. 200, available at www.irs.gov/irb/ 2016-01_IRB/ar12.html (updated annually), and Rev. Proc. 2016-37. Review these documents before completing the application. Defined benefit plan. New information is requested for defined benefit plans in connection with Notice 2015-49, 2015-30 I.R.B. 79. See item 7 under What To File and include the information in your submission. Multiple employer plans. A DL applicant for a multiple employer plan must request a letter for the plan in the name of the controlling member. An applicant requesting a letter for the plan General Instructions Purpose of Form File Form 5300 to request a DL from the IRS for the qualification of a defined benefit (DB) or a defined contribution (DC) plan and the exempt status of any related trust. A DC plan is a plan that provides an individual account for each participant and for benefits based only on: 1. The amount contributed to the participant's account; and 2. Any income, expenses, gains and losses, and any forfeiture of accounts of other participants that may be allocated to the participant's account. A DB plan is any plan that isn't a DC plan. Note. A DB plan can't be amended to become a DC plan. If a sponsor of a DB plan attempts to amend the plan to become a DC plan, or if the merger of a DB plan with a DC plan results solely in Type of Plan This form may be filed by: Individually Designed Plans. This form may be filed by the employer, (including a sole proprietor, partnership, or corporation) or plan administrator to request a DL for an individually designed plan that: 1. Has never received a DL, regardless of when the plan was adopted; 2. Has previously received a DL and is specifically authorized to apply for a new DL under current IRS guidance. Volume Submitter and Master & Prototype Plans. An application for a DL for a volume submitter (VS) plan or master & prototype (M&P) plan may be filed on Form 5300 by an employer or plan administrator, if otherwise permissible under Rev. Proc. 2016-37, during the period announced in IRS guidance. If this is a VS plan that has made limited modifications to an approved specimen plan (that doesn't convert the plan into an individually designed plan), file Form 5307, Application for Determination for Adopters of Modified Volume Submitter (VS) Plans, instead of Form 5300. The plan will be reviewed on the basis of the Cumulative List that was considered in issuing the advisory letter for the VS plan. Note. If no changes have been made by an adopting employer other than to select among options in the adoption agreement or make other permitted changes as specified in section 19.03 of Rev. Proc. 2015-36, 2015-27 I.R.B. 20, available at www.irs.gov/irb/ 2015-27_IRB/ar08.html, the adopting employer must rely on the opinion or advisory letter for the M&P or VS plan. Who May File Dec 13, 2016 Cat. No. 10932P American LegalNet, Inc. www.FormsWorkFlow.com Where To File File Form 5300 at the address indicated below. Internal Revenue Service P.O. Box 12192 Covington, KY 41012-0192 Private delivery services. The organization can use only the IRS-designated private delivery services below to meet the "timely mailing as timely filing/paying" rule for tax returns and payments. These private delivery services include only the following. DHL Express 9:00, DHL Express 10:30, DHL Express 12:00, DHL Express Worldwide, DHL Express Envelope, DHL Import Express 10:30, DHL Import Express 12:00, and DHL Import Express Worldwide. Federal Express (FedEx): FedEx First Overnight, FedEx Priority Overnight, FedEx Standard Overnight, FedEx 2Day, FedEx International Next Flight Out, FedEx International Priority, FedEx International First, and FedEx International Economy. United Parcel Service (UPS): UPS Next Day Air Early AM, UPS Next Day Air, UPS Next Day Air Saver, UPS 2nd Day Air, UPS 2nd Day Air AM, UPS Worldwide Express Plus, and UPS Worldwide Express. For private delivery