Instructions for Form 8950 (Rev. September 2015) Application for Voluntary Correction Program (VCP) Under the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS) Section references are to the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) unless otherwise noted. For the latest information about developments related to Form 8950 and its instructions, such as legislation enacted after they were published, go to www.irs.gov/form8950. Modifications have been made to improve the Employee Plans Resolution System by changing some of the requirements in Rev. Proc. 2013-12, 2013-4 I.R.B. 313. Rev. Proc. 2015-27, 2015-16 I.R.B. 914, made modifications such as reducing the compliance fees relating to certain submissions and modifications to the correction rules. Rev. Proc. 2015-28, 2015-16 I.R.B. 920 also provides new supplemental safe harbor correction methods. Department of the Treasury Internal Revenue Service General Instructions Purpose of Form Form 8950 must be filed as part of a VCP submission in order to request written approval from the IRS for correction of a qualified plan, 403(b) plan, SEP, SARSEP or SIMPLE IRA that has failed to comply with the applicable requirements of the IRC. VCP is part of the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS), currently set forth in Rev. Proc. 2013-12, as modified by Rev. Proc. 2015�27 and Rev. Proc. 2015�28, which are available at www.irs.gov/Retirement-Plans/ Correcting-Plan Errors. Future Developments What's New The Voluntary Correction Program (VCP) submission, including Form 8950, is not open to public inspection or disclosure. The use of VCP relates directly to the enforcement of the IRC qualification requirements. The information received or generated by the IRS under VCP is subject to the confidentiality requirements of section 6103 and is not a written determination within the meaning of section 6110. See Rev. Proc. 2013-12, section 6.12. Confidentiality and Disclosure A VCP submission includes Form 8950, Form 8951, Compliance Fee for Application for Voluntary Correction Program (VCP) Under the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS), and all of the other required items stated in Rev. Proc. 2013-12, section 11, as modified by Rev. Proc. 2015�27. Types of Retirement Plans Eligible for Corrections Correction under VCP is not available if the plan or plan sponsor is under examination. The Form 8950 and the VCP submission must be mailed to the IRS prior to the time the plan or plan sponsor is under examination, as defined in Rev. Proc. 2013-12, section 5.09. For purposes of VCP, a plan or plan sponsor will be considered to be under examination if any of the following situations apply: The plan sponsor is under any type of examination conducted by IRS Employee Plans, including examination of a Form 5500 series return; The plan sponsor is under any type of examination conducted by IRS Exempt Organizations; The plan sponsor or a representative has received verbal or written notification from IRS Employee Plans or Exempt Organizations of an impending examination or of any impending referral for such examination; The subject plan is currently under investigation by the Criminal Investigation Division of the IRS; or Certain other situations specified in Rev. Proc. 2013-12, section 5.09. VCP is not available to correct failures relating to the diversion or misuse of plan assets. VCP may not be available if the plan sponsor has engaged in abusive tax avoidance transactions. See Rev. Proc. 2013-12, sections 4.12 and 4.13. In particular cases, the IRS may decline to make VCP available in the interest of sound tax administration. See Rev. Proc. 2013-12, section 4.01(5). Form 8950 and accompanying VCP submission may only be filed by the following parties: In general, an employer or plan sponsor, including a sole proprietor, partnership, or corporation. Generally, estates and/or beneficiaries may not file a submission under VCP. For multiple employer or multiemployer plans, the plan administrator (rather than any contributing or adopting employer). The VCP submission must be for the plan, rather than a portion of the plan affecting any particular employer. For group submissions, an eligible organization as defined in Rev. Proc. 2013-12, section 10.11, if the applicable conditions for group submissions have been met. Disclosure Request by Taxpayer VCP is open to certain tax-favored retirement plans established under sections 401(a), 403(a), 403(b), 408(k), or 408(p). Under limited circumstances, the IRS may also consider submissions outside of EPCRS that involve section 457(b) plans on a provisional basis. Generally, such submissions are for section 457(b) plans sponsored by a governmental entity defined in section 414(d). See Rev. Proc. 2013-12, section 4.09, for details and limitations. Who May File The Tax Reform Act of 1976 permits a taxpayer to request 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, and/or Form 8821, Tax Information Authorization, for this purpose. Eligibility Requirements for the Use of VCP VCP is open to eligible retirement plans (see Types of Retirement Plans Eligible for Corrections above) that incurred any one of the following qualification failures: (a) Plan Document Failure; (b) Operational Failure; (c) Demographic Failure; or (d) Employer Eligibility Failure. VCP is also available for plan loans that did not comply with the requirements of section 72(p)(2). See Rev. Proc. 2013-12, sections 4.01, 5.01, 5.02, 6.07 and 6.11, for additional details. VCP is also available to terminated plans regardless of whether all plan assets have been distributed. Cat. No. 57357G Sep 21, 2015 American LegalNet, Inc. www.FormsWorkFlow.com Anonymous submissions must be filed by an authorized representative. However, the representative must be designated on a power of attorney by the employer (or in the case of a multiple employer or multiemployer plan, the plan administrator) and must be willing to submit a signed Form 2848, if identifying information is ultimately submitted to the IRS. See Anonymous Submissions below. For orphan plans, an authorized eligible party. See Orphan Plans below. For VCP, orphan plan means any tax-favored retirement plan for which an eligible party (defined below) has determined that the plan sponsor (a) no longer exists, (b) cannot be located, or (c)