Revenue Procedure 2006-08, January 3, 2006

SECTION 1. PURPOSE

This revenue procedure provides guidance for complying with the user fee program of the Internal Revenue Service 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; and requests for administrative scrutiny determinations under Rev. Proc. 93-41, 1993-2 C.B. 536.

SECTION 2. CHANGES

.01 In general. This revenue procedure is a general update of Rev. Proc. 2005-8, 2005-1 I.R.B. 243 ( including revisions to section 7 and the Appendix to reflect revenue procedures published by Employee Plans during 2005.

.02 The dollar amounts for various user fees have been increased to more accurately reflect actual costs to the Service. To assist taxpayers and practitioners, the effective date of these user fee increases is delayed until February 1, 2006 or July 1, 2006, and the data reflecting user fees have been adjusted to reflect different effective dates.

SECTION 3. BACKGROUND

.01 Legislation authorizing user fees. Section 7528 was added to the Code by section 202 of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Block Grant Program, Pub. L. No. 108-89, and was extended to September 30, 2014, by section 690 of the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004, Pub. L. No. 108-357. Section 7528 of the Code directs the Secretary of the Treasury or delegate (the “Secretary”) to establish a program requiring the payment of user fees for requests to the Service for letter rulings, opinion letters, determination letters, and similar requests. The fees charged under the program (1) are to vary according to categories or subcategories established by the Secretary; (2) are to be determined after taking into account the average time for, and difficulty of, complying with requests in each category and subcategory; and (3) are payable in advance. Section 7528(b)(3) directs the Secretary to provide for exemptions and reduced fees under the program as the Secretary determines to be appropriate, but the average fee applicable to each category may not be less than the amount specified in § 7528.

.02 Related revenue procedures. The various revenue procedures that require payment of a user fee, or an administrative scrutiny determination user fee are described in the appendix to this revenue procedure.

SECTION 4. SCOPE

.01 Requests to which user fees apply. In general, user fees apply to all requests for letter rulings, opinion letters, determination letters, and advisory letters submitted by or on behalf of taxpayers, sponsoring organizations or other entities as described in this revenue procedure. Further, administrative scrutiny determination user fees, described in Rev. Proc. 93-41, are collected through the user fee program described in this revenue procedure. Requests to which a user fee or an administrative scrutiny determination user fee is applicable must be accompanied by the appropriate fee as determined from the fee schedule set forth in section 6 of this revenue procedure. The fee may be refunded in limited circumstances as set forth in section 10.

.02 Requests and other actions that do not require the payment of a user fee.

Actions which do not require the payment of a user fee include the following:

(1) Requests for information letters as defined in Rev. Proc. 2006-4, page , this Bulletin.

(2) Elections pertaining to automatic extensions of time under § 301.9100-1 of the Procedure and Administration regulations.

(3) Use of forms which are not to be filed with the Service. For example, no user fee is required in connection with the use of Form 5305, Traditional Individual Retirement Trust Account, or Form 5305-A, Traditional Individual Retirement Custodial Account, in order to adopt an individual retirement account under § 408(a).

(4) In general, plan amendments whereby sponsors amend their plans by adopting, word-for-word, the model language contained in a revenue procedure which states that the amendment should not be submitted to the Service and that the Service will not issue new opinion, advisory, ruling or determination letters for plans that are amended solely to add the model language.

(5) Change in accounting period or accounting method permitted by a published revenue procedure that permits an automatic change without prior approval of the Commissioner.

(6) Compliance and Correction Fees. Compliance fees and compliance correction fees under the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System are not described in this procedure because they are compliance fees or compliance correction fees and not user fees. For further guidance, please see Rev. Proc. 2003-44, 2003-1 C.B. 1051.

.03 Exemptions from the user fee requirements. The following exemptions apply to the user fee requirements. These are the only exemptions that apply:

(1) Departments, agencies, or instrumentalities of the United States that certify that they are seeking a letter ruling, determination letter, opinion letter or similar letter on behalf of a program or activity funded by federal appropriations. The fact that a user fee is not charged has no bearing on whether an applicant is treated as an agency or instrumentality of the United States for purposes of any provision of the Code except for § 7528.

(2) Requests as to whether a worker is an employee for federal employment taxes and federal income tax withholding purposes (chapters 21, 22, 23, and 24 of subtitle C of the Code) submitted on Form SS-8, Determination of Worker Status for Purposes of Federal Employment Taxes and Income Tax Withholding, or its equivalent. Such a request may be submitted in connection with an application for a determination on the qualification of a plan when it is necessary to determine whether an employer-employee relationship exists. See section 6.14 of Rev. Proc. 2006-6, page , this Bulletin. In that case, although no user fee applies to the request submitted on Form SS-8, the applicable user fee must be paid in connection with the application for determination on the plan’s qualification.

SECTION 5. DEFINITIONS

The following terms used in this revenue procedure are defined in the pertinent revenue procedures referred to below, which are described in the appendix:

Administrative scrutiny determination	Rev. Proc. 93-41
Adoption agreement	Rev. Proc. 2005-16
Advisory letter	Rev. Procs. 2005-16, 2006-6
Basic plan document	Rev. Proc. 2005-16
Determination letter	Rev. Procs. 90-27, 2006-4
Dual-purpose IRA	Rev. Proc. 98-59
Group exemption letter	Rev. Proc. 80-27
Information letter	Rev. Proc. 2006-4
Letter ruling	Rev. Proc. 2006-4
Mass submitter	Rev. Proc. 87-50, Rev. Proc. 2005-16
Mass submitter plan	Rev. Proc. 2005-16
Master plan	Rev. Proc. 2005-16
Minor modification	Rev. Procs. 87-50, 2005-16
Opinion letter	Rev. Procs. 2005-16, 2006-4
Prototype plan	Rev. Proc. 2005-16
Roth IRA	Rev. Proc. 98-59
SIMPLE IRA	Rev. Proc. 97-29
SIMPLE IRA Plan	Rev. Proc. 97-29
Plan Sponsor	Rev. Proc. 2005-16
Sponsoring organization	Rev. Procs. 87-50, Rev. Proc. 2005-16
Staggered Remedial Amendment Period	Rev. Proc. 2005-66
Volume submitter lead specimen plan	Rev. Proc. 2005-16
Volume submitter plan	Rev. Proc. 2005-16
Volume submitter specimen plan	Rev. Proc. 2005-16
Word-for-word identical adoption	Rev. Procs. 87-50, 2005-16

SECTION 6. FEE SCHEDULE

The amount of the user fee payable with respect to each category or subcategory of submission is as set forth in the following schedule.

CATEGORY
EMPLOYEE PLANS USER FEES
.01 Letter ruling requests.				User fees for requests postmarked before 2/1/2006	User fee for requests postmarked on or after 2/1/2006
	(1) Computation of exclusion for annuitant under § 72			$95	$380
	(2) Change in plan year (Form 5308)			$145	$380
	(3) Certain waivers of 60-day rollover period			$95	not available
		(a) Rollover less than $50,000		not applicable	$500
		(b) Rollover equal to or greater than $50,000 and less than $100,000		not applicable	$1,500
		(c) Rollover equal to or greater than $100,000		not applicable	$3,000

Note: No user fee is required if the requested change is permitted to be made pursuant to the procedure for automatic approval set forth in Rev. Proc. 87-27, 1987-1 C.B. 769. In such a case, Form 5308 should not be submitted to the Service.

	(4) Change in funding method			$560	$2,800
	(5) Letter ruling under Rev. Proc. 90-49, 1990-2 C.B. 620			$340	$2,800
	(6) Approval to become a nonbank trustee (see § 1.408-2(e) of the Income Tax Regulations)			$3,665	$14,500
	(7) Letter ruling involving the determination of the account limit under § 419A(c)			$2,570	$14,500
	(8) Waiver of minimum funding standard or excise tax (§ 412(d), 4971(b) or 4971(f)):
		(a) Waiver of $1,000,000 or more		$5,415	$13,000
		(b) Waiver of less than $1,000,000		$2,290	$6,100
	(9) Individually designed simplified employee pension (SEP)			$2,570	$9,000
	(10) All other letter rulings			$2,570	$9,000
	Reduced fees, or augmented fee, applicable to all other letter rulings (which will not be available after 1/31/2006):
		(a) Letter ruling requests by or on behalf of eligible retirement plans (within the meaning of § 402(c)(8)(B)) with assets of less than $250,000		$625	not available
		(b) Letter ruling requests from U.S. citizens and resident alien individuals, domestic trusts, and domestic estates whose “total income” as reported on their federal income tax return (as amended) filed for a full (12 months) taxable year ending before the date the request is filed, plus any interest income not subject to tax under § 103 (interest on state and local bonds) for that period, is less than $250,000		$625	not available

Note: The reduced fee applies to a married individual if the combined gross income of the applicant and the applicant’s spouse is less than $250,000. The gross incomes of the applicant and the applicant’s spouse are not combined, however, if the applicant is legally separated from his or her spouse and the spouses do not file a joint income tax return with each other. In the case of a letter ruling request from a domestic estate or trust that, at the time the request is filed, has not filed an income tax return for a full taxable year, the reduced fee will be applicable if the decedent’s or (in the case of an individual grantor) the grantor’s total income as reported on the last return filed for a full taxable year ending before the date of death or the date of the transfer, taking into account any additions required to be made to total income described in this subparagraph, is less than $250,000.
		(c) Letter ruling requests from organizations exempt from income tax under “Subchapter F-Exempt Organizations” with gross receipts of less than $250,000		$625	not available

Note: An organization exempt from income tax under Subchapter F must certify in its request for a letter ruling that its gross receipts for the last full taxable year before the request was filed were less than $250,000.
		(d) In situations in which a taxpayer requests substantially identical letter rulings for multiple entities with a common member or sponsor, or for multiple members of a common entity, each additional letter ruling request after the $2,570 fee or the $625 reduced fee, as applicable, has been paid for the first letter ruling request.		$210	not available
		(e) In situations in which a taxpayer requests a single letter ruling involving substantially identical issues of fact and law with respect to multiple members of a common entity, for each additional entity after the $2,570 fee or $625 reduced fee, as applicable, has been paid for the first entity.		$210	not available
.02 Requests for certain administrative exemptions.
Requests for administrative exemptions for participant-directed transactions that are in compliance with the regulations under § 404(c) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) but may result in prohibited transactions under § 4975				$2,570	$2,570
.03 Administrative scrutiny determinations with respect to separate lines of business.
	(1) For the first separate line of business for which a determination is requested			$4,915	$4,915
	(2) For each additional separate line of business for which a determination is requested			$1,580	$1,580
.04 Opinion letters on prototype individual retirement accounts and/or annuities, simplified employee pensions, SIMPLE IRAs, SIMPLE IRA Plans, and Roth IRAs.
	(1) Mass submission of a prototype IRA, SEP, SIMPLE IRA, SIMPLE IRA Plan, or Roth IRA, per plan document, new or amended			$1,300	$3,000
	(2) Sponsoring organization’s nonmass submission of prototype IRA, SEP, SIMPLE IRA, SIMPLE IRA Plan, or Roth IRA, per plan document			$480	$3,000
	(3) Sponsoring organization’s word-for-word identical adoption of mass submitter’s prototype IRA, SEP, SIMPLE IRA, SIMPLE IRA Plan, or Roth IRA, per plan document or an amendment thereof			$125	$200

Note: If a mass submitter submits, in any 12-month period ending January 31, more than 300 applications on behalf of word-for-word adopters of prototype IRAs with respect to a particular plan document, only the first 300 such applications will be subject to the fee; no fee will apply to those in excess of the first 300 such applications submitted within the 12-month period.

	(4) Sponsoring organization’s word-for-word identical adoption of mass submitter’s prototype dual-purpose IRA, per plan document or an amendment thereof			$125	$200

Note: If a mass submitter submits, in any 12-month period ending January 31, more than 300 applications on behalf of word-for-word adopters of prototype dual-purpose IRAs with respect to a particular plan document, only the first 300 such applications will be subject to the fee; no fee will apply to those in excess of the first 300 such applications submitted within the 12-month period.
	(5) Sponsoring organization’s minor modification of mass submitter’s prototype IRA, SEP, SIMPLE IRA, SIMPLE IRA Plan, or Roth IRA, per plan document			$335	$750
	(6) Sponsoring organization’s minor modification of mass submitter’s prototype dual-purpose IRA, per plan document			$675	$750
	(7) Opinion letters on dual-purpose (combined traditional and Roth) IRAs:
		(a) Mass submission of a prototype dual-purpose IRA, per plan document, new or amended		$2,570	$4,500
		(b) Sponsoring organization’s nonmass submission of prototype dual-purpose IRA, per plan document		$990	$4,500
.05 Opinion letters on master and prototype plans.				User fee for applications postmarked before 7/1/2006	User fee for applications postmarked on or after 7/1/2006
	(1) Mass submitter M & P plan, per basic plan document, new or amended, with one adoption agreement			$3,665	$9,000
	(2) Nonmass submission (new or amended) by M & P sponsor, per adoption agreement			$2,195	$9,000
	(3) Mass submitter M & P plan, per each additional adoption agreement			$480	$650
	(4) Sponsor’s minor modification of M & P mass submitter’s plan document, per adoption agreement			$280	$650
	(5) M & P mass submitter’s request for an advisory letter with respect to the addition of optional provisions following issuance of a favorable opinion letter (see section 12.031(c) of Rev. Proc. 2005-16), per basic plan document (regardless of the number of adoption agreements)			$595	$650
	(6) M & P mass submitter’s addition of new adoption agreements after the basic plan document and associated adoption agreements have been approved, per adoption agreement			$480	$650

Note 1: Mass submitters that are sponsors in their own right are liable for this fee.

Note 2: If a mass submitter submits, in any 12-month period ending January 31, more than 300 applications on behalf of word-for-word adopters with respect to a particular adoption agreement, only the first 300 such applications will be subject to the fee; no fee will apply to those in excess of the first 300 such applications submitted within the 12-month period.

	(7) Sponsor’s word-for-word identical adoption of M & P mass submitter’s basic plan document (or an amendment thereof), per adoption agreement			$125	$200
	(8) Assumption of sponsorship of an approved M & P plan, without any amendment to the plan document, by a new entity, as evidenced by a change of employer identification number			$280	$200
	(9) Mass submitter or sponsor per trust document in excess of 10			not applicable	$650
.06 Advisory letters on volume submitter plans.
	(1) Volume submitter specimen plans			$1,500	$9,000
	(2) Volume Submitter lead specimen plan			$3,000	$9,000
	(3) Volume submitter specimen plan that is word-for-word identical to a lead specimen plan			$100	$200
.07 Determination letters
	(1) If the plan is intended to satisfy a design-based or nondesign-based safe harbor, or if the applicant is not electing to receive a determination with respect to any of the general tests, and the applicant is not electing to receive a determination with respect to the average benefit test:
		(a) Form 5300 (Application for Determination for Employee Benefit Plan)		$700	$1,000
		(b) Form 5310 (Application for Determination for Terminating Plan)		$225	$1,000
		(c) Form 5307 (Application for Determination for Adopters of Master of Prototype or Volume Submitter Plans)		$125	$300
		(d) Form 6406 (Short Form Application for Determination for Minor Amendment of Employee Benefit Plan)		$125	$300
		(e) Multiple employer plans (Form 5300):
			(i) 2 to 10 Forms 5300	$700	$1,500
			(ii) 11 to 99 Forms 5300	$1,400	$1,500
			(iii) 100 to 499 Forms 5300	$2,800	$10,000
			(iv) Over 499 Forms 5300	$5,600	$10,000

Note: In the case of a multiple employer plan that is adopted by other employers after the initial submission, the fee would be the same as in paragraph (1) above. If only one employer adopts the plan in any subsequent year, the fee would be $700 on January 1, 2006, and $1,000 on or after July 1, 2006.

		(f) Multiple employer plans (Form 5310):
			(i) 2 to 10 employers	$225	$1,500
			(ii) 11 to 99 employers	$450	$1,500
			(iii) 100 to 499 employers	$900	$10,000
			(iv) Over 499 employers	$1,800	$10,000
	(2) If the applicant is electing to receive a determination with respect to the average benefit test and/or any of the general tests:
		(a) Form 5300 (Application for Determination for Employee Benefit Plan)		$1,250	$1,800
		(b) Form 5310 (Application for Determination for Terminating Plan)		$375	$1,800
		(c) Form 5307 (Application for Determination for Adopters of Master or Prototype or Volume Submitter Plans)		$1,000	$1,000
		(d) Multiple employer plans (Form 5300):
			(i) 2 to 10 Forms 5300	$1,250	$2,300
			(ii) 11 to 99 Forms 5300	$2,000	$2,300
			(iii) 100 to 499 Forms 5300	$3,500	$15,000
			(iv) Over 499 Forms 5300	$6,500	$15,000
Note: In the case of a multiple employer plan that is adopted by other employers after the initial submission, the fee would be the same as in paragraph (2) above. If only one employer adopts the plan in any subsequent year, the fee would be $1,250 on or before June 30, 2006, and $1,800 on or after July 1, 2006.
		(e) Multiple employer plans (Form 5310):
			(i) 2 to 10 employers	$375	$2,300
			(ii) 11 to 99 employers	$600	$2,300
			(iii) 100 to 499 employers	$1,000	$15,000
			(iv) Over 499 employers	$2,000	$15,000
	(3) Group trusts contemplated by Rev. Rul. 81-100, 1981-1 C.B. 326, and Rev. Rul. 2004-67, 2004-2 C.B. 28.			$750	$750
EXEMPT ORGANIZATIONS USER FEES
.08 Letter rulings.				User fee in effect for requests postmarked before 2/1/2006	User fee in effect for requests postmarked on or after 2/1/2006
	(1) Applications with respect to change in accounting period (Form 1128)			$155	$350
Note: No user fee is charged if the procedure described in Rev. Proc. 85-58, 1985-2 C.B. 740, is used by timely filing the appropriate information return, or if the procedure described in Rev. Proc. 76-10, 1976-1 C.B. 548, for organizations with group exemptions is followed.
	(2) Applications with respect to change in accounting method (Form 3115)			$155	$275
Note: No user fee is charged if the method described in Rev. Proc. 2002-9, 2002-1 C.B. 327, is used. Taxpayers complying timely with Rev. Proc. 2002-9 will be deemed to have obtained the consent of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue to change their method of accounting.
	(3) Request for approval of a qualified subsidiary related to a § 501(c)(25) organization.			$620	$900
	(4) All other letter rulings			$2,570	$8,700
Reduced fees applicable to all other letter rulings thru 1/31/2006:
		(a) Organizations with gross receipts less than $250,000		$625	not available

Note: An exempt organization seeking a reduced fee (which will not be available after 1/31/2006) must certify in the letter ruling request that its gross receipts for the last taxable year before the request is filed were less than $250,000.

		(b) Letter ruling requests from U.S. citizens and resident alien individuals, domestic trusts, and domestic estates whose “total income” as reported on their federal income tax return (as amended) filed for a full (12 months) taxable year ending before the date the request is filed, plus any interest income not subject to tax under § 103 (interest on state and local bonds) for that period, is less than $250,000		$625	not available

Note: The reduced fee applies to a married individual if the combined gross income of the applicant and the applicant’s spouse is less than $250,000. The gross incomes of the applicant and the applicant’s spouse are not combined, however, if the applicant is legally separated from his or her spouse and the spouses do not file a joint income tax return with each other. In the case of a letter ruling request from a domestic estate or trust that, at the time the request is filed, has not filed an income tax return for a full taxable year, the reduced fee will be applicable if the decedent’s or (in the case of an individual grantor) the grantor’s total income as reported on the last return filed for a full taxable year ending before the date of death or the date of the transfer, taking into account any additions required to be made to total income described in this subparagraph, is less than $250,000.

		(c) Letter ruling requests in which a taxpayer requests substantially identical letter rulings for multiple entities with a common member or activity, or multiple members of a common entity, each additional letter ruling request after the $2,570 fee or the $625 reduced fee, as applicable, has been paid for the first letter ruling request		$210	not available
.09 Determination letters and requests for group exemption letters				User fee in effect for applications postmarked before 7/1/2006	User fee in effect for applications postmarked on or after 7/1/2006
	(1) Initial application for exemption under § 501 or § 521 from organizations (other than pension, profit-sharing, and stock bonus plans described in § 401) that have had annual gross receipts averaging not more than $10,000 during the preceding four years, or new organizations that anticipate gross receipts averaging not more than $10,000 during their first four years			$150	$300
Note: Organizations seeking this reduced fee must sign a certification with their application that the receipts are or will be not more than the indicated amounts.
	(2) Initial application for exempt status from organizations otherwise described in paragraph (1) of this section 6.09 whose actual or anticipated gross receipts exceed the $10,000 average annually			$500	$750
Note: If an organization that is already recognized as exempt under § 501(c) seeks reclassification under another subparagraph of § 501(c), a new user fee will be charged whether or not a new application is required. An additional fee applies to organizations that seek recognition of exemption under § 501(c)(4) (unless requested at the time of the § 501(c)(3) application) for a period for which they do not qualify for exemption under § 501(c)(3) because their application was filed late and they do not qualify for relief under § 301.9100-1.
	(3) Group exemption letters			$500	$900
Note: An additional fee under (1) or (2) above is required when a central organization submits an initial application for exemption with its request for a group exemption letter.
	(4) Canadian registered charities			none	none
In accordance with the income tax treaty between the United States and Canada, Canadian registered charities are automatically recognized as exempt under § 501(c)(3) without filing an application for exemption. For details, see Notice 99-47, 1999-2 C.B. 391. Therefore, no user fee is required when a Canadian registered charity submits all or part of a Form 1023 or other written request to be listed in Publication 78, or for a determination on its private foundation status.
.10 Summary of Exempt Organization fees
This table summarizes the various types of exempt organization issues, indicates the office of jurisdiction for each type, and lists the applicable user fee. Reduced fees may be applicable in certain instances.

ISSUE	USER FEE
	User fee in effect for requests postmarked before 2/1/2006	User fee in effect for requests postmarked on or after 2/1/2006
Accounting method changes	$155	$275
Accounting period changes	$155	$350
Qualified subsidiaries of § 501(c)(25) organizations	$620	$900
Section 507 terminations - advance ruling under § 507(b)(1) or (2)	$2,570	$8,700
Section 514(b)(3) Neighborhood Land Use Rule	None	None
Section 4943(c)(7) extensions of disposal period	$2,570	$8,700

ISSUE	USER FEE
	User fee for applications postmarked before 7/1/2006	User fee for applications postmarked on or after 7/1/2006
Application for recognition of exemption	$500	$750
Reduced fee described in section 6.09(1)	$150	$300
Advance ruling period inquiries	None
Confirmation of exemption (to replace lost exempt status letter, and to reflect name and address changes)	None
Reclassification of private foundation status	None
Regulations § 301.9100 relief in connection with applications for recognition of exemption	None
Section 507 terminations — notice under § 507(b)(1) or (2)	None
Section 4940(d) exempt operating foundation status	None
Section 4942(g)(2) set asides — advance approval	None
Section 4945 advance approval of organization’s grant making procedures	None
Section 4945(f) advance approval of voter registration activities	None
Section 6033 annual information return filing requirements	None
Unusual grants to certain organizations under §§ 170(b)(1)(A)(vi) and 509(a)(2)	None

SECTION 7. MAILING ADDRESS FOR REQUESTING LETTER RULINGS, DETERMINATION LETTERS, ETC.

.01 Matters handled by EP or EO Technical. Requests should be mailed to the appropriate address set forth in this section 7.01.

(1) Employee plans letter rulings under Rev. Procs. 79-62, 87-50, 90-49, 94-42, 2000-41, 2004-15, 2004-44 or 2006-4:

Internal Revenue Service
Attention: EP Letter Rulings
P.O. Box 27063
McPherson Station
Washington, DC 20038

(2) Employee plans opinion letters under Rev. Procs. 87-50, 97-29, and 98-59:

Internal Revenue Service
Attention: EP Opinion Letter
P.O. Box 27063
McPherson Station
Washington, DC 20038

(3) Employee plans administrative scrutiny determinations under Rev. Proc. 93-41:

Internal Revenue Service
Attention: Administrative Scrutiny
P.O. Box 27063
McPherson Station
Washington, DC 20038

(4) Exempt organizations letter rulings:

Internal Revenue Service
Attention: EO Letter Rulings
P.O. Box 27720
McPherson Station
Washington, DC 20038

Note: Hand delivered requests must be marked RULING REQUEST SUBMISSION. The delivery should be made:

To the following address between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.; where a receipt will be given:

Courier’s Desk
Internal Revenue Service
Attention: SE:T:EP [or SE:T:EO]
1111 Constitution Avenue, NW - PE
Washington, DC 20224

.02 Matters handled by EP or EO Determinations. The following types of requests and applications are handled by the EP or EO Determinations Office and should be sent to the Internal Revenue Service Center in Covington, Kentucky, at the address shown below: requests for determination letters, opinion letters, and volume submitter advisory letters on the qualified status or form of employee plans under §§ 401, 403(a), or 409, and the exempt status of any related trust under § 501; applications for recognition of tax exemption on Form 1023, Form 1024 and Form 1028; and other applications for recognition of qualification or exemption. The address is:

Internal Revenue Service
P.O. Box 192
Covington, KY 41012-0192

Applications 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

SECTION 8. REQUESTS INVOLVING MULTIPLE OFFICES, FEE CATEGORIES, ISSUES, TRANSACTIONS, OR ENTITIES

.01 Requests involving several offices. If a request dealing with only one transaction involves more than one of the offices within Headquarters (for example, one issue is under the jurisdiction of the Associate Chief Counsel (Income Tax & Accounting) and another issue is under the jurisdiction of the Commissioner, Tax Exempt and Government Entities Division), only one fee applies, namely the highest fee that otherwise would apply to each of the offices involved. See Rev. Proc. 2006-1, this Bulletin, for the user fees applicable to issues under the jurisdiction of the Associate Chief Counsel (Corporate), the Associate Chief Counsel (Financial Institutions & Products), the Associate Chief Counsel (Income Tax & Accounting), the Associate Chief Counsel (Passthroughs & Special Industries), the Associate Chief Counsel (Procedure and Administration), the Associate Chief Counsel (International) or the Division Counsel/Associate Chief Counsel (Tax Exempt and Government Entities).

.02 Requests involving several fee categories. If a request dealing with only one transaction involves more than one fee category, only one fee applies, namely the highest fee that otherwise would apply to each of the categories involved.

.03 Requests involving several issues. If a request dealing with only one transaction involves several issues, or a request for a change in accounting method dealing with only one item or sub-method of accounting involves several issues, or a request for a change in accounting period dealing with only one item involves several issues, the request is treated as one request. Therefore, only one fee applies, namely the fee that applies to the particular category or subcategory involved. The addition of a new issue relating to the same transaction will not result in an additional fee, unless the issue places the transaction in a higher fee category.

.04 Requests involving several unrelated transactions. If a request involves several unrelated transactions, or a request for a change in accounting method involves several unrelated items or sub-methods of accounting, or a request for a change in accounting period involves several unrelated items, each transaction or item is treated as a separate request. As a result, a separate fee will apply for each unrelated transaction or item. An additional fee will apply if the request is changed by the addition of an unrelated transaction or item not contained in the initial submission.

.05 Requests for separate letter rulings for several entities. Each entity involved in a transaction (for example, an exempt hospital reorganization) that desires a separate letter ruling in its own name must pay a separate fee regardless of whether the transaction or transactions may be viewed as related. In certain situations, however, a reduced fee may be charged. See sections 6.01(10) and 6.08(4) of this revenue procedure.

SECTION 9. PAYMENT OF FEE

.01 Method of payment. Each request to the Service for a letter ruling, determination letter, opinion letter, etc., must be accompanied by a check or money order, payable to the United States Treasury, in the appropriate amount. Taxpayers should not send cash.

.02 Transmittal forms. Form 8717, User Fee for Employee Plan Determination Letter Request, and Form 8718, User Fee for Exempt Organization Determination Letter Request, are intended to be used as attachments to certain determination letter, opinion letter and advisory letter applications. Space is reserved for the attachment of the applicable user fee check or money order. No similar form has been designed to be used in connection with requests for letter rulings or administrative scrutiny determinations.

.03 Effect of nonpayment or payment of incorrect amount. It will be the general practice of the Service that:

(1) The respective offices within the Service that are responsible for issuing letter rulings, determination letters, etc., will exercise discretion in deciding whether to immediately return submissions that are not accompanied by a properly completed check or money order or that are accompanied by a check or money order for less than the correct amount. In those instances where the submission is not immediately returned, the requester will be contacted and given a reasonable amount of time to submit the proper fee. If the proper fee is not received within a reasonable amount of time, the entire submission will then be returned. However, the respective offices of the Service, in their discretion, may defer substantive consideration of a submission until proper payment has been received.

(2) An application for a determination letter will not be returned merely because Form 8717 or Form 8718 was not attached.

(3) The return of a submission to the requester may adversely affect substantive rights if the submission is not perfected and resubmitted to the Service within 30 days of the date of the cover letter returning the submission. Examples of this are: (a) where an application for a determination letter is submitted prior to the expiration of the remedial amendment period under § 401(b) and is returned because no user fee was attached, the submission will be timely if it is resubmitted by the expiration of the remedial amendment period or, if later, within 30 days after the application was returned; and (b) where an application for exemption under § 501(c)(3) is submitted before expiration of the period provided by § 1.508-1(a)(2) and is returned because no user fee was attached, the submission will be timely if it is resubmitted before expiration of the period provided by § 1.508-1(a)(2) or within 30 days, whichever is later.

(4) If a check or money order is for more than the correct amount, the submission will be accepted and the amount of the excess payment will be returned to the requester.

SECTION 10. REFUNDS

.01 General rule. In general, the fee will not be refunded unless the Service declines to rule on all issues for which a ruling is requested. In the case of a request for a letter ruling, if the case has been closed by the Service because essential information has not been submitted timely, the request may be reopened and treated as a new request, but the taxpayer must pay another user fee before the case can be reopened. See section 11.04(5) of Rev. Proc. 2006-4, page , this Bulletin.

.02 Examples.

(1) The following are examples of situations in which the fee will not be refunded:

The request for a letter ruling, determination letter, etc., is withdrawn

User Fees for Employee Plans and Exempt Organizations