§7528 Internal Revenue Service user fees

Summary

The Treasury Secretary must make a program that requires people to pay user fees when they ask the IRS for ruling letters, opinion letters, determination letters, or similar written rulings. The Secretary will set fee categories, decide fees based on how long and hard each type of request is, and require the fees to be paid up front. The Secretary can allow exemptions or lower fees when appropriate. No fee is required for requests about whether a pension benefit plan is qualified if the plan is run only by one or more eligible employers or its trust, except if the request comes after the later of the plan’s fifth year or the end of a remedial amendment period within the first five years, or if it is from a sponsor who plans to market a prototype plan. A “pension benefit plan” means pension, profit-sharing, stock bonus, annuity, or employee stock ownership plans. The law also says requests that get the pension exemption are not counted when figuring average fees. Minimum average fees must be at least: employee plan ruling/opinion $250, exempt organization ruling $350, employee plan determination $300, exempt organization determination $275, and chief counsel ruling $200. The fee for certifying a professional employer organization under section 7705 is an annual fee not to exceed $1,000 per year.