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Title 26 — Internal Revenue CodeRelease 119-73not60

§7476 Declaratory Judgments Relating to Qualification of Certain Retirement Plans

Title 26 › Subtitle Subtitle F— Procedure and Administration › Chapter 76— JUDICIAL PROCEEDINGS › Subchapter C— The Tax Court › Part IV— DECLARATORY JUDGMENTS › § 7476

Last updated Apr 5, 2026|Official source

Summary

Lets certain people ask the U.S. Tax Court to decide real disputes about whether a retirement plan meets the tax rules for qualification, either when it is first set up, while it continues, or when the IRS hasn’t made a decision (including when that delay comes from a plan change or plan ending). Only an employer, the plan’s administrator, an employee who the IRS rules say is an interested party, or the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) may file. The court can call a filing premature unless the filer shows they followed IRS rules for telling other interested people. The filer must first use IRS administrative remedies before the court will decide. If the problem is that the IRS didn’t make a decision, the filer is not considered to have finished those remedies until 270 days after asking for the decision. The plan (and any amendment at issue) must already be in effect before filing; being able to refund contributions if the plan is later found not qualified does not make it “not in effect.” If the IRS mailed a decision by certified or registered mail to the persons above (or an employee’s designated representative), any court filing must be made before the ninety‑first day after the day after that notice was mailed. A “retirement plan” here means a 401(a) pension, profit‑sharing, or stock bonus plan (or its trust), or a 403(a) annuity plan. The PBGC and the Secretary of Labor may intervene, and PBGC has certain rights to bring actions under the ERISA provision cited.

Full Legal Text

Title 26, §7476

Internal Revenue Code — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)In a case of actual controversy involving—
(1)a determination by the Secretary with respect to the initial qualification or continuing qualification of a retirement plan under subchapter D of chapter 1, or
(2)a failure by the Secretary to make a determination with respect to—
(A)such initial qualification, or
(B)such continuing qualification if the controversy arises from a plan amendment or plan termination,
(b)(1)A pleading may be filed under this section only by a petitioner who is the employer, the plan administrator, an employee who has qualified under regulations prescribed by the Secretary as an interested party for purposes of pursuing administrative remedies within the Internal Revenue Service, or the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.
(2)For purposes of this section, the filing of a pleading by any petitioner may be held by the Tax Court to be premature, unless the petitioner establishes to the satisfaction of the court that he has complied with the requirements prescribed by regulations of the Secretary with respect to notice to other interested parties of the filing of the request for a determination referred to in subsection (a).
(3)The Tax Court shall not issue a declaratory judgment or decree under this section in any proceeding unless it determines that the petitioner has exhausted administrative remedies available to him within the Internal Revenue Service. A petitioner shall not be deemed to have exhausted his administrative remedies with respect to a failure by the Secretary to make a determination with respect to initial qualification or continuing qualification of a retirement plan before the expiration of 270 days after the request for such determination was made.
(4)No proceeding may be maintained under this section unless the plan (and, in the case of a controversy involving the continuing qualification of the plan because of an amendment to the plan, the amendment) with respect to which a decision of the Tax Court is sought has been put into effect before the filing of the pleading. A plan or amendment shall not be treated as not being in effect merely because under the plan the funds contributed to the plan may be refunded if the plan (or the plan as so amended) is found to be not qualified.
(5)If the Secretary sends by certified or registered mail notice of his determination with respect to the qualification of the plan to the persons referred to in paragraph (1) (or, in the case of employees referred to in paragraph (1), to any individual designated under regulations prescribed by the Secretary as a representative of such employee), no proceeding may be initiated under this section by any person unless the pleading is filed before the ninety-first day after the day after such notice is mailed to such person (or to his designated representative, in the case of an employee).
(c)For purposes of this section, the term “retirement plan” means—
(1)a pension, profit-sharing, or stock bonus plan described in section 401(a) or a trust which is part of such a plan, or
(2)an annuity plan described in section 403(a).
(d)For provisions concerning intervention by Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation and Secretary of Labor in actions brought under this section and right of Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation to bring action, see section 3001(c) of subtitle A of title III of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

section 3001(c) of subtitle A of title III of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, referred to in subsec. (d), is classified to section 1201(c) of Title 29, Labor.

Amendments

1986—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 99–514 substituted “plan, or” for “plan,, or”. 1984—Subsec. (c)(3). Pub. L. 98–369 struck out par. (3) which included a bond purchase plan described in section 405(a) within the term “retirement plan”. 1978—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 95–600, § 701(dd)(1), inserted provision relating to revocation of qualification. Subsecs. (c) to (e). Pub. L. 95–600, § 336(b)(2)(A), redesignated subsecs. (d) and (e) as (c) and (d), respectively. Former subsec. (c), which authorized the chief judge to assign proceedings under this section or section 7428 to be heard by the commissioners of the court, was struck out. 1976—Pub. L. 94–455, § 1042(d)(2)(C), inserted “relating to qualification of certain retirement plans” after “Declaratory judgments” in section catchline. Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 94–455, §§ 1906(a)(48), (b)(13)(A), struck out “or his delegate” after “Secretary” wherever appearing, and “United States” after “appropriate pleading, the” in provisions following par. (2). Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 94–455, § 1906(b)(13)(A), struck out in pars. (1) to (3) and (5), “or his delegate” after “Secretary” wherever appearing. Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 94–455, § 1306(b)(3), substituted “this section or section 7428” for “this section”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 1984 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 98–369 applicable to obligations issued after Dec. 31, 1983, see section 491(f)(1) of Pub. L. 98–369, set out as a note under section 62 of this title.

Effective Date

of 1978 AmendmentAmendment by section 336(b)(2)(A) of Pub. L. 95–600 applicable to requests for determinations made after Dec. 31, 1978, see section 336(d) of Pub. L. 95–600, set out as an

Effective Date

note under section 7478 of this title. Pub. L. 95–600, title VII, § 701(dd)(3), Nov. 6, 1978, 92 Stat. 2924, as amended by Pub. L. 99–514, § 2, Oct. 22, 1986, 100 Stat. 2095, provided that: “The

Amendments

made by paragraphs (1) and (2) [amending this section and section 7428 of this title] shall take effect as if included in section 7476 or 7428 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 [formerly I.R.C. 1954] (as the case may be) at the respective times such sections were added to such Code.”

Effective Date

of 1976 AmendmentAmendment by section 1042(d)(2)(C) of Pub. L. 94–455 applicable to pleadings filed with the Tax Court after Oct. 4, 1976, but only with respect to transfers beginning after Oct. 9, 1975, see section 1042(e)(1) of Pub. L. 94–455, set out as a note under section 367 of this title. Amendment by section 1306(b)(3) of Pub. L. 94–455 applicable with respect to pleadings filed with the United States Tax Court, the district court of the United States for the District of Columbia, or the United States Court of Claims more than 6 months after Oct. 4, 1976 but only with respect to determinations (or requests for determinations) made after Jan. 1, 1976, see section 1306(c) of Pub. L. 94–455, set out as an

Effective Date

note under section 7428 of this title. Amendment by section 1906(a)(48), (b)(13)(A) of Pub. L. 94–455 effective on first day of first month which begins more than 90 days after Oct. 4, 1976, see section 1906(d)(1) of Pub. L. 94–455, set out as a note under section 6013 of this title.

Effective Date

Pub. L. 93–406, title X, § 1041(d), Sept. 2, 1974, 88 Stat. 951, provided that: “The

Amendments

made by this section [enacting this section and amending section 7451, 7459, and 7482 of this title] shall apply to pleadings filed more than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act [Sept. 2, 1974].”

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

26 U.S.C. § 7476

Title 26 — Internal Revenue Code

Last Updated

Apr 5, 2026

Release point: 119-73not60