§7528 Internal Revenue Service User Fees

Summary

The IRS must create a program that charges people user fees when they ask for ruling letters, opinion letters, determination letters, or similar written guidance. Fees must differ by category, be set based on the usual time and difficulty for each category, and be paid up front. The IRS can allow exemptions or lower fees when it thinks that is appropriate. No fee can be required for requests about whether a pension benefit plan (examples: pension, profit-sharing, stock bonus, annuity, or employee stock ownership plans) or its trust is qualified, if the plan is maintained only by one or more eligible employers. An eligible employer is one defined in the tax code who has at least one employee who is not a highly compensated employee and who is participating in the plan; eligibility is figured on the date of the request. That pension exemption does not apply if the request is made after the later of the plan’s fifth plan year or the end of any remedial amendment period that began in the first five plan years, or if the request is from a sponsor of a prototype plan meant to be marketed. Requests covered by that pension exemption are not counted when figuring average fees. The program’s average fees must be at least: Employee plan ruling/opinion $250, Exempt organization ruling $350, Employee plan determination $300, Exempt organization determination $275, Chief counsel ruling $200. Certification of a professional employer organization may have an annual fee up to $1,000.