Instructions for Form 8950
Agency decision
Ask Donna
What actually matters in this document.
Text
Instructions for Form 8950
Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service
(Rev. January 2022)
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.
Future developments. For the latest
information about developments related to
Form 8950 and its instructions, such as
legislation enacted after they were
published, go to IRS.gov/Form8950.
What's New
Rev. Proc. 2021-30, 2021-31 I.R.B. 172,
updates and replaces Rev. Proc. 2019-19,
2019-19 I.R.B. 1086. Modifications have
been made to improve the Employee
Plans Compliance Resolution System
(EPCRS) by making changes to:
• Accommodate revisions to the IRS's
Voluntary Correction Program (VCP), and
• Update various references and add
other miscellaneous changes.
Confidentiality and
Disclosure
The Voluntary Correction Program (VCP)
submission, including Form 8950, isn’t
open to public inspection or disclosure.
The use of the VCP relates directly to
the enforcement of the IRC qualification
requirements. The information received or
generated by the IRS under the VCP is
subject to the confidentiality requirements
of section 6103 and isn’t a written
determination within the meaning of
section 6110. See Rev. Proc. 2021-30,
section 6.12.
Disclosure Request by
Taxpayer
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 8821, Tax Information
Authorization, for this purpose.
General Instructions
Purpose of Form
Form 8950 must be filed using Pay.gov 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
Sep 27, 2021
requirements of the IRC. The VCP is part
of the Employee Plans Compliance
Resolution System (EPCRS), currently set
forth in Rev. Proc. 2021-30, which is
available at IRS.gov/Retirement-Plans/
Correcting-Plan-Errors.
A VCP submission includes Form 8950
and all of the other required items stated in
Rev. Proc. 2021-30, section 11.
Beginning January 1, 2022,
representatives can use this form to
request a written pre-submission
conference with the IRS regarding a
potential VCP submission.
Types of Retirement Plans
Eligible for Corrections
The 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. 2021-30, section
4.09, for details and limitations.
Eligibility Requirements
for the Use of VCP
The 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. The VCP is also
available for plan loans that didn’t comply
with the requirements of section 72(p)(2).
See Rev. Proc. 2021-30, sections 4.01,
5.01, 5.02, 6.07, 6.10, and 6.11 for
additional details. The VCP is also
available to terminated plans regardless of
whether all plan assets have been
distributed.
Correction under the VCP isn’t
available if the plan or plan sponsor is
under examination. The Form 8950 and
the VCP submission must be submitted to
the IRS prior to the time the plan or plan
sponsor is under examination, as
defined in Rev. Proc. 2021-30, section
5.08. For purposes of the VCP, a plan or
plan sponsor will be considered to be
Cat. No. 57357G
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. 2021-30, section 5.08.
The VCP isn’t available to correct
failures relating to the diversion or misuse
of plan assets. The VCP may not be
available if the plan sponsor has engaged
in an abusive tax avoidance transaction.
See Rev. Proc. 2021-30, sections 4.11
and 4.12. In a particular case, the IRS may
decline to make the VCP available in the
interest of sound tax administration. See
Rev. Proc. 2021-30, section 4.01(5).
Who May File
Form 8950 and the accompanying VCP
submission may be filed only 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 the 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.
2021-30, section 10.11, if the applicable
conditions for group submissions have
been met. See Group Submissions, later.
• Anonymous submissions are not
permitted. However, prior to making a
VCP submission, an authorized
representative may request a
pre-submission conference with the IRS to
discuss a potential VCP submission.
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, Power of
Attorney and Declaration of
Representative, with identifying
information as part of a subsequent VCP
submitted to the IRS. See Anonymous
Submissions, later.
• For orphan plans, an authorized eligible
party. See Orphan Plans, later.
• Representatives of plan sponsors. See
Plan Sponsor Authorization below.
Plan Sponsor Authorization
Applicants may authorize their legal
representative to sign and file the VCP
submission or to request a pre-submission
conference on their behalf using Pay.gov.
If this will apply, be sure the following
documents are included with the VCP
submission.
Declaration. A signed and dated
declaration by the plan sponsor that
provides “Under penalties of perjury, I
declare that I have examined this
submission, including accompanying
documents, and, to the best of my
knowledge and belief, the facts presented
in support of this submission are true,
correct, and complete.” This statement
can't be signed by the plan sponsor's
representative.
Authorization. For VCP submissions, a
properly completed Form 2848 that
provides specific authorization to an
individual to take this action. To grant this
authorization, complete Form 2848, lines
3 and 5, in the following way.
• Line 3 — For Description of Matter,
enter “Voluntary Correction Program
submission per Rev. Proc. 2021-30”. For
Tax Form Number, enter “8950”. Leave
Year(s) or Period(s) blank.
• Line 5a — Check the box for Other acts
authorized and enter “The signing and
filing of the Form 8950 and accompanying
documents as part of a VCP submission”.
This option isn’t available to any
individual listed on a Form 8821.
Orphan Plans
For the 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) can’t be located, or (c) is
unable to maintain the plan. However, a
retirement plan subject to Title I of the
Employee Retirement Income Security Act
of 1974 (ERISA) isn’t an orphan plan if it is
terminated according to the Department of
Labor (DOL) Regulations section 2578.1
governing the termination of abandoned
individual account plans.
An eligible party for an orphan plan is
defined as one of the following.
• A court-appointed representative with
specific authority to terminate the plan and
dispose of the plan’s assets;
• In the case of an orphan plan under
investigation by the DOL, a person or
entity determined by the DOL to have
accepted responsibility for terminating the
plan and distributing the plan's assets; or
• In the case of a qualified plan to which
Title I of ERISA has never applied, a
surviving spouse who is the sole
beneficiary of a plan that provided benefits
to a participant who was (i) the sole owner
of the business that sponsored the plan
and (ii) the only participant in the plan.
The applicant must include a written
letter indicating that the submission
concerns an orphan plan, and must
provide documentation that establishes
that the applicant is an eligible party. See
Rev. Proc. 2021-30, sections 5.03 and
11.04(14).
Anonymous Submissions
As of January 1, 2022, the IRS no longer
permits VCP submissions to be made on
an anonymous basis. See Rev. Proc.
2021-30, sections 1.03, 2.03(6), and
10.10.
Pre-submission Conferences
As of January 1, 2022, an authorized
representative may use Form 8950 to
make a written request for a
pre-submission conference to discuss, on
an anonymous basis, a possible VCP
submission. See Rev. Proc. 2021-30,
sections 1.03, 2.03(6), and 10.01.
A pre-submission conference request
may only be made under the following
circumstances.
• Matters on which a compliance
statement may be issued under Rev. Proc.
2021-30.
• With respect to requested correction
methods not described as safe harbor
correction methods in Appendix A or B of
Rev. Proc. 2021-30.
• The plan sponsor is eligible and intends
to submit an application under VCP.
VCP pre-submission conferences are
held only at the discretion of the IRS, and
as time permits.
• At the conference, the IRS will provide
oral feedback regarding the failure(s) and
proposed correction method(s) described
in the request.
• Also, at the conference, any discussion
is advisory only, is not binding on the IRS,
and cannot be relied upon as a basis for
obtaining relief under EPCRS or any
federal tax law.
• After the conference, the IRS will
provide a written confirmation that the
conference took place, and the matter will
be closed.
If the plan sponsor subsequently files a
VCP submission regarding the issues
discussed, the plan sponsor must follow
-2-
the procedures set forth in Rev. Proc.
2021-30, sections 10 and 11 (which
require submission of a new Form 8950
and payment of an applicable user fee).
Group Submissions
For failures affecting a large number of
individual plans, an eligible organization
may make a group submission. The
failures in the submission must result from
a systemic error involving the eligible
organization that affects at least 20 plans
and that results in at least 20 plans
implementing correction.
An eligible organization is defined as
follows.
• A sponsor, as defined in Rev. Proc.
2015-36, 2015-27 I.R.B. 20, section 4.07;
• A volume submitter practitioner (VS
Practitioner), as defined in Rev. Proc.
2015-36, section 13.05;
• A provider or mass submitter, as
defined in Rev. Proc. 2017-41, 2017-29
I.R.B. 92, sections 4.04 and 4.08;
• An insurance company or other entity
that has issued annuity contracts or
provides services relating to assets for
403(b) plans; or
• An entity that provides its clients with
administrative services relating to qualified
plans, 403(b) plans, SEPs, SARSEPs, or
SIMPLE IRAs.
For special rules and procedures that
are applicable to group submissions, see
Rev. Proc. 2021-30, section 10.11 and the
annual Employee Plans revenue
procedure.
How To File
Form 8950 and related VCP submission
documents must be filed electronically
only by going to IRS.gov/Form8950 or
Pay.gov (enter the term “Form 8950” in the
search box). Paper copies of this form and
related VCP submission documents won’t
be accepted. Before completing Form
8950, be sure you have:
• Established a Pay.gov account.
• Created a PDF file that contains all VCP
submission attachments and the required
documents specified in these instructions
and in section 11 of Rev. Proc. 2021-30.
See What To File, later, for additional
details.
User Fee
A user fee is required to process your VCP
submission. This fee must be paid through
Pay.gov when you file your application.
For current user fees, go to Appendix A of
Rev. Proc. 2022-4 (or its annual
successor) or go to IRS.gov/
VoluntaryCorrectionProgram(VCP)Fees.
You can also call 877-829-5500. At the
end of the Pay.gov application process,
you will receive a payment confirmation
receipt from Pay.gov. The Pay.gov
Tracking ID Number on the receipt is used
Instructions for Form 8950 (Rev. January 2022)
by the IRS to track your VCP submission
and will be the control number used to
refer to the VCP submission.
How To Complete the
Application
An appropriate response must be entered
for each line (unless instructed otherwise).
In completing Form 8950, pay careful
attention to the following.
• N/A (not applicable) is accepted as a
response only if an N/A block is provided;
• If a number is requested, enter the
appropriate number;
• If a line provides a choice of boxes to
check, check only one box unless
instructed otherwise; and
• If a line provides a box to check, written
responses and attachments aren’t
acceptable unless instructed otherwise.
What To File
Applicants will go to Pay.gov to complete
Form 8950, attach a PDF file that includes
all other required VCP submission
documents, and pay the applicable user
fee. The PDF file that will be attached to
Form 8950 should include the following
items.
All failures and correction methodology
descriptions, information, documents,
sample computations (if applicable),
attachments, and representations required
by Rev. Proc. 2021-30, section 11.04. In
order to assist VCP applicants, the IRS
encourages the use of Form 14568, Model
VCP Compliance Statement, including its
supporting schedules reflected on Forms
14568-A through 14568-I, available in
electronic format at IRS.gov/RetirementPlans/Correcting-Plan-Errors. The
documents in this PDF file should be
presented in the order specified in Rev.
Proc. 2021-30, section 11.11.
Attachments and written explanations
that are included with the submission
should include the full name of the plan,
employer identification number (EIN), and
plan number. For assistance in
determining what documents and
attachments are needed, refer to the
EPCRS revenue procedure and the
correcting plan errors webpage on
IRS.gov.
The size of the PDF file that includes all
VCP submission documents can't exceed
15MB. If your PDF file exceeds this limit,
remove documents or portions of
documents so that the PDF file doesn’t
exceed 15MB.
The documents that can’t be included
in the PDF file due to the 15MB file size
limitation may be faxed directly to the IRS
at 855-203-6996. They should be faxed to
the IRS shortly after the Form 8950 and
attached PDF file were successfully filed
and the Pay.gov payment confirmation
has been generated. The applicant must
include the Pay.gov Tracking ID Number,
EIN, applicant name, and plan name on
the fax coversheet.
Who Must Sign
Form 8950 must be electronically signed
and submitted by:
• The employer (including a sole
proprietor or partnership) maintaining a
single-employer plan;
• The plan administrator of a
multiple-employer plan or a multiemployer
plan;
• The eligible organization filing a group
submission; or
• The eligible person who is filing a VCP
submission on behalf of an orphan plan.
For corporations, partnerships, and
organizations, the application must be
electronically signed by an officer or
partner with legal authority to bind the plan
sponsor.
For pre-submission conference
requests, the applicant’s representative
will electronically submit and sign the
application. See Pre-submission
Conferences, earlier.
If specifically authorized, and at the
option of the VCP applicant, Form 8950
can be electronically signed and
submitted by its legal representative if
certain conditions are met. See Plan
Sponsor Authorization, and Rev. Proc.
2021-30, section 11.08.
Specific Instructions
To Complete Form
8950
Lines 1a–1l. Enter the name, address,
telephone number, and fax number of the
plan sponsor. This applies even if the VCP
submission is being filed by the plan
sponsor’s representative. The name of the
plan sponsor is limited to 120 characters,
including spaces. The information entered
should be the same information used on
the applicable filed Form 5500, Annual
Return/Report of Employee Benefit Plan;
Form 5500-EZ, Annual Return of A
One-Participant (Owners/Partners and
Their Spouses) Retirement Plan or A
Foreign Plan; or Form 5500-SF, Short
Form Annual Return/Report of Small
Employee Benefit Plan.
The plan sponsor is:
1. For a plan maintained by a single
employer, the employer;
2. For a plan maintained by two or
more unrelated employers (a
multiple-employer plan or multiemployer
plan), enter the name of the plan
administrator as if the plan administrator
were the plan sponsor (see Regulations
section 1.414(g)-1). Lines 1b–1k should
Instructions for Form 8950 (Rev. January 2022)
-3-
be completed as if the plan administrator
were the plan sponsor;
3. For a plan sponsored by two or
more entities required to be combined
under sections 414(b), (c), or (m), one of
the members participating in the plan;
4. For a plan that covers the
employees and/or partners of a
partnership, the partnership;
5. For an orphan plan, the name of the
eligible party. Include a court order or
other evidence documenting that the VCP
applicant is an eligible party. See Rev.
Proc. 2021-30, section 11.04(14);
6. For pre-submission conference
requests, list the specific name of the plan
sponsor’s authorized representative as
well as the unique identifying number the
representative has assigned to the
specific request. Enter this information on
line 1a. The identifying number shouldn’t
be used for any other pre-submission
conference request. Lines 1b–1l should be
completed as if the representative were
the plan sponsor. Enter 111111 as the
NAICS business code in line 1l; and
7. For a group submission, enter the
name of the eligible organization. Enter
this information on line 1a. Lines 1b–1l
should be completed as if the eligible
organization were the plan sponsor.
Address. Enter the address of the plan
sponsor. If applicable, include the suite,
room, or other unit number after the street
address. If the Post Office doesn’t deliver
mail to that address, show the box number
instead of the street address. For
pre-submission conference requests,
enter the representative’s address.
Foreign address. If the plan sponsor has
a foreign address, complete lines 1f, 1g,
and 1h. Don’t abbreviate the country
name. Follow the country's practice for
entering the postal code and the name of
the province, county, or state.
Line 1i. Enter the nine-digit EIN assigned
to the applicant. For those applicants
required to file a Form 5500 series return,
the EIN should be the same EIN that is
used when the Form 5500 series return is
filed.
If this is a pre-submission conference
request, enter the EIN of the authorized
representative's employer.
Don’t use a social security number or
trust EIN.
An applicant must have an EIN. If you
don’t have an EIN, you may apply for one
online. Go to the IRS website at IRS.gov/
Businesses/Small and click on the
Employer ID Numbers (EINs) link.
Alternatively, an applicant can apply for an
EIN by mailing or faxing a completed Form
SS-4, Application for Employer
Identification Number, to the IRS.
Line 1l. Enter the six-digit applicable
code that best describes the nature of the
plan sponsor's business. This number can
be copied from the most recently filed
Form 5500 series return for the plan. If no
Form 5500 has been filed, click on the “?”
and you will be taken to a listing of these
codes.
Line 2a. If a Form 2848 is included with
your submission, you may leave this
section blank and check the box. If you
want the IRS to mail copies of
correspondence to any other individual
(including a different employee of the plan
sponsor listed on line 1), include a
completed Form 8821 with your
submission and complete this section.
The individual listed on a Form 8821 isn’t
a representative, and therefore isn’t
permitted to submit information or
otherwise contact the IRS if questions or
issues arise during the processing of a
VCP submission. You may leave this
section blank if a Form 8821 isn’t enclosed
with your submission.
Line 3. Choose a submission type that
best describes the type of submission that
is being submitted to the IRS. Most
submissions will be regular VCP
submissions. VCP group submissions,
pre-submission conference requests, or
non-VCP submissions involving 457(b)
plans should be identified by clicking on
the appropriate type.
Line 4a. Enter the full name of the plan,
as shown on Form 5500 or other
documents. For example, you can enter
the XYZ Company Profit-Sharing Plan. If
this is a request for a pre-submission
conference, enter “Pre-submission
Conference Plan”. Include the unique
identifying number from line 1 as part of
the plan name.
Line 4b. Enter the plan’s three-digit plan
number. Typically, three-digit plan
numbers begin with “001” and continue in
numerical order for each plan that has
been adopted by the plan sponsor. The
number you assign to a plan must not be
changed or used for any other plan. For
those plan sponsors required to file a
Form 5500 series return, the plan number
entered on Form 8950 should be the same
as the plan number that was or will be
used when the Form 5500 series return is
filed. If your plan is a SEP, SARSEP, or
SIMPLE IRA, and there are no other plans,
enter “990”.
For pre-submission conferences, enter
“401” for the first pre-submission request
made by the authorized representative
using Form 8950. For subsequent
requests made by the authorized
representative’s firm, the plan number to
be entered on each Form 8950 will be the
next number following 401 (for example,
402, 403, 404, etc.) resulting in unique
plan numbers for each subsequent
pre-submission request. The plan number
assigned to a specific request must not be
changed or used for any other
pre-submission request made by the
authorized representative’s firm.
For group submissions, enter “901” for
the first group submission made to the
IRS. For subsequent group submissions
made by the eligible organization, the plan
number to be entered on each Form 8950
will be the next number following 901 (for
example, 902, 903, 904, etc.) resulting in
unique plan numbers for each subsequent
group submission. The plan number
assigned to a specific group submission
must not be changed or used for any other
group submission made by the eligible
organization.
Line 4c. Enter the total dollar value of the
retirement plan’s assets. For Form 5500
series filers, this information comes from
the most recently filed return for the plan
determined as of the date the Form 8950
is submitted to the IRS. For plans that are
exempt from filing a Form 5500 series
return, enter the total dollar value of the
retirement plan assets determined as of
the last day of the most recently
completed plan year. However, if this
information isn’t available at the time the
VCP submission is made to the IRS, it is
acceptable to use the most recently ended
prior plan year for which information on the
amount of plan assets is available. The
exception doesn’t apply if the VCP
submission is made to the IRS more than
7 months after the close of the most
recently ended plan year preceding the
date of the VCP submission. Look to
Appendix A of Rev. Proc. 2022-4 (or its
annual successor) for additional details.
Plans that have terminated and filed a
final Form 5500 series return should enter
the amount of plan assets reported on the
return filed for the year prior to the year all
assets were distributed.
For pre-submission conference
requests, enter “1.00”.
This requirement applies to SEP or
SIMPLE IRA plans. The applicant must
make a good faith estimate of the value of
all IRA accounts currently associated with
the SEP or SIMPLE IRA plan.
For a group submission, the eligible
organization must provide a good faith
estimate of the value of the retirement plan
assets that are associated with the
individual retirement plans that are (or are
expected to be) part of the group
submission.
Line 4d. Enter the total number of plan
participants. For Form 5500 series filers,
this information is on the most recently
filed return for the plan determined as of
the date the VCP submission is made to
the IRS through Pay.gov.
-4-
For applicants that are exempt from
filing a Form 5500 series return, enter the
number of plan participants determined as
of the last day of the most recently ended
plan year. However, if this information isn’t
available at the time the VCP submission
is made to the IRS, it is acceptable to use
the most recently ended prior plan year for
which information on the number of plan
participants is available. The exception
doesn’t apply if the VCP submission is
made to the IRS more than 7 months after
the close of the most recently ended plan
year preceding the date of the VCP
submission.
Plans that have terminated and filed a
final Form 5500 series return should enter
the number of participants on the return
filed for the year prior to the year all assets
were distributed.
For group submissions, the eligible
organization must provide a good faith
estimate of the number of plan participants
associated with the individual retirement
plans that are part of the group
submission.
This requirement applies to SEP and
SIMPLE IRA plans.
For pre-submission conference
requests, enter “1”.
Line 5. Review all possible choices
before selecting an answer. Enter the type
of plan that is the subject of this VCP
submission by selecting the appropriate
number from the choices associated with
this line.
For this purpose, governmental section
414(d) plans are section 401(a) plans
sponsored by a governmental entity, as
defined in section 414(d).
For this purpose, there are only two
choices viable for VCP group
submissions.
If your plan type isn’t listed among the
various available choices, enter “99” and
attach a detailed description of your plan.
It is expected that plan type 99 would be
used in very rare circumstances.
Line 6a. VCP submissions made by an
eligible party that involve terminating
orphan plans may answer “Yes” to this
question if they wish to request a waiver of
the VCP user fee. Attach an explanation
that justifies the waiver request and
evidence that the applicant is an eligible
party. See Rev. Proc. 2021-30, sections
4.08 and 11.04(14). All other applicants
will answer “No” to this question. (See
Orphan Plans, earlier.)
Line 6b. If you check “Yes,” be sure to
enter the applicable control/Pay.gov
tracking number that was assigned to the
closed pre-submission conference
request.
Line 6c. The user fee owed for this
application will be calculated automatically
Instructions for Form 8950 (Rev. January 2022)
based upon the type of submission or
amount of plan assets entered on line 4c.
See User Fee, earlier, for additional
information on user fees for VCP
submissions.
Line 7. If you check “Yes,” be sure to
include a copy of the corrective plan
amendment(s) with your submission.
Don’t include a determination letter
application with your VCP submission.
See Rev. Proc. 2016-37 and Rev. Proc.
2022-4 (or its annual successor) for
information as to when determination
applications may be submitted to the IRS.
With regard to 403(b) plans, the
amendment can’t be effective prior to
January 1, 2009, or the effective date of
the plan, if later.
Line 8. If you check “Yes,” attach a
written explanation that provides details of
the transaction(s). See Rev. Proc.
2021-30, section 4.12. Include the
applicant’s name, plan number, and EIN at
the top of the attachment.
Line 10. See Eligibility Requirements for
the Use of VCP, earlier, and Rev. Proc.
2021-30, section 4.02.
Line 11. Check “Yes,” if:
• A past determination letter application
was withdrawn by the plan sponsor, or
• A past determination letter application
was closed as incomplete due to a failure
to respond to a question and the VCP
submission includes qualification failures
that were identified during the application
process or would’ve been discovered by
the IRS had the application not been
withdrawn or closed as incomplete.
If line 11 was checked “Yes,” attach an
explanation. Include the applicant's name,
plan number, and EIN at the top of the
attachment.
Consider the following example. Plan
Sponsor X submits a determination letter
application to the IRS. During the review
process, additional information is solicited
in order to determine whether the plan had
been timely amended for past tax law
changes. The determination letter
application is withdrawn by Plan Sponsor
X. Two months later, Plan Sponsor X
submits a VCP submission to the IRS
indicating the plan document wasn’t timely
updated for various specified tax law
changes. When completing Form 8950,
Plan Sponsor X should answer “Yes” to
question 11 and include a written
attachment that explains why the
determination letter application was
withdrawn.
Sign the Form
See Who Must Sign, earlier, for additional
information on who must the sign Form
8950. To sign the form, check the box next
to the penalty of perjury statement, and
enter your name and title in the applicable
boxes. This information will automatically
show up in the SIGN HERE box. We
recommend you preview and print a copy
of your completed Form 8950 for your
records before submitting it electronically.
Click on Continue.
Attach Required PDF File
to Your VCP Application
Form
Click on Browse and on your computer
locate the PDF file that contains all VCP
submission attachments and the required
documents specified in these instructions
and in section 11 of Rev. Proc. 2021-30.
Then, click on Attach. The PDF file should
appear. The PDF file can't exceed 15MB
in terms of its size. See What To File,
earlier, for additional details. Then, click
on Next.
Pay the User Fee
Enter the necessary information to pay the
applicable user fee for the VCP
submission. During the review and
submission process on Pay.gov, you will
get a Pay.gov confirmation of the paid
user fee by email. You can also have
Pay.gov send copies of this confirmation
email to other parties if you supply the
necessary email addresses.
Retain Pay.gov Payment
Confirmation Receipt
If you successfully submitted a user fee
payment, Pay.gov will generate a payment
confirmation receipt for the VCP
application after the VCP submission has
been filed. Print a copy of this confirmation
for your records. The IRS will use the
Pay.gov Tracking ID Number on the
receipt as the control number to identify
this VCP submission. Use this number to
identify your VCP submission if you need
to contact the IRS. The payment
confirmation receipt is considered an
acknowledgement that a VCP submission
has been made to the IRS. If a Pay.gov
confirmation receipt isn’t generated, then
no VCP application has been submitted to
the IRS. For those submissions involving
terminated orphan plans or 457(b) plans,
no receipt will be generated as no upfront
fee is required. However, Pay.gov will
indicate that the submission was made
successfully and provide a Pay.gov
Tracking ID Number.
If you had VCP submission documents
that couldn’t be included in the submitted
PDF file due to the 15MB file size
limitation, fax them to the IRS at
855-203-6996. Include the EIN, Applicant
Name, Plan Name, and the Pay.gov
Tracking ID Number (for example, this is
the IRS Control Number) on the fax
coversheet. This fax number is used only
to submit documents that couldn’t be
Instructions for Form 8950 (Rev. January 2022)
-5-
included in the PDF due to the 15MB file
size limitation.
Status Inquiries
If you successfully made a VCP
submission to the IRS, you may call
626-927-2011 (not a toll-free number) to
inquire about the status of your case if you
haven’t been contacted by the IRS within
6 months from the submission date. If you
need to revise or supplement the VCP
submission, don’t submit a new Pay.gov
Form 8950 application. Call the status line
and the IRS will discuss with you the best
way to submit the new or revised
information.
Special Rules for
Pre-submission
Conference Requests
Such requests are to be made
anonymously by the individual who
represents the potential VCP applicant,
and who will submit a completed Form
2848 when the actual VCP submission is
later made to the IRS.
The PDF attachment for a
pre-submission conference request
should include:
• A written explanation of the qualification
failure(s) in detail, including how and why
it occurred, the number of people
impacted, and the periods of time it
occurred.
• A detailed narrative that contains a
proposed solution of the failure(s) and
explains how the proposed solution is
consistent with the correction principles of
EPCRS.
• A written explanation of the method
used to compute earnings, if applicable.
• A copy of plan provisions and
amendments that are relevant to the
request.
• Any other information you believe the
IRS needs to evaluate the request.
Not every item required for the PDF
attachment for a typical VCP submission
needs to be submitted with a
pre-submission conference request.
Additional User Fee
Payments
You may determine that the proper user
fee wasn’t paid due to an error in
completing Form 8950. Alternatively, the
IRS's office of Employee Plans Voluntary
Compliance may contact you regarding
additional fees that may be owed on a
previously submitted VCP case. In either
case, don't file a new Form 8950. Instead,
go to Pay.gov and submit the additional
user fee by using Form 8951, Additional
User Fee Payment for Open Application
for Voluntary Correction Program (VCP),
under EPCRS. Previous versions of Form
8951 that exist outside of Pay.gov can't be
used. All user fee payments must be
made through Pay.gov.
Privacy Act and Paperwork Reduction
Act Notice. We ask for the information on
this form to carry out the Internal Revenue
laws of the United States. Sections 72,
401, 403, 408, 409, 457, 4972, 4973,
4974, and 4979 and their regulations
authorize us to ask for this information.
You aren’t required to apply for this
correction program; however, if you do,
you are required to give us the information
requested on this form. We need it to
determine whether your correction
proposals meet the legal requirements
applicable to your retirement plan. Section
6109 and its regulations require you to
provide your identifying number. Failure to
provide the information requested on this
form could delay or prevent processing of
your application; providing fraudulent
information could subject you to penalties.
You aren’t required to provide the
information requested on a form that is
subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act
unless the form displays a valid OMB
control number. Books or records relating
to a form or its instructions must be
retained as long as their contents may
become material in the administration of
any Internal Revenue law. Generally, tax
returns and return information are
confidential, as required by section 6103.
However, we may give the information to
the Department of Justice for civil and
criminal litigation, and to other federal
agencies, as provided by law. We may
give it to cities, states, the District of
Columbia, and U.S. commonwealths or
possessions to administer their tax laws.
We may also disclose this information to
other countries under a tax treaty, to
federal and state agencies to enforce
nontax criminal laws, and to federal law
enforcement and intelligence agencies to
combat terrorism.
circumstances. The estimated average
time is:
The time needed to complete and file
this form will vary depending on individual
Don’t send Form 8950 to this address.
Instead, see How To File, earlier.
-6-
Recordkeeping . . . . . . . .
Learning about the law or
the form . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5 hr., 15 min.
Preparing the form . . . . .
2 hr., 21 min.
2 hr., 10 min.
If you have comments concerning the
accuracy of these time estimates or
suggestions for making this form simpler,
we would be happy to hear from you. You
can send us comments from IRS.gov/
FormComments. Or you can write to:
Internal Revenue Service
Tax Forms and Publications Division
1111 Constitution Ave. NW, IR-6526
Washington, DC 20224
Instructions for Form 8950 (Rev. January 2022)
This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.