Form 8951 is filed electronically only on Pay.gov.

Form 8951 is filed electronically only on Pay.gov.

Go to www.irs.gov/form8951 for additional filing information.

Form

8951

User Fee for Application for Voluntary

Correction Program (VCP)

For IRS Use Only

Under the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS)

(Rev. September 2016)

Department of the Treasury

Internal Revenue Service

OMB No. 1545-1673

▶ Information about Form 8951 and its instructions is at www.irs.gov/form8951.

Amount paid

$

▶ Attach to Form 8950.

1 Name of plan sponsor (employer if single-employer plan)

2 Plan sponsor’s employer identification number

3 Plan number

4 Plan name

5 Number of plan participants. See instructions to determine this number.

6 If you are submitting a check for an additional VCP user fee that has been requested by an IRS employee in Voluntary

Compliance, check this box

and the VCP case number

and provide the check amount $

.

7 For qualified retirement plans under sections 401(a) and 403(b) that do not qualify for a reduced or alternative user fee, as

described below on line 8. Enter the general user fee amount $

based on the number of plan participants.

Do not complete line 7 if you qualify for a reduced or alternative fee as described below on line 8.

Check box, if applicable and

enter enclosed fee.

8 Reduced and alternative user fees for VCP submissions

(a) Plan is a section 401(a) or 403(b) plan that qualifies for a reduced fee associated with

specific failures and under certain conditions. See instructions.

Enter fee amount $

(b) VCP submission relates to a request for a minor modification of a previously issued

compliance statement. See instructions.

Enter fee amount $

(c) Plan is a SEP, SARSEP, or SIMPLE IRA. See instructions.

Enter fee amount $

(d) Group submission from an eligible organization. See instructions.

Enter fee amount $

(e) Terminating orphan plan. A terminating orphan plan may be granted a waiver of the fee

upon request. See instructions.

No fee is due at this time.

(f) Plan is a section 457(b) plan. See instructions.

No payment is due at the

time of filing.

For Paperwork Reduction Act Notice, see instructions.

Cat. No. 37771W

Form 8951 (Rev. 9-2016)

Page 2

Form 8951 (Rev. 9-2016)

Section references are to the Internal

Revenue Code unless otherwise noted.

Future Developments

For the latest information about

developments related to Form 8951 and

its instructions, such as legislation

enacted after they were published, go to

www.irs.gov/form8951.

What's New

The IRS has classified fees associated with

the Voluntary Correction Program (VCP) as

user fees subject to section 7528. For

2016, user fees for VCP submissions are

set forth in Rev. Proc. 2016-8, section 6.08.

User fees for VCP submissions are

currently published as part of the annual

revenue procedure for the user fee

program of the IRS 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.

Beginning in 2017 and each year

thereafter, the user fees for VCP

submissions will be published as part of an

annual Employee Plans revenue procedure.

Taxpayers should refer to the revenue

procedure in effect at the time they file their

submission with the IRS to determine the

VCP user fee.

The IRS no longer lists specific user fee

amounts on this form. Applicants will enter

the applicable fee amount when

completing the form. For the current user

fees, go to the applicable annual revenue

procedure or IRS.gov at www.irs.gov/

retirement-plans/voluntary-correctionprogram-fees.

General Instructions

Attach a check to Form 8951 payable

to the “United States Treasury” for the full

amount of the fee. If you do not

include the full amount of the fee, your

submission may be returned or closed with

no action. In addition, include a photocopy

of the check with your VCP submission.

If you have multiple plans (for example, a

profit-sharing and a money purchase

plan), submit a separate VCP

submission (including a separate Form

8951) for each plan. Submit a separate

check, including a photocopy of the

check, for each VCP submission.

Your check may be converted to an

electronic fund transfer. An electronic fund

transfer is the process by which the IRS

electronically instructs your financial

institution to transfer funds from your

account to the Treasury's account,

rather than processing your check. By

sending your completed, signed check

to the IRS, you authorize the IRS to copy

your check and to use the account

information from your check to make an

electronic fund transfer from your account

for the same amount as the check. If the

electronic fund transfer cannot be

processed for technical reasons, you

authorize the IRS to process the copy of

your check. The electronic fund transfer

from your account will usually occur within

24 hours, which is faster than a check is

normally processed, so it is important

that you have sufficient funds available in

your checking account when you send the

IRS your check. Your financial institution

will not return your cancelled check to you.

Information about correcting plan errors

and examples of how to determine the user

fee is available at www.irs.gov/retirementplans/correcting-plan-errors.

Purpose of Form

Specific Instructions

Generally, a user fee is required with

each VCP submission. Use Form 8951 to

submit the applicable fee for the VCP

submission.

Lines 1–5

Where To File

Include Form 8951 and the applicable fee

with your VCP submission.

Send the documents to:

Internal Revenue Service

P.O. Box 12192

Covington, KY 41012-0192

VCP submissions 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

Payment of User Fee

Generally, you must include a user fee

payment with any VCP submission mailed

to the IRS. If your submission is for a

terminating orphan plan or a section 457(b)

plan, no fee or payment is due at the time

of filing. See the instructions for line 8(e)

and line 8(f) for additional information.

Lines 1 through 5 should correspond to the

information you entered for line 1a, 1i, 4b,

4a, and 4e, respectively, on the related

Form 8950, Application for Voluntary

Correction Program (VCP) under the

Employee Plans Compliance Resolution

System (EPCRS).

Submission of Additional Fees

Line 6

The IRS's office of Employee Plans

Voluntary Compliance may contact you

regarding additional fees that may be due

for a previously submitted VCP case. If you

are instructed to submit an additional fee,

file Form 8951 along with a check for the

additional user fee, a copy of the check

and an appropriate cover letter. Complete

lines 1–5. It is important to complete line 6

by checking the box and entering the

amount of the additional fee you are

submitting plus the nine-digit VCP case

number that has been assigned to your

VCP submission. No other items on the

Form 8951 need to be completed. Once a

VCP submission has been mailed to the

IRS, an applicant should not mail any

checks to the IRS for any fee matters

unless the applicant has received specific

instructions from the IRS.

User Fee for VCP Submissions

Line 7

For qualified retirement plans established

under section 401(a) or 403(b), enter the

amount of the applicable general user fee

you are including with your VCP

submission. The general user fee amounts

for these types of retirement plans are

based upon the number of plan

participants. Follow the Determining the

Proper User Fee section in these

instructions, later. Do not complete this

item if you qualify for a reduced or

alternative VCP fee listed on line 8. For the

current user fees, go to the applicable

annual revenue procedure on IRS.gov at

www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/voluntarycorrection-program-fees.

Lines 8(a)–(f)

Check the appropriate box and if

applicable, enter the user fee for VCP

submissions involving reduced or

alternative fees for certain section 401(a)

and section 403(b) plans, SEP, SARSEP, or

SIMPLE IRA retirement plans; group

submissions; terminating orphan plans;

457(b) plans and minor modifications of a

previously issued compliance statement.

For the current user fees, go to the

applicable annual revenue procedure on

IRS.gov at www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/

voluntary-correction-program-fees.

• Line 8(a). For section 401(a) and section

403(b) plans, a reduced user fee may be

available under limited circumstances.

• Line 8(b). The VCP submission is limited

to a request for a minor modification of a

previously issued compliance statement

and the request is mailed to the IRS before

the end of the correction period provided

for in the compliance statement.

• Line 8(c). There is a special user fee for a

SEP, SARSEP, or a SIMPLE IRA VCP

submission.

• Line 8(d). If the VCP submission is a

group submission from an eligible

organization for section 401(a) and section

403(b) plans, the user fee is based on the

number of plans affected by the failure

described in the VCP submission. An initial

user fee payment must be included with

the submission and must be attached to

Form 8951. An additional user fee may also

apply. The IRS will request the additional

fee, if applicable.

• Line 8(e). The IRS has discretionary

authority to waive the user fee in the case

of a terminating orphan plan, if requested

by an eligible party. A VCP applicant who is

an eligible party can request that the user

fee be waived. Include a written

explanation that explains why a waiver

should be granted.

Page 3

Form 8951 (Rev. 9-2016)

• Line 8(f). Do not include any payment at

this time if the plan is a section 457(b) plan.

If the IRS chooses to process the

submission, it will collect a mutually

acceptable sanction payment when the

applicant signs a special closing

agreement.

Determining the Proper User Fee

Step 1:

On line 5, enter the total number of plan

participants at the end of the plan year

recorded on line 6(f) of the retirement

plan’s most recently filed Form 5500 return.

Filers of Form 5500-SF or EZ will use the

equivalent line item specified on their

forms. 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 is

not available at the time the VCP

submission is being mailed 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 does not apply if the VCP

submission is mailed to the IRS more than

seven 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. Your entry should correspond

to the information on Form 8950, line 4e.

Step 2:

Single employer plans:

For those VCP submissions that pertain to

a qualified retirement plan under section

401(a) or 403(b) that do not qualify for any

reduced user fees, the general user fee is

based on the number of plan participants.

Multiemployer or multiple employer

plans:

If a submission relates to a multiemployer

or multiple employer plan, the general user

fee will normally be determined in

accordance with the instructions in Step 1

and in the first paragraph of this Step 2.

However, if all of the described failures in

the submission apply to fewer than all of

the employers under the plan, the plan

administrator may choose to have the

general user fee computed separately for

each affected employer based on the

participants attributable to that employer

rather than the total participants of the

entire plan. This may apply, for example,

when the plan administrator believes each

failure is attributable in whole or in part to

data, information, actions, or inactions that

are within the control of the employers

rather than the multiemployer or multiple

employer plan (such as attribution in whole

or in part to the failure of an employer to

provide the plan administrator with full and

complete information).

If you are using this special methodology

to determine the general user fee, attach a

written explanation that details how the

user fee was determined. When completing

Form 8951, the plan administrator would

complete line 5 in the normal manner by

using the total participant count reported

on the most recently filed Form 5500 series

return for the entire plan.

Step 3:

If a VCP submission consists solely of

multiple failures that qualify for reduced

user fees, then the user fee amount will be

the lesser of: the sum of the reduced user

fee amounts or the general user fee

amount. If the total of the applicable

reduced user fee amounts is less than the

general user fee amount for qualified

retirement plans under sections 401(a) and

403(b), include a worksheet showing how

you determined the user fee for your

submission.

Note: Additional payments to the IRS may

be due under certain situations that involve:

(a) Egregious qualification failures;

(b) SEP, SARSEP, or SIMPLE IRA plans

that choose to allow excess amounts to

remain within the affected IRAs;

(c) Situations where the plan sponsor

has requested that the IRS waive the

additional 10% tax imposed by section

72(t) on certain plan distributions.

Go to the correcting plan errors web

page on IRS.gov to find additional

information. If applicable, the IRS will

discuss the matter with the plan sponsor

and solicit the additional payment during

the review of the VCP submission.

Paperwork Reduction Act Notice. We

ask for the information on this form to carry

out the Internal Revenue laws of the United

States. If you want to have your VCP

submission approved by the IRS, you are

required to give us the information. We

need it to determine whether your

correction proposals meet the legal

requirements applicable to qualified

retirement plans.

You are not 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.

The estimated average time is:

Recordkeeping . . . . 3 hr., 21 min.

Learning about the

law or the form . . . . 2 hr., 39 min.

Preparing the form . . . 3 hr., 45 min.

Copying, assembling, and

sending the form to the IRS 0 hr., 16 min.

If you have comments concerning the

accuracy of this time estimate or

suggestions for making this form

simpler, we would be happy to hear from

you. You can send your comments to:

Internal Revenue Service

Tax Forms and Publications Division

1111 Constitution Ave. NW, IR-6526

Washington, DC 20224

Do not send this form to this address.

Instead, see Where To File.