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HIGHLIGHTS
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Bulletin No. 2026–6
February 2, 2026
These synopses are intended only as aids to the reader in
identifying the subject matter covered. They may not be
relied upon as authoritative interpretations.
ADMINISTRATIVE
INCOME TAX
Announcement 2026-4, page 533.
Notice 2026-11, page 491.
This announcement contains a correction to Announcement
2000-80, 2000-40 I.R.B. 320-321, which contains an outdated phone number. This announcement corrects that
error. In the section labelled TOLL-FREE NUMBER FOR THE
APPEALS OFFICER (CUSTOMER SERVICE/OUTREACH) PROGRAM, a customer service phone number is provided for
Appeals. That number is outdated and no longer in use. The
current phone number is (855) 865-3401.
EMPLOYEE PLANS
Notice 2026-12, page 496.
This notice sets forth updates on the corporate bond
monthly yield curve, the corresponding spot segment rates
for December 2025 used under § 417(e)(3)(D), the 24-month
average segment rates applicable for January 2026, and the
30-year Treasury rates, as reflected by the application of
§ 430(h)(2)(C)(iv).
Notice 2026-13, page 499.
This notice provides two safe harbor explanations that retirement plans may use to satisfy the requirement under section
402(f) to provide certain information to recipients of eligible
rollover distributions. One safe harbor explanation describes
the rollover rules for distributions that are not from a designated Roth account, and the other safe harbor explanation
describes the rollover rules for distributions from a designated Roth account. The safe harbor explanations in the
notice modify the two safe harbor explanations provided in
Notice 2020-62 to reflect certain legislative changes related
to the SECURE 2.0 Act and improve readability and usefulness for recipients.
Finding Lists begin on page ii.
This notice announces that the Department of the Treasury
(Treasury Department) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
intend to issue proposed regulations (forthcoming proposed
regulations) that would implement the additional first year
depreciation deduction under § 168(k) of the Internal Revenue
Code (Code), as amended by §§ 70301 and 70434(g) of Public Law 119-21, 139 Stat. 72 (July 4, 2025), commonly known
as the One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), including proposed
regulations that would modify § 1.168(k)-2 to include applicable qualified sound recording productions commencing in
taxable years ending after July 4, 2025. The Treasury Department and IRS expect the forthcoming proposed regulations to
be consistent with the interim guidance provided in sections 3
through 5 of this notice.
Rev. Rul. 2026-3, page 485.
Federal rates; adjusted federal rates; adjusted federal longterm rate, and the long-term tax exempt rate. For purposes of
sections 382, 1274, 1288, 7872 and other sections of the
Code, tables set forth the rates for February 2026.
Rev. Rul. 2026-4, page 487.
This revenue ruling concludes that, under section 149(c)(2)(C)
(ii), bonds issued by the Railroad Corporation, a public corporation of a State, to finance the construction, acquisition, and
improvement of certain property are not required to satisfy
the rules in sections 141 through 147 to qualify as tax-exempt bonds under section 103(a). However, such bonds are
required to satisfy the rules in sections 148, 149, and 150 to
qualify as tax-exempt bonds under section 103(a).
TAX CONVENTIONS
Announcement 2026-3, page 518.
The competent authorities of the United States of America
and the Kingdom of Spain have entered into an arrange-
ment regarding the implementation of the arbitration process provided for in paragraphs 5 and 6 of Article 26 of the
Convention between the Kingdom of Spain and the United
States of America for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and
the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on
Income.
The IRS Mission
Provide America’s taxpayers top-quality service by helping
them understand and meet their tax responsibilities and
enforce the law with integrity and fairness to all.
Introduction
The Internal Revenue Bulletin is the authoritative instrument
of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue for announcing official rulings and procedures of the Internal Revenue Service
and for publishing Treasury Decisions, Executive Orders, Tax
Conventions, legislation, court decisions, and other items of
general interest. It is published weekly.
It is the policy of the Service to publish in the Bulletin all substantive rulings necessary to promote a uniform application
of the tax laws, including all rulings that supersede, revoke,
modify, or amend any of those previously published in the
Bulletin. All published rulings apply retroactively unless otherwise indicated. Procedures relating solely to matters of internal management are not published; however, statements of
internal practices and procedures that affect the rights and
duties of taxpayers are published.
Revenue rulings represent the conclusions of the Service
on the application of the law to the pivotal facts stated in
the revenue ruling. In those based on positions taken in rulings to taxpayers or technical advice to Service field offices,
identifying details and information of a confidential nature are
deleted to prevent unwarranted invasions of privacy and to
comply with statutory requirements.
Rulings and procedures reported in the Bulletin do not have the
force and effect of Treasury Department Regulations, but they
may be used as precedents. Unpublished rulings will not be
relied on, used, or cited as precedents by Service personnel in
the disposition of other cases. In applying published rulings and
procedures, the effect of subsequent legislation, regulations,
court decisions, rulings, and procedures must be considered,
and Service personnel and others concerned are cautioned
against reaching the same conclusions in other cases unless
the facts and circumstances are substantially the same.
The Bulletin is divided into four parts as follows:
Part I.—1986 Code.
This part includes rulings and decisions based on provisions
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
Part II.—Treaties and Tax Legislation.
This part is divided into two subparts as follows: Subpart A,
Tax Conventions and Other Related Items, and Subpart B,
Legislation and Related Committee Reports.
Part III.—Administrative, Procedural, and Miscellaneous.
To the extent practicable, pertinent cross references to these
subjects are contained in the other Parts and Subparts. Also
included in this part are Bank Secrecy Act Administrative
Rulings. Bank Secrecy Act Administrative Rulings are issued
by the Department of the Treasury’s Office of the Assistant
Secretary (Enforcement).
Part IV.—Items of General Interest.
This part includes notices of proposed rulemakings, disbarment and suspension lists, and announcements.
The last Bulletin for each month includes a cumulative index
for the matters published during the preceding months. These
monthly indexes are cumulated on a semiannual basis, and are
published in the last Bulletin of each semiannual period.
The contents of this publication are not copyrighted and may be reprinted freely. A citation of the Internal Revenue Bulletin as the source would be appropriate.
February 2, 2026
Bulletin No. 2026–6
Part I
Section 1274.—
Determination of Issue
Price in the Case of Certain
Debt Instruments Issued for
Property
(Also Sections 42, 280G, 382, 467, 468, 482, 483,
1288, 7520, 7702, 7872.)
Rev. Rul. 2026-3
This revenue ruling provides various prescribed rates for federal income
AFR
110% AFR
120% AFR
130% AFR
AFR
110% AFR
120% AFR
130% AFR
150% AFR
175% AFR
AFR
110% AFR
120% AFR
130% AFR
Short-term adjusted AFR
Mid-term adjusted AFR
Long-term adjusted AFR
Bulletin No. 2026–6
tax purposes for February 2026 (the
current month). Table 1 contains the
short-term, mid-term, and long-term
applicable federal rates (AFR) for the
current month for purposes of section
1274(d) of the Internal Revenue Code.
Table 2 contains the short-term, midterm, and long-term adjusted applicable federal rates (adjusted AFR) for the
current month for purposes of section
1288(b). Table 3 sets forth the adjusted
federal long-term rate and the longterm tax-exempt rate described in section 382(f). Table 4 contains the appro-
priate percentages for determining the
low-income housing credit described in
section 42(b)(1) for buildings placed in
service during the current month. However, under section 42(b)(2), the applicable percentage for non-federally subsidized new buildings placed in service
after July 30, 2008, shall not be less
than 9%. Finally, Table 5 contains the
federal rate for determining the present
value of an annuity, an interest for life
or for a term of years, or a remainder or
a reversionary interest for purposes of
section 7520.
REV. RUL. 2026-3 TABLE 1
Applicable Federal Rates (AFR) for February 2026
Period for Compounding
Annual
Semiannual
Quarterly
Short-term
3.56%
3.53%
3.51%
3.92%
3.88%
3.86%
4.28%
4.24%
4.22%
4.64%
4.59%
4.56%
Mid-term
3.86%
3.82%
3.80%
4.24%
4.20%
4.18%
4.63%
4.58%
4.55%
5.03%
4.97%
4.94%
5.81%
5.73%
5.69%
6.80%
6.69%
6.63%
Long-term
4.70%
4.65%
4.62%
5.19%
5.12%
5.09%
5.66%
5.58%
5.54%
6.14%
6.05%
6.00%
Annual
2.70%
2.92%
3.56%
REV. RUL. 2026-3 TABLE 2
Adjusted AFR for February 2026
Period for Compounding
Semiannual
2.68%
2.90%
3.53%
485
Quarterly
2.67%
2.89%
3.51%
Monthly
3.50%
3.85%
4.20%
4.55%
3.79%
4.16%
4.54%
4.92%
5.66%
6.60%
4.61%
5.07%
5.52%
5.98%
Monthly
2.67%
2.88%
3.50%
February 2, 2026
REV. RUL. 2026-3 TABLE 3
Rates Under Section 382 for February 2026
Adjusted federal long-term rate for the current month
Long-term tax-exempt rate for ownership changes during the current month (the highest of the adjusted federal
long-term rates for the current month and the prior two months.)
3.56%
3.56%
REV. RUL. 2026-3 TABLE 4
Appropriate Percentages Under Section 42(b)(1) for February 2026
Note: Under section 42(b)(2), the applicable percentage for non-federally subsidized new buildings placed in service after
July 30, 2008, shall not be less than 9%.
Appropriate percentage for the 70% present value low-income housing credit
7.99%
Appropriate percentage for the 30% present value low-income housing credit
3.43%
REV. RUL. 2026-3 TABLE 5
Rate Under Section 7520 for February 2026
Applicable federal rate for determining the present value of an annuity, an interest for life or a term of years,
or a remainder or reversionary interest
Section 42.—Low-Income
Housing Credit
The applicable federal short-term, mid-term,
and long-term rates are set forth for the month of
February 2026. See Rev. Rul. 2026-3, page 485.
Section 280G.—Golden
Parachute Payments
The applicable federal short-term, mid-term,
and long-term rates are set forth for the month of
February 2026. See Rev. Rul. 2026-3, page 485.
Section 382.—Limitation
on Net Operating Loss
Carryforwards and
Certain Built-In Losses
Following Ownership
Change
The adjusted applicable federal long-term rate
is set forth for the month of February 2026. See
Rev. Rul. 2026-3, page 485.
Section 467.—Certain
Payments for the Use of
Property or Services
The applicable federal short-term, mid-term,
and long-term rates are set forth for the month of
February 2026. See Rev. Rul. 2026-3, page 485.
Section 468.—Special
Rules for Mining and Solid
Waste Reclamation and
Closing Costs
The applicable federal short-term rates are set
forth for the month of February 2026. See Rev. Rul.
2026-3, page 485.
Section 482.—Allocation
of Income and Deductions
Among Taxpayers
The applicable federal short-term, mid-term,
and long-term rates are set forth for the month of
February 2026. See Rev. Rul. 2026-3, page 485.
4.6%
Section 483.—Interest on
Certain Deferred Payments
The applicable federal short-term, mid-term,
and long-term rates are set forth for the month of
February 2026. See Rev. Rul. 2026-3, page 485.
Section 1288.—Treatment
of Original Issue Discount
on Tax-Exempt Obligations
The adjusted applicable federal short-term, midterm, and long-term rates are set forth for the month of
February 2026. See Rev. Rul. 2026-3, page 485.
Section 7520.—Valuation
Tables
The applicable federal mid-term rates are set
forth for the month of February 2026. See Rev. Rul.
2026-3, page 485.
Section 7872.—Treatment
of Loans With BelowMarket Interest Rates
The applicable federal short-term, mid-term,
and long-term rates are set forth for the month of
February 2026. See Rev. Rul. 2026-3, page 485.
February 2, 2026
486
Bulletin No. 2026–6
Section 149.—Bonds
Must Be Registered To
Be Tax Exempt; Other
Requirements
(Also §§ 103, 141-148, 150)
Rev. Rul. 2026-4
ISSUE
Whether bonds issued by the Alaska
Railroad Corporation (Railroad Corporation) to finance the construction, acquisition, and improvement of certain property
are required to satisfy the rules in §§ 141
through 147 of the Internal Revenue Code
of 1986 (Code)1 to qualify as tax-exempt
bonds under § 103(a)?
FACTS
The Federal government built a railroad in the State of Alaska (State) to
serve the transportation and development
needs of the State and later transferred the
assets of that railroad (State Railroad) to
the State pursuant to the Alaska Railroad
Transfer Act of 1982, Title VI of Public
Law 97-468, 96 Stat. 2543, 2556 (1983)
(Railroad Act). The Railroad Act contemplates that the State continue to operate the
railroad as a rail carrier after the transfer.
By statute, the State established the Railroad Corporation as a public corporation
to operate the State Railroad.
In connection with a project in the
State to extract, process, liquify, and transport natural gas (LNG Project), the Railroad Corporation intends to issue bonds
to finance the construction, acquisition,
and improvement of facilities and other
property that are located within the State
and that are directly related to the LNG
Project. Such facilities and other property
are collectively referred to in this revenue
ruling as the “Property” and consist of:
• The facilities and other related project
infrastructure described in Section I,
Background and Proposal, of the
Order Granting Authorization Under
Section 3 of the Natural Gas Act
1
issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on May 21, 2020,
see 171 FERC ¶ 61,134 (2020);
• Railroad tracks and embankment, rail
sidings, rail extensions, rail terminal
yards, locomotives and rail cars to
transport materials and equipment
necessary for pipeline construction
and project operations, as well as
trains equipped to carry liquified natural gas (LNG);
• Port facilities to import pipe and transport construction materials (including
supplies, fuel, and equipment), and
infrastructure equipped to store LNG,
to serve LNG carrier ships, to transfer
LNG to carrier ships, to transfer LNG
from carrier ships to LNG storage,
and to regasify LNG;
• Airports and helicopter pads;
• Roads,
highways,
causeways,
bridges;
• Power generation facilities;
• Communications infrastructure;
• Construction-related housing; and
• Other facilities directly related to the
LNG Project.
For the avoidance of doubt, a facility or
property does not qualify as Property
solely because it uses natural gas produced by the LNG Project.
LAW
Internal Revenue Code of 1986
Section 103(a) generally provides that,
except as otherwise provided in § 103(b),
gross income does not include interest on
any State or local bond. Section 103(b)
provides that § 103(a) does not apply to
any private activity bond that is not a qualified bond (within the meaning of § 141),
to any arbitrage bond (within the meaning of § 148), or to any bond that does
not meet the applicable requirements of
§ 149. Section 103(c)(1) defines a “State
or local bond” as an obligation of a State
or political subdivision thereof.
Section 141(a) defines the term “private activity bond” as any bond issued as
part of an issue that meets the private business use test of § 141(b)(1) and the private
security or payment test of § 141(b)(2) or
that meets the private loan financing test
of § 141(c).
Section 141(b)(1) provides that, except
as provided in that subsection, an issue
meets the private business use test if more
than 10 percent of the proceeds of the
issue are to be used for any private business use. Under § 141(b)(6)(A), the term
“private business use” means use (directly
or indirectly) in a trade or business carried
on by any person other than a governmental unit, although use as a member of the
general public is not taken into account.
Under § 141(b)(6)(B), any activity carried
on by a person other than a natural person
is treated as a trade or business.
Section 141(c) provides that an issue
meets the private loan financing test if
the amount of the proceeds of the issue
that are to be used (directly or indirectly)
to make or finance loans (other than certain loans described in paragraph (c)(2))
to persons other than governmental units
exceeds the lesser of five percent of such
proceeds or $5,000,000.
Section 141(e) defines a “qualified
bond” as any private activity bond if such
bond is: an exempt facility bond as defined
in § 142, a qualified mortgage bond as
defined in § 143(a), a qualified veterans’
mortgage bond as defined in § 143(b), a
qualified small issue bond as defined in
§ 144(a), a qualified student loan bond as
defined in § 144(b), a qualified redevelopment bond as defined in § 144(c), or
a qualified 501(c)(3) bond as defined in
§ 145. A qualified bond must also meet
the requirements of § 146 relating to volume cap and certain other requirements in
§ 147.
Under § 148(a), the term “arbitrage
bond” means any bond issued as part of
an issue any portion of the proceeds of
which are reasonably expected at the
time of issuance to be used (or is intentionally used after issuance) to acquire
higher yielding investments or to replace
funds that were used directly or indirectly
to acquire higher yielding investments.
Under § 148(b), “higher yielding investments” means investment property with
a yield that is materially higher than the
yield on the issue of which the bond is a
part.
Unless otherwise specified, all “Section” or “§” references are to sections of the Code.
Bulletin No. 2026–6
487
February 2, 2026
Section 149 generally enumerates certain additional requirements for a bond to
qualify as tax-exempt under § 103(a). Section 149(b) generally provides that, subject to certain exceptions, § 103(a) does
not apply to any State or local bond if
such bond is federally guaranteed. For this
purpose, a bond is federally guaranteed if:
(A) the payment of principal or interest
with respect to such bond is guaranteed
(in whole or in part) by the United States
(or any agency or instrumentality thereof);
(B) such bond is issued as part of an issue
and five percent or more of the proceeds
of such issue is to be (i) used in making
loans the payment of principal or interest
with respect to which is to be guaranteed
(in whole or in part) by the United States
(or any agency or instrumentality thereof),
or (ii) invested (directly or indirectly) in
federally insured deposits or accounts; or
(C) the payment of principal or interest on
such bond is otherwise indirectly guaranteed (in whole or in part) by the United
States (or an agency or instrumentality
thereof).
Section 149(c)(1) provides that, except
as provided in paragraph (c)(2), no interest on any bond shall be exempt from taxation under the Code unless such interest
is exempt from taxation under the Code
without regard to any provision of law that
is not contained in the Code and that is not
contained in a revenue Act.
Section 149(c)(2)(A) provides that for
purposes of the Code, notwithstanding
any provision of §§ 141 through 150, any
bond the interest on which is exempt from
taxation under the Code by reason of any
provision of law (other than a provision of
the Code) that is in effect on January 6,
1983, shall be treated as a bond described
in § 103(a).
Section 149(c)(2)(B) provides that
paragraph (c)(2)(A) shall not apply to a
bond (not described in paragraph (c)(2)
(C)) issued after 1983 if the appropriate
requirements of §§ 141 through 150 (or
the corresponding provisions of prior law)
are not met with respect to such bond.
Section 149(c)(2)(C) provides that
bonds issued under or pursuant to three
specific statutory provisions are treated
as described in section 149(c)(2)(A). Sec-
2
tion 149(c)(2)(C)(ii) provides that a bond
is described in paragraph (c)(2)(C) (and
treated as described in paragraph (c)(2)
(A)) if such bond is issued pursuant to
§ 608(a)(6)(A) of the Railroad Act, as in
effect on October 22, 1986, the date of
the enactment of the Tax Reform Act of
1986, Public Law 99-514, 100 Stat. 2085
(1986).
Section 150 contains definitions and
special rules that are used for purposes of
applying the requirements of §§ 103 and
141 through 149.
The Railroad Act as in Effect on October
22, 1986
Section 602(4) of the Railroad Act, as
in effect on October 22, 1986,2 states that
the transfer of the railroad and provision
for its operation by the State in the manner contemplated by §§ 601 through 616
of the Railroad Act is made pursuant to
the Federal goal and ongoing program of
transferring appropriate activities to the
States.
Section 608(a)(1) of the Railroad Act
provides in part that, after the date of transfer to the State pursuant to § 604 of the
Railroad Act, the “State-owned railroad”
shall be a rail carrier engaged in interstate and foreign commerce subject to the
jurisdiction of the Interstate Commerce
Commission under chapter 105 of subtitle
IV of title 49, United States Code, and all
other Acts applicable to rail carriers subject to that chapter. Section 603(14) of the
Railroad Act defines “State-owned railroad” as the authority, agency, corporation
or other entity which the State designates
or contracts with to own, operate or manage the rail properties of the railroad or, as
the context requires, the railroad owned,
operated, or managed by such authority,
agency, corporation, or other entity.
Section 608(a)(2) of the Railroad Act
provides in part that the transfer to the
State authorized by § 604 of the Railroad
Act and the conferral of jurisdiction to the
Interstate Commerce Commission pursuant to § 608(a)(1) of the Railroad Act are
intended to confer upon the State-owned
railroad all business opportunities available to comparable railroads.
Section 608(a)(6)(A) of the Railroad
Act states:
After the date of transfer, continued
operation of the Alaska Railroad by a
public corporation, authority or other
agency of the State shall be deemed to
be an exercise of an essential governmental function, and revenue derived
from such operation shall be deemed to
accrue to the State for the purposes of
section 115(a)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 (26 U.S.C. 115(a)(1).
Obligations issued by such entity shall
also be deemed obligations of the State
for the purposes of section 103(a)(1) of
the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 (26
U.S.C. 103(a)(1)), but not obligations
within the meaning of section 103(b)
(2) of the Internal Revenue Code of
1954 (26 U.S.C. 103(b)(2)).
Section 609(a) of the Railroad Act
provides that the State or State-owned
railroad may request the Secretary of the
Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture,
as appropriate under law, to expeditiously
approve an application for a right-of-way
in order that the State-owned railroad may
have access across federal lands for transportation and related purposes.
Section 610(b) of the Railroad Act provides that, if the State discontinues use of
any land within the right-of-way (defined
as an area extending a certain distance on
both sides of the center line of any main
line or branch line of the railroad), the
State’s interest in such land shall revert
to the United States. For this purpose, the
State shall be considered to have discontinued use when, among other circumstances, the State has made no use of the
land for a continuous period of eighteen
years for transportation, communication,
or transmission purposes.
Internal Revenue Code of 1954
Section 103(a)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 (1954 Code), as in
effect from the date of enactment of the
Railroad Act until the date of enactment
of the Tax Reform Act of 1986, provided
that gross income does not include interest
References to the Railroad Act in the balance of this notice are to the Railroad Act as in effect on October 22, 1986.
February 2, 2026
488
Bulletin No. 2026–6
on the obligations of a State, a Territory,
or possession of the United States, or any
political subdivision of any of the foregoing, or of the District of Columbia.
Section 103(b)(2) of the 1954 Code, as
in effect from the date of enactment of the
Railroad Act until the date of enactment
of the Tax Reform Act of 1986, defined
an “industrial development bond” as any
obligation (A) which is issued as part of
an issue all or a major portion of the proceeds of which are to be used directly or
indirectly in any trade or business carried
on by any person who is not an exempt
person, and (B) the payment of the principal or interest on which (under the terms
of such obligation or any underlying
arrangement) is, in whole or in major part,
(i) secured by any interest in property used
or to be used in a trade or business or in
payments in respect of such property, or
(ii) to be derived from payments in respect
of property, or borrowed money, used or
to be used in a trade or business.
Section 103 of the 1954 Code, as
in effect immediately prior to the date
of enactment of the Tax Reform Act of
1986, imposed additional requirements
on tax-exempt bonds, including rules in
§ 103(c) of the 1954 Code related to arbitrage bonds and rules in § 103(h) of the
1954 Code related to federally guaranteed
bonds.
Under the Tax Reform Act of 1986,
§§ 103 and 103A of the 1954 Code were
recodified into §§ 103 and 141 through
150 of the Code. Section 103(a)(1) of the
1954 Code was recodified into § 103(a)
of the Code. Section 103(b) of the 1954
Code (defining and governing industrial
development bonds) was recodified into
§§ 141 through 147 of the Code (defining and governing private activity bonds).
Section 103(c) of the 1954 Code (defining and governing arbitrage bonds) was
recodified into § 148 of the Code. Section
103(h) of the 1954 Code (defining and
governing federally guaranteed bonds)
was recodified into § 149(b) of the Code.
ANALYSIS
Under § 149(c)(1), except as provided
in § 149(c)(2)(A), a bond is not tax-exempt unless the exemption is derived from
the Code without regard to any provision
of law that is not contained in the Code
Bulletin No. 2026–6
and that is not contained in a revenue act
(Non-Code Provision). Under § 149(c)
(2)(A), a bond that is tax-exempt by reason of a Non-Code Provision in effect
on January 6, 1983, is treated as a State
or local bond that is tax-exempt under §
103(a). Under § 149(c)(2)(B), the beneficial treatment provided in § 149(c)(2)(A)
generally does not apply to a bond issued
after 1983, unless the bond is described in
§ 149(c)(2)(C). Bonds “issued pursuant to
section 608(a)(6)(A)” of the Railroad Act,
a Non-Code Provision enacted after January 6, 1983, are described in § 149(c)(2)
(C)(ii) and thus are treated as described in
§ 149(c)(2)(A). Consequently, § 149(c)(2)
(C)(ii) makes clear that even though the
Railroad Act was enacted after January 6,
1983, bonds issued pursuant to § 608(a)
(6)(A) of the Railroad Act are nonetheless
covered by § 149(c)(2)(A) and not subject
to the issue date limitation in § 149(c)(2)
(B).
The phrase “pursuant to” in § 149(c)(2)
(C)(ii) signals that the content of § 608(a)
(6)(A) of the Railroad Act circumscribes
the nature of bonds to which § 149(c)(2)
(C)(ii) applies. Under § 608(a)(6)(A) of
the Railroad Act, bonds issued by “a public corporation, authority or other agency
of the State” that is engaged in “the continued operation of the [State Railroad]” are
“obligations of the State for the purposes
of section 103(a)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 (26 U.S.C. 103(a)(1)),
but not obligations within the meaning of
section 103(b)(2) of the Internal Revenue
Code of 1954 (26 U.S.C. 103(b)(2)).”
The Railroad Corporation is a public
corporation formed by State statute to
operate the State Railroad. The Railroad
Act contemplates that operation of the
State Railroad entails operating as “a rail
carrier engaged in interstate and foreign
commerce” (§ 608(a)(1) of the Railroad
Act), engaging in “all business opportunities available to comparable railroads”
(§ 608(a)(2) of the Railroad Act), deploying the State Railroad’s assets for “transportation and related purposes” (§ 609(a)
of the Railroad Act), and for “transportation, communication, or transmission
purposes” (§ 610(b) of the Railroad Act).
To the extent the Railroad Corporation
engages in activities consistent with and
related to the operation of the State Railroad as contemplated by the Railroad
489
Act, the Railroad Corporation is an entity
described in § 608(a)(6)(A) of the Railroad Act.
Therefore, under § 608(a)(6)(A) of the
Railroad Act, bonds issued by the Railroad
Corporation for purposes consistent with
and related to the operation of the State
Railroad as contemplated by the Railroad
Act (Railroad-Related Bonds) are obligations of the State for purposes of § 103(a)
(1) of the 1954 Code and are not industrial
development bonds under § 103(b)(2) of
the 1954 Code or private activity bonds
under § 141(a) of the Code. Railroad-Related Bonds are also “issued pursuant to
section 608(a)(6)(A)” of the Railroad Act
within the meaning of § 149(c)(2)(C)(ii)
and, therefore, under § 149(c)(2)(A), are
treated as tax-exempt under § 103(a), notwithstanding any failure to comply with
the rules in §§ 141 through 147 governing
private activity bonds. Because § 608(a)
(6)(A) of the Railroad Act exempts Railroad-Related Bonds only from the rules
in §§ 141 through 147 governing private
activity bonds, Railroad-Related Bonds
must still satisfy the rules in §§ 148, 149,
and 150 to qualify as tax-exempt bonds
under § 103(a).
In connection with the LNG Project, the Railroad Corporation intends to
engage in activities to finance the construction, acquisition, and improvement
of the Property. Because the Railroad Corporation’s engagement in these activities
is consistent with and related to the operation of the State Railroad as contemplated
by the Railroad Act, the bonds issued by
the Railroad Corporation to finance the
construction, acquisition, and improvement of the Property are Railroad-Related
Bonds and are not required to satisfy the
rules in §§ 141 through 147 to qualify as
tax-exempt bonds under § 103(a). This
conclusion is limited to bonds issued by
the Railroad Corporation to finance the
construction, acquisition, and improvement of the Property, all of which must
be located within the State and directly
related to the LNG Project. For example,
this conclusion would not apply if the
Railroad Corporation were to issue bonds
to finance construction of a facility that
uses natural gas generated by the LNG
Project but has no other relationship to the
LNG Project because such a facility does
not qualify as Property.
February 2, 2026
HOLDING
Because financing the construction,
acquisition, and improvement of the Property constitutes an activity consistent with
and related to the operation of the State
Railroad as contemplated by the Railroad
Act, bonds issued by the Railroad Corpo-
February 2, 2026
ration to finance the construction, acquisition, and improvement of the Property
are not required to satisfy the rules in §§
141 through 147 to qualify as tax-exempt
bonds under § 103(a). However, such
bonds are required to satisfy the rules in
§§ 148, 149, and 150 to qualify as tax-exempt bonds under § 103(a).
490
DRAFTING INFORMATION
The principal author of this revenue
ruling is the Office of the Associate Chief
Counsel (Financial Institutions and Products). For further information regarding
this revenue ruling, call (202) 317-3900
(not a toll-free number).
Bulletin No. 2026–6
Part III
Interim Guidance on
Additional First Year
Depreciation Deduction
under § 168(k)
Notice 2026-11
SECTION 1. OVERVIEW
This notice announces that the
Department of the Treasury (Treasury
Department) and the Internal Revenue
Service (IRS) intend to issue proposed
regulations (forthcoming proposed regulations) that would implement the additional first year depreciation deduction
under § 168(k) of the Internal Revenue
Code (Code)1, as amended by §§ 70301
and 70434(g) of Public Law 119-21,
139 Stat. 72 (July 4, 2025), commonly
known as the One, Big, Beautiful Bill
Act (OBBBA), including proposed regulations that would modify § 1.168(k)-2
to include applicable qualified sound
recording productions commencing in
taxable years ending after July 4, 2025.
The Treasury Department and IRS expect
the forthcoming proposed regulations to
be consistent with the interim guidance
provided in sections 3 through 5 of this
notice. Section 3 of this notice addresses
property eligible for the additional
first year depreciation deduction under
§ 168(k) as amended by the OBBBA.
Section 4 of this notice addresses the
elections under § 168(k)(5) and (10).
Section 5 of this notice addresses the
addition of qualified sound recording
productions to qualified property under
§ 168(k)(2) for productions commencing in taxable years ending after July 4,
2025. Section 6 of this notice addresses
the expected applicability date of the
forthcoming proposed regulations and
the ability of taxpayers to rely on the
interim guidance provided in this notice
for property placed in service in taxable years beginning before the date the
forthcoming proposed regulations are
published in the Federal Register.
1
SECTION 2. BACKGROUND
.01 Section 168(k) prior to amendment
by the OBBBA. Section 168(k)(1), as in
effect after amendment by § 13201 of Public Law 115-97, 131 Stat. 2054 (Dec. 22,
2017), commonly known as the Tax Cuts
and Jobs Act (TCJA) (TCJA § 168(k)),
allows an additional first year depreciation deduction, based on the applicable
percentage under TCJA § 168(k)(6) for
qualified property acquired after September 27, 2017, and placed in service before
January 1, 2027 (January 1, 2028, for certain property having longer production
periods and certain aircraft), and for specified plants planted or grafted after September 27, 2017, and before January 1,
2027, for which a section 168(k)(5) election is made. The applicable percentage
under TCJA § 168(k)(6) was 100 percent
for qualified property placed in service, or
specified plants planted or grafted, after
September 27, 2017, and before January
1, 2023, and has phased down by 20 percentage points annually beginning with
qualified property acquired after September 27, 2017, and placed in service after
December 31, 2022 (December 31, 2023,
for certain property having longer production periods or certain aircraft), and specified plants planted or grafted after December 31, 2022. Pursuant to TCJA § 168(k)
(6), the applicable percentage is (i) 40 percent for qualified property placed in service during 2025 (60 percent for certain
property having longer production periods
or certain aircraft) and (ii) 40 percent for
specified plants planted or grafted during
2025.
.02 Amendments made by the OBBBA.
(1) Amendments to § 168(k) by § 70301
of the OBBBA. Section 70301 of the
OBBBA (OBBBA § 70301) made several
amendments to § 168(k) to provide taxpayers with a permanent 100 percent additional first year depreciation deduction for
qualified property acquired and placed in
service, and specified plants planted or
grafted, after January 19, 2025. Specifically, OBBBA § 70301: (i) removed the
general requirement that qualified prop-
erty must be placed in service, and specified plants must be planted or grafted,
before January 1, 2027, (ii) removed the
requirement that certain property having
longer production periods or certain aircraft must be placed in service before January 1, 2028, and acquired before January
1, 2027, (iii) removed the provision specifying that the requirement that certain
property having longer production periods and certain aircraft be acquired before
January 1, 2027 is treated as met if the taxpayer begins manufacturing, constructing,
or producing self-constructed property
before January 1, 2027, and (iv) replaced
the annual phasedown of the applicable
percentage for the § 168(k) additional
first year depreciation deduction with a
permanent 100 percent additional first
year depreciation deduction for qualified
property acquired, or specified plants
planted or grafted, after January 19, 2025.
Additionally, OBBBA § 70301 amended
§ 168(k)(10) to allow taxpayers to elect to
deduct 40 percent (60 percent for certain
property having longer production periods
or certain aircraft), instead of 100 percent,
additional first year depreciation for qualified property placed in service, or specified plants planted or grafted, during the
first taxable year ending after January 19,
2025.
OBBBA § 70301(c) provides that,
except as otherwise provided in that subsection, the amendments made by OBBBA
§ 70301 apply to property acquired, or
specified plants planted or grafted, after
January 19, 2025. OBBBA § 70301(c)(4)
contains language similar to § 13201(h)(1)
of the TCJA, stating that for purposes of
the effective date in OBBBA § 70301(c)
(1), property is not treated as acquired
after the date a written binding contract is
entered into for such acquisition.
(2) Amendments to §§ 181 and 168(k)
made by § 70434 of the OBBBA.
(a) Amendments to § 181(a) made by
§ 70434 of the OBBBA. Section 181, as in
effect prior to amendment by § 70434 of
the OBBBA (OBBBA § 70434), allows
taxpayers to elect to deduct up to $15 million of the aggregate production costs of
Unless otherwise specified, all “section” or “§” references are to sections of the Code or the Income Tax Regulations (26 CFR part 1).
Bulletin No. 2026–6
491
February 2, 2026
any qualified film, television or live theatrical production commencing before January 1, 2026, but did not allow a deduction
for sound recording productions. OBBBA
§ 70434(a) and (b) amended § 181(a) and
(g) (redesignated as § 181(h)) to allow
taxpayers to deduct the cost of any qualified sound recording production, subject
to a cap on the aggregate cost of any qualified sound recording production, or on
the aggregate, cumulative cost of all
such qualified sound recording productions in the taxable year, of $150,000, for
productions commencing before January 1, 2026, in taxable years ending after
July 4, 2025. Following the amendments
by OBBBA § 70434(e), § 181(f) defines
“qualified sound recording production” as
a sound recording, as defined in 17 U.S.C.
101, produced and recorded in the United
States.
(b) OBBBA § 70434(g) amendments to
§ 168(k). OBBBA § 70434(g) amended
§ 168(k) by expanding the definition of
qualified property in § 168(k)(2) to include
qualified sound recording productions
for which a deduction would have been
allowable under § 181, without regard to
§ 181(a)(2) and (h) (respectively, the limitation on deductible aggregate production
costs and the termination date for § 181) or
§ 168(k). OBBBA § 70434(g)(2) amended
§ 168(k)(2)(H) to provide that a qualified
sound recording production is considered
placed in service at the time of the initial
release or broadcast.
(c) Effective date of OBBBA § 70434
amendments. OBBBA § 70434(i) provides that the amendments to § 168(k) and
§ 181 made by OBBBA § 70434 apply to
sound recording productions commencing
in taxable years ending after July 4, 2025,
the date of enactment of the OBBBA.
.03 Existing regulations under § 168(k).
(1) In general. Section 1.168(k)-2,
published in the Federal Register as T.D.
9874 (84 FR 50108) on September 24,
2019, and amended by T.D. 9916 (85 FR
71734) on November 10, 2020, provides
rules for determining whether certain
depreciable property is qualified property
eligible for the additional first year depreciation deduction under TCJA § 168(k).
Section 1.168(k)-2(h)(1) provides that, in
general, the rules in § 1.168(k)‑2 apply
to (i) depreciable property acquired after
September 27, 2017, and placed in ser-
February 2, 2026
vice during or after the taxpayer’s taxable year that begins on or after January
1, 2021, (ii) specified plants planted, or
grafted to a plant that was previously
planted, during or after the taxpayer’s
taxable year that begins on or after January 1, 2021, for which an election under
§ 168(k)(5) was made, and (iii) components of eligible larger self-constructed
property that are acquired or self-constructed after September 27, 2017, and
placed in service by the taxpayer during
or after the taxpayer’s taxable year that
begins on or after January 1, 2021. Section 1.1502-68 provides rules governing
the availability of the additional first year
depreciation deduction allowable under
TCJA § 168(k) for depreciable property acquired and placed in service after
September 27, 2017, by a member of a
consolidated group. Except as otherwise
provided in § 1.1502-68(c), the rules in
§ 1.168(k)-2 apply to depreciable property acquired by members of a consolidated group in addition to the rules in
§ 1.1502-68.
(2) Section 1.168(k)-2(b)(5) acquisition date requirement.
(a) In general. Section 1.168(k)-2(b)
(5) provides rules for the acquisition date
requirement in § 13201(h) of the TCJA,
which provides that the amendments made
by § 13201 of the TCJA apply to property
which is acquired, or planted or grafted,
after September 27, 2017, and is placed in
service after such date. Under § 13201(h)
of the TCJA, property is not treated as
acquired after the date on which a written binding contract is entered into for
such acquisition. Section 1.168(k)-2(b)(5)
states that these rules apply to all depreciable property, including self-constructed
property, certain property having longer
production periods, and certain aircraft.
Pursuant to § 1.168(k)‑2(b)(5)(ii)(A),
except for qualified film, television, or live
theater productions, depreciable property
will meet the acquisition date requirement
if the property is acquired by the taxpayer
after September 27, 2017, or is acquired
by the taxpayer pursuant to a written binding contract entered into by the taxpayer
after September 27, 2017.
(b) Written binding contracts. Section
1.168(k)-2(b)(5)(ii)(B) provides that the
acquisition date of property that the taxpayer acquired pursuant to a written bind-
492
ing contract is the later of: (i) the date the
contract was entered into; (ii) the date the
contract is enforceable under State law;
(iii) if the contract has one or more cancellation periods, the date all cancellation
periods end; or (iv) if the contract has one
or more contingency clauses, the date all
conditions subject to such clauses are satisfied.
Section 1.168(k)-2(b)(5)(iii) defines a
written binding contract for purposes of
§ 1.168(k)-2(b)(5) as a contract enforceable under State law against the taxpayer
or a predecessor that does not limit damages to a specified amount (for example,
by use of a liquidated damages provision).
Additionally, property that is manufactured, constructed, or produced for the
taxpayer by another person pursuant to
a written binding contract that is entered
into prior to the manufacture, construction
or production of the property for use by
the taxpayer in its trade or business or for
its production of income is considered to
be self-constructed property subject to the
written binding contract rules provided in
§ 1.168(k)-2(b)(5)(iv).
(c) Self-constructed property. Section 1.168(k)-2(b)(5)(iv) provides rules
to determine the acquisition date for
self-constructed property for purposes of
§ 1.168(k)‑2(b)(5). In general, self-constructed property meets the acquisition
date requirement in § 1.168(k)-2(b)(5)(ii)
if the taxpayer (or third party) begins manufacture, construction, or production after
September 27, 2017.
Section 1.168(k)-2(b)(5)(iv)(B) provides that manufacture, construction, or
production of property begins when physical work of a significant nature begins.
The determination of when physical work
of a significant nature begins depends
on the facts and circumstances. Section
1.168(k)-2(b)(5)(iv)(B)(2) provides a
safe harbor allowing physical work of a
significant nature to begin at the time the
taxpayer incurs (in the case of an accrual
basis taxpayer) or pays (in the case of a
cash basis taxpayer) more than 10 percent
of the total cost of the property, excluding
the cost of any land and preliminary activities such as planning or designing, securing financing, exploring, or researching.
(d) Property acquired pursuant
to a non-binding contract. Section
1.168(k)‑2(b)(5)(v) provides the rules
Bulletin No. 2026–6
for determining the acquisition date for
property acquired pursuant to a non-binding contract. In general, the acquisition
date for property acquired pursuant to a
non-binding contract (and property constructed for the taxpayer by another person under a non-binding contract) is the
date the taxpayer paid or incurred more
than 10 percent of the total cost of the
property, excluding the cost of any land
and preliminary activities.
(e) Acquisition date requirement for
qualified film, television, or live theatrical
productions. Section 1.168(k)-2(b)(5)(vi)
provides that, for purposes of § 13201(h)
of the TCJA: (i) a qualified film or television production is treated as acquired
on the date principal photography commences, and (ii) a qualified live theatrical
production is treated as acquired on the
date when all the necessary elements for
producing the live theatrical production
are secured.
(f)
Specified
plants.
Section
1.168(k)-2(b)(5)(vii) provides that a
specified plant meets the acquisition date
requirement of § 1.168(k)-2(b)(5)(ii) if
it is planted or grafted after September
27, 2017, by the taxpayer in the ordinary
course of the taxpayer’s farming business
(as defined in § 263A(e)(4)).
(3) Component election. Section
1.168(k)-2(c)(1) allows a taxpayer to
make an election to treat any acquired
or self-constructed component, as
described in § 1.168(k)-2(c)(3), of larger
self-constructed property, as described in
§ 1.168(k)-2(c)(2), for which the taxpayer
begins the manufacture, construction, or
production before September 28, 2017, as
being eligible for the additional first year
depreciation deduction, if the component
is qualified property under § 168(k)(2)
and § 1.168(k)-2, and the taxpayer either
acquires or begins the manufacture, construction, or production of the component
after September 27, 2017. The rules and
procedures for making the component
election are set forth in § 1.168(k)‑2(c)
(6) and provide that the taxpayer must
attach a statement to the timely filed return
(including extensions) for the taxable year
in which the taxpayer placed in service
the larger self-constructed property indicating: (i) that the taxpayer is making
the election in § 1.168(k)-2(c), and (ii)
whether the taxpayer is making the elec-
Bulletin No. 2026–6
tion for all or some of the components
described in § 1.168(k)‑2(c)(3).
.04 Section 168(k)(5) election.
(1) TCJA § 168(k)(5). TCJA § 168(k)
(5)(A) allows a taxpayer to make an
election to deduct additional first year
depreciation for one or more specified
plants planted by January 1, 2027, or
grafted before such date to a plant that
has already been planted by the taxpayer
in the ordinary course of the taxpayer’s
farming business (as defined in § 263A(e)
(4) (TCJA § 168(k)(5) election). If a taxpayer makes the TCJA § 168(k)(5) election, the additional first year depreciation
deduction is allowable for the specified
plant in the taxable year in which that
plant was planted or grafted, subject to
the applicable percentage phase down
requirements in TCJA § 168(k)(6)(C).
The rules and procedures for making
the TCJA § 168(k)(5) election are set
forth in § 1.168(k)‑2(f)(2) and provide
that the taxpayer makes the election in
the manner prescribed on Form 4562,
“Depreciation and Amortization,” and its
instructions. The instructions to the current Form 4562 provide generally that a
taxpayer makes the election by attaching
a statement to the timely filed Federal tax
return (including extensions) for the taxable year the taxpayer planted or grafted
the specified plant to which the election
applies indicating the taxpayer is electing
to apply TCJA § 168(k)(5) and identifying the specified plant(s) for which the
taxpayer is making the election.
(2) OBBBA § 70301 amendments to
§ 168(k)(5). For specified plants planted
or grafted after January 19, 2025, OBBBA
§ 70301(a)(4) and (b) removed the applicable percentage phase down in § 168(k)
(6) and amended § 168(k)(5) by (i) eliminating the date by which a specified plant
must be planted or grafted by the taxpayer
under § 168(k)(5)(A), and (ii) adding a
permanent 100 percent additional first
year depreciation deduction for specified
plants for which the taxpayer makes a
§ 168(k)(5) election for the taxable year.
.05 Section 168(k)(7) election. Section 168(k)(7) (which the OBBBA does
not amend) allows a taxpayer to make
an election not to deduct additional first
year depreciation for any class of property (a term defined in § 1.168(k)-2(f)(1)
(ii)) that is qualified property placed in
493
service during the taxable year. The rules
and procedures for making the election
not to deduct additional first year depreciation are set forth in § 1.168(k)-2(f)(1)
and provide that the taxpayer makes the
election in the manner prescribed on Form
4562, “Depreciation and Amortization,”
and its instructions. The instructions to the
current Form 4562 generally provide that
the taxpayer makes the election by attaching a statement to its timely filed Federal
tax return (including extensions) for the
taxable year in which the property at issue
is placed in service indicating the class of
property for which the taxpayer is making the election and that, for such class,
the taxpayer is not claiming the additional
first year depreciation.
.06 Section 168(k)(10) election.
(1) TCJA § 168(k)(10). TCJA § 168(k)
(10) allowed taxpayers to elect to deduct
50 percent, instead of 100 percent, additional first year depreciation for (i) all
qualified property acquired by the taxpayer
after September 27, 2017, and placed in
service by the taxpayer in its taxable year
that includes September 28, 2017, and
(ii) all specified plants that are planted,
or grafted to a plant that has already been
planted, after September 27, 2017, by the
taxpayer in the ordinary course of the of
the taxpayer’s farming business during
its taxable year that includes September
28, 2017 (TCJA § 168(k)(10) election).
The rules and procedures for making the
TCJA § 168(k)(10) election are set forth in
§ 1.168(k)-2(f)(3), which provides that the
taxpayer makes the election in the manner prescribed on the 2017 Form 4562,
“Depreciation and Amortization,” and its
instructions. Those instructions provide
that the taxpayer makes the election by
attaching a statement to the timely filed
Federal tax return (including extensions)
for the taxable year that includes September 28, 2017, indicating the taxpayer is
electing to apply TCJA § 168(k)(10).
(2) OBBBA § 70301 amendments to
§ 168(k)(10). OBBBA § 70301(b)(3)
amended § 168(k)(10) to allow taxpayers
to elect to deduct 40 percent (60 percent
for certain property having longer production periods or certain aircraft), instead of
100 percent, for qualified property placed
in service or plants planted or grafted, as
applicable, by the taxpayer during its first
taxable ending after January 19, 2025.
February 2, 2026
SECTION 3. INTERIM GUIDANCE
.01 Purpose. This section 3 provides
interim guidance for determining whether
depreciable property is qualified property eligible for the additional first year
depreciation deduction under § 168(k), as
amended by the OBBBA, and for determining the additional first year depreciation deduction allowable under § 168(k),
as amended by the OBBBA. The Treasury
Department and IRS intend to issue forthcoming proposed regulations consistent
with the interim guidance provided in this
section 3.
.02 In general. Except as otherwise
provided in this notice, to determine
whether depreciable property is qualified property eligible for the § 168(k)
additional first year depreciation deduction for property acquired, or specified
plants planted or grafted, after January
19, 2025, and to determine the associated § 168(k) additional first year depreciation deduction, a taxpayer applies
rules consistent with the rules contained in §§ 1.168(k)-2 and 1.1502-68,
with the substitutions and modifications
described in this notice.
.03 Acquisition date requirement
in OBBBA § 70301(c). In determining
whether depreciable property is acquired
after January 19, 2025, for purposes of
OBBBA § 70301(c), taxpayers apply rules
consistent with § 1.168(k)-2(b)(5) and
1.1502-68(a) through (d), by substituting
“January 19, 2025” for “September 27,
2017” each place it appears, and by substituting “January 20, 2025” for “September
28, 2017” each place it appears.
.04 Property described in § 168(k)(2)
(B) or (C). Because OBBBA § 70301(a)
(2)(A) removed the requirement under
TCJA § 168(k)(2)(B)(i)(III) and (C)(i)
that certain long production period property must be acquired by the taxpayer
(or acquired pursuant to a written binding contract entered into) before January
1, 2027, in order to be qualified property, § 1.168(k)-2(d) (providing rules for
determining if such qualified property is
acquired before January 1, 2027) does not
apply in determining whether such property is qualified property under § 168(k),
as amended by the OBBBA.
.05 Certain components of larger
self-constructed property.
February 2, 2026
(1) In general. A taxpayer may make
an election under rules consistent with
§ 1.168(k)-2(c), by substituting “January 19, 2025” and “January 20, 2025”
for “September 27, 2017” and “September 28, 2017”, respectively, to treat an
eligible component of an eligible larger
self-constructed property as eligible for
the additional first year depreciation
deduction under § 168(k), as amended by
the OBBBA (component election). The
eligible component must satisfy all the
requirements set forth in § 1.168(k)-2(c).
(2) Making the component election.
A taxpayer makes the component election provided in section 3.05(1) of this
notice by following rules and procedures consistent with those described in
§ 1.168(k)-2(c)(6).
.06 Placed in service date requirement.
Because OBBBA § 70301(a) removed
the § 168(k)(2)(A)(iii), (B)(i)(II), (C)(i)
and (k)(5)(A) requirements that qualified
property must be placed in service before
January 1, 2027 (January 1, 2028, for certain property having longer production
periods and certain aircraft), and a specified plant must be planted, or grafted
to a plant that has already been planted,
before January 1, 2027, § 1.168(k)-2(b)(4)
(relating to placed-in-service dates) does
not apply for purposes of determining
whether depreciable property acquired,
or plants planted or grafted (for which the
taxpayer made the § 168(k)(5) election),
after January 19, 2025, is qualified property under § 168(k).
.07 Applicable percentage. In applying
§ 168(k) to qualified property acquired,
and specified plants planted or grafted
(for which the taxpayer made the § 168(k)
(5) election), after January 19, 2025, substitute “100 percent” for “the applicable percentage” each place it appears in
§ 1.168(k)-2, except for the examples provided in § 1.168(k)-2(g)(2)(iv).
SECTION 4. SECTION 168(k)(5) AND
(10) ELECTIONS
.01 Purpose. This section 4 provides
interim guidance for making the elections
provided in § 168(k)(5) and (10), for qualified property placed in service or plants
planted or grafted, as applicable, after
January 19, 2025, the effective date for
the amendments to § 168(k) by OBBBA
494
§ 70301. The Treasury Department and
IRS intend to issue forthcoming proposed
regulations consistent with the interim
guidance provided in this section 4.
.02 Section 168(k)(5) election. A taxpayer makes the § 168(k)(5) election
by following rules and procedures consistent with the rules and procedures in
§ 1.168(k)-2(f)(2).
.03 Section 168(k)(10) election. A
taxpayer makes the § 168(k)(10) election by following rules and procedures
consistent with the rules and procedures
in § 1.168(k)-2(f)(3), with the following
modifications: (a) substitute “January 19,
2025” for “September 27, 2017” each
place it appears, (b) substitute “January
20, 2025” for “September 28, 2017” each
place it appears, (c) substitute “40 percent” (“60 percent” in the case of qualified property described in § 168(k)(2)
(B) or (C)) for “50 percent” each place
it appears, and (d) substitute “applicable
Form 4562, Depreciation and Amortization,” for “2017 Form 4562, “Depreciation and Amortization,”.”
SECTION 5. QUALIFIED SOUND
RECORDING PRODUCTIONS
.01 Purpose. This section 5 provides
interim guidance relating to certain treatment of qualified sound recording productions under § 168(k) following the
amendments made by OBBBA § 70434.
The Treasury Department and IRS intend
to issue forthcoming proposed regulations
consistent with the interim guidance provided in this section 5.
.02 Qualified sound recording productions as qualified property.
(1) Qualified sound recording production acquired before January 20, 2025.
In applying § 168(k) to a qualified sound
recording production acquired before January 20, 2025, and in a taxable year ending after July 4, 2025, a taxpayer applies
§ 1.168(k)-2 by adding to the list of qualified property described in § 1.168(k)-2(b)
(2)(i) “a qualified sound recording production (as defined in § 181(f)) for which
a deduction would have been allowable
under § 181 without regard to § 181(a)(2)
or (h) or § 168(k)).”
(2) Qualified sound recording productions acquired after January 19, 2025.
A qualified sound recording production
Bulletin No. 2026–6
described in § 168(k)(2)(A)(i)(VI), commencing in a taxable year ending after
July 4, 2025, and acquired, as determined
under section 5.03(1) of this notice, after
January 19, 2025, is qualified property eligible for the additional first year depreciation deduction under § 168(k), as amended
by the OBBBA.
.03 Acquisition date requirement and
placed in service date for qualified sound
recordings.
(1) Acquisition date requirement in
OBBBA § 70301(c). In determining when
a qualified sound recording production is
acquired for purposes of the effective date
rules in OBBBA § 70301(c), a qualified
sound recording production is treated as
acquired on the date that principal recording commences.
(2) Placed in service date. For purposes of determining the additional first
year depreciation deduction for a qualified sound recording production under §
168(k), a qualified sound recording production is considered placed in service at
the time of its initial release or broadcast
under § 168(k)(2)(H)(iii).
.04 Election not to deduct additional
first year depreciation for a qualified
sound recording production. A taxpayer
may make an election under § 168(k)(7)
not to deduct additional first year depreciation for a qualified sound recording
production using rules and procedures
consistent with the rules and procedures in § 1.168(k)-2(f)(1), with the
modification that the definition of class
of property in § 1.168(k)-2(f)(1)(ii) is
expanded to include each separate production, defined using rules consistent
with § 1.181-3(b), of a qualified sound
recording production.
SECTION 6. APPLICABILITY DATE
AND RELIANCE
.01 Applicability date. It is anticipated
that the forthcoming proposed regulations
will propose rules consistent with the
rules described in sections 3 through 5 of
this notice for property:
(a) that is placed in service in a taxable
year beginning on or after the date the
final regulations are published in the Federal Register, and
(b) that is (i) depreciable property
acquired by the taxpayer after January 19,
Bulletin No. 2026–6
2025 (or, in the case of a qualified sound
recording production, a production commencing in a taxable year ending after July
4, 2025), (ii) specified plants for which
taxpayers properly made the § 168(k)(5)
election that are planted, or grafted to a
plant that was previously planted, after
January 19, 2025, and (iii) components
acquired or self-constructed after January
19, 2025, of larger self-constructed property described in § 1.168(k)-2(c)(2), with
the substituted dates in section 3.05 of this
notice.
.02 Reliance on this notice. A taxpayer may rely on the guidance provided in sections 3 through 5 of this
notice for the property described in section 6.01(b) of this notice that is placed
in service in a taxable year beginning
before the date the forthcoming proposed regulations are published in the
Federal Register, provided that the taxpayer follows the guidance provided in
sections 3 through 5 of this notice in its
entirety for all eligible property placed
in service in such taxable years, beginning with the first taxable year with
respect to which the taxpayer relies
on the guidance provided in sections 3
through 5 of this notice.
SECTION 7. PAPERWORK
REDUCTION ACT
The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
(44 U.S.C. 3501-3520) (PRA) generally
requires that a federal agency obtain the
approval of the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) before collecting information from the public, whether such
collection of information is mandatory,
voluntary, or required to obtain or retain
a benefit. An agency may not conduct or
sponsor, and a person is not required to
respond to, a collection of information
unless it displays a valid control number
assigned by the OMB.
The collections of information in this
notice are in sections 3.02, 3.05, 4.02, and
4.03 of this notice.
The collection in section 3.02 of this
notice is an election under § 1.150268(c)(4) that a taxpayer may make to not
claim the additional first year depreciation deduction for qualified property, and
which § 1.1502-68(c)(1) or (2) would
otherwise require the taxpayer to claim
495
such deduction when a member of a consolidated group acquires from another
member property eligible for the additional first year depreciation deduction
(or stock of a third member holding such
property), and the acquirer member (and
acquired member, if applicable) then
leaves the consolidated group. The corporation makes the election by attaching
a statement to its timely filed Federal
income tax return (including extensions)
for the taxable year that begins after the
date on which it leaves the consolidated
group. The likely respondents are corporations.
The collection in section 3.02 of this
notice also allows a taxpayer to make a
§ 168(k)(7) election not to deduct additional first year depreciation for a qualified
sound recording production under § 168(k)
(7). A taxpayer makes the election by following the rules in § 1.168(k)-2(f)(1),
which requires that the election be made
by the due date, including extensions, of
the Federal tax return for the taxable year
in which the qualified property is placed in
service by the taxpayer in the instructions
for Form 4562. The likely respondents are
businesses and individuals.
The collection in section 3.05 of this
notice is an election that allows a taxpayer
to treat one or more components acquired
or self-constructed after January 19, 2025,
of certain larger self-constructed property as being eligible for the 100 percent
additional first year depreciation deduction under § 168(k). See § 1.168(k)-2(c)
(6). The election is made by attaching a
statement to a Federal income tax return
indicating that the taxpayer is making
the election under § 1.168(k)-2(c) and
whether the election is for all or some of
the components. The likely respondents
are businesses and individuals.
The collection in section 4.02 of this
notice is an election in § 168(k)(5) that
allows a taxpayer to deduct additional first
year depreciation for one or more specified plants which is planted or grafted
after January 19, 2025. A taxpayer makes
the election by following § 1.168(k)‑2(f)
(2), which requires a statement to be
attached to the timely filed Federal tax
return (including extensions) for the taxable year the taxpayer planted or grafted
the specified plant, and follow the manner
of making the election in the instructions
February 2, 2026
for Form 4562, Depreciation and Amortization (Including Information on Listed
Property). The likely respondents are
businesses and individuals.
The collection in section 4.03 of
this notice allows a taxpayer to make a
§ 168(k)(10) election to deduct 40 percent (60 percent for certain property having longer production periods or certain
aircraft), instead of 100 percent, additional first year depreciation for all qualified property acquired by the taxpayer
after January 19, 2025, (or, in the case
of specified plants, grafted or planted)
and placed in service by the taxpayer
in its taxable year that includes January
20, 2025. A taxpayer makes the § 168(k)
(10) election by following the rules in
§ 1.168(k)‑2(f)(3), which requires a
statement attached to the timely filed
Federal tax return (including extensions)
for the taxable year that includes January 20, 2025, and in the manner provided
in the instructions for Form 4562. The
likely respondents are businesses and
individuals.
This information requested in sections
3.02, 3.05, 4.02, and 4.03 of this notice
will be used by the IRS to identify the
taxpayer, taxable year, the subject of the
election (such as, transaction (section
3.02 of the notice) or components (section 3.05 of the notice), and property
subject to the election (such as specified
plant(s) (section 4.02 of this notice) or
class of property (section 4.03 of this
notice).
The burden associated with these information collections will be included within
OMB control numbers 1545-0047 for
tax-exempt filers, 1545-0074 for individual filers, 1545-0092 for trust and estate
filers, and 1545-0123 for business filers
in accordance with the PRA procedures
under 5 CFR 1320.10.
Books or records relating to a collection of information must be retained as
long as their contents may become material in the administration of any internal
revenue law. Generally, tax returns and
tax return information are confidential, as
required by 26 U.S.C. 6103.
SECTION 8. DRAFTING AND
CONTACT INFORMATION
The principal author of this notice is
Christian Lagorio of the Office of Associate Chief Counsel (Income Tax and
Accounting). For further information
regarding this notice, contact Mr. Lagorio
at (202) 317-7005 (not a toll-free number).
Update for Weighted
Average Interest Rates,
Yield Curves, and Segment
Rates
Notice 2026-12
This notice provides guidance on the
corporate bond monthly yield curve, the
corresponding spot segment rates used
under § 417(e)(3), and the 24-month average segment rates under § 430(h)(2) of the
Internal Revenue Code. In addition, this
notice provides guidance as to the interest rate on 30-year Treasury securities
under § 417(e)(3)(A)(ii)(II) as in effect for
plan years beginning before 2008 and the
30-year Treasury weighted average rate
under § 431(c)(6)(E)(ii)(I).
YIELD CURVE AND SEGMENT
RATES
Section 430 specifies the minimum
funding requirements that apply to single-employer plans (except for CSEC plans
under § 414(y)) pursuant to § 412. Section
430(h)(2) specifies the interest rates that
must be used to determine a plan’s target
normal cost and funding target. Under
this provision, present value is generally
determined using three 24-month average
interest rates (“segment rates”), each of
which applies to cash flows during speci-
fied periods. To the extent provided under
§ 430(h)(2)(C)(iv), these segment rates
are adjusted by the applicable percentage
of the 25-year average segment rates for
the period ending September 30 of the
year preceding the calendar year in which
the plan year begins.1 However, an election may be made under § 430(h)(2)(D)
(ii) to use the monthly yield curve in place
of the segment rates.
Section 1.430(h)(2)-1(d) provides
rules for determining the monthly corporate bond yield curve,2 and § 1.430(h)
(2)-1(c) provides rules for determining
the 24-month average corporate bond
segment rates used to compute the target
normal cost and the funding target. Consistent with the methodology specified in
§ 1.430(h)(2)-1(d), the monthly corporate
bond yield curve derived from December 2025 data is in Table 2025-12 at the
end of this notice. The spot first, second,
and third segment rates for the month of
December 2025 are, respectively, 4.03,
5.17, and 6.11.
The 24-month average segment rates
determined under § 430(h)(2)(C)(i)
through (iii) must be adjusted pursuant to
§ 430(h)(2)(C)(iv) to be within the applicable minimum and maximum percentages of the corresponding 25-year average segment rates. Those percentages are
95% and 105% for plan years beginning
in 2024, 2025 and 2026. For this purpose,
any 25-year average segment rate that is
less than 5% is deemed to be 5%. The
25-year average segment rates for plan
years beginning in 2024, 2025 and 2026
were published in Notice 2023-66, 202340 I.R.B. 992, Notice 2024-67, 2024-41
I.R.B. 726 and Notice 2025-47, 2025-40
I.R.B. 441, respectively.
24-MONTH AVERAGE CORPORATE
BOND SEGMENT RATES
The three 24-month average corporate
bond segment rates applicable for January
2026 without adjustment for the 25-year
average segment rate limits are as follows:
Pursuant to § 433(h)(3)(A), the third segment rate determined under § 430(h)(2)(C) is used to determine the current liability of a CSEC plan (which is used to calculate the minimum amount
of the full funding limitation under § 433(c)(7)(C)).
2
For months before February 2024, the monthly corporate bond yield curve was determined in accordance with Notice 2007-81, 2007-44 I.R.B. 899. Section 1.430(h)(2)-1(d) generally adopts
the methodology for determining the monthly corporate bond yield curve under Notice 2007-81 but includes two enhancements to take into account subsequent changes in the bond market.
Those enhancements are described in the preamble to TD 9986 (89 FR 2127).
1
February 2, 2026
496
Bulletin No. 2026–6
Applicable Month
January 2026
24-Month Average Segment Rates Without 25-Year Average Adjustment
First Segment
Second Segment
Third Segment
4.57
5.26
5.74
The adjusted 24-month average segment rates set forth in the chart below
reflect § 430(h)(2)(C)(iv) of the Code. The
24-month averages applicable for January
2026, adjusted to be within the applicable
minimum and maximum percentages of
the corresponding 25-year average segment rates in accordance with § 430(h)(2)
(C)(iv), are as follows:
Adjusted 24-Month Average Segment Rates
For Plan Years
Beginning In
Applicable Month
First Segment
Second Segment
Third Segment
2024
January 2026
4.75
5.26
5.74
2025
January 2026
4.75
5.26
5.74
2026
January 2026
4.75
5.25
5.74
30-YEAR TREASURY SECURITIES
INTEREST RATES
Section 431 specifies the minimum
funding requirements that apply to multiemployer plans pursuant to § 412. Section 431(c)(6)(B) specifies a minimum
amount for the full-funding limitation
described in § 431(c)(6)(A), based on the
plan’s current liability. Section 431(c)
(6)(E)(ii)(I) provides that the interest
rate used to calculate current liability for
this purpose must be no more than 5 percent above and no more than 10 percent
below the weighted average of the rates
of interest on 30-year Treasury securities during the four-year period ending
on the last day before the beginning of
the plan year. Notice 88-73, 1988-2 C.B.
383, provides guidelines for determining the weighted average interest rate.
The rate of interest on 30-year Treasury
securities for December 2025 is 4.80
percent. The Service determined this
rate as the average of the daily determinations of yield on the 30-year Treasury
bond maturing in November 2055. For
plan years beginning in January 2026,
the weighted average of the rates of
interest on 30-year Treasury securities
and the permissible range of rates used
to calculate current liability are as follows:
For Plan Years Beginning In
Treasury Weighted Average Rates
30-Year Treasury Weighted Average
Permissible Range 90% to 105%
January 2026
4.36
3.93 to 4.58
under § 417(e)(3)(D) are segment rates
computed without regard to a 24-month
average. Section 1.417(e)-1(d)(3) provides guidelines for determining the
minimum present value segment rates.
Pursuant to that section, the minimum
present value segment rates determined
for December 2025 are as follows:
MINIMUM PRESENT VALUE
SEGMENT RATES
In general, the applicable interest rates
Month
December 2025
Minimum Present Value Segment Rates
First Segment
Second Segment
4.03
5.17
DRAFTING INFORMATION
The principal author of this notice
is Tom Morgan of the Office of Associ-
Bulletin No. 2026–6
ate Chief Counsel (Employee Benefits,
Exempt Organizations, and Employment
Taxes). However, other personnel from
the IRS participated in the development
497
Third Segment
6.11
of this guidance. For further information
regarding this notice, contact Mr. Morgan
at 202-317-6700 or Tony Montanaro at
626-927-1475 (not toll-free calls).
February 2, 2026
Table 2025-12
Monthly Yield Curve for December 2025
Derived from December 2025 Data
Maturity
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
4.0
4.5
5.0
5.5
6.0
6.5
7.0
7.5
8.0
8.5
9.0
9.5
10.0
10.5
11.0
11.5
12.0
12.5
13.0
13.5
14.0
14.5
15.0
15.5
16.0
16.5
17.0
17.5
18.0
18.5
19.0
19.5
20.0
Yield
3.86
3.89
3.92
3.95
3.99
4.03
4.09
4.14
4.20
4.27
4.34
4.41
4.48
4.55
4.62
4.69
4.76
4.83
4.89
4.95
5.01
5.07
5.13
5.18
5.23
5.28
5.32
5.37
5.41
5.45
5.49
5.52
5.55
5.59
5.62
5.65
5.67
5.70
5.72
5.75
February 2, 2026
Maturity
20.5
21.0
21.5
22.0
22.5
23.0
23.5
24.0
24.5
25.0
25.5
26.0
26.5
27.0
27.5
28.0
28.5
29.0
29.5
30.0
30.5
31.0
31.5
32.0
32.5
33.0
33.5
34.0
34.5
35.0
35.5
36.0
36.5
37.0
37.5
38.0
38.5
39.0
39.5
40.0
Yield
5.77
5.79
5.80
5.82
5.84
5.85
5.87
5.88
5.89
5.90
5.91
5.92
5.93
5.94
5.95
5.96
5.97
5.98
5.99
6.00
6.01
6.02
6.03
6.04
6.04
6.05
6.06
6.07
6.08
6.08
6.09
6.10
6.10
6.11
6.12
6.12
6.13
6.14
6.14
6.15
Maturity
40.5
41.0
41.5
42.0
42.5
43.0
43.5
44.0
44.5
45.0
45.5
46.0
46.5
47.0
47.5
48.0
48.5
49.0
49.5
50.0
50.5
51.0
51.5
52.0
52.5
53.0
53.5
54.0
54.5
55.0
55.5
56.0
56.5
57.0
57.5
58.0
58.5
59.0
59.5
60.0
Yield
6.15
6.16
6.16
6.17
6.17
6.18
6.18
6.19
6.19
6.20
6.20
6.21
6.21
6.21
6.22
6.22
6.23
6.23
6.23
6.24
6.24
6.24
6.25
6.25
6.25
6.26
6.26
6.26
6.27
6.27
6.27
6.27
6.28
6.28
6.28
6.29
6.29
6.29
6.29
6.30
498
Maturity
60.5
61.0
61.5
62.0
62.5
63.0
63.5
64.0
64.5
65.0
65.5
66.0
66.5
67.0
67.5
68.0
68.5
69.0
69.5
70.0
70.5
71.0
71.5
72.0
72.5
73.0
73.5
74.0
74.5
75.0
75.5
76.0
76.5
77.0
77.5
78.0
78.5
79.0
79.5
80.0
Yield
6.30
6.30
6.30
6.31
6.31
6.31
6.31
6.31
6.32
6.32
6.32
6.32
6.33
6.33
6.33
6.33
6.33
6.34
6.34
6.34
6.34
6.34
6.34
6.35
6.35
6.35
6.35
6.35
6.35
6.36
6.36
6.36
6.36
6.36
6.36
6.36
6.37
6.37
6.37
6.37
Maturity
80.5
81.0
81.5
82.0
82.5
83.0
83.5
84.0
84.5
85.0
85.5
86.0
86.5
87.0
87.5
88.0
88.5
89.0
89.5
90.0
90.5
91.0
91.5
92.0
92.5
93.0
93.5
94.0
94.5
95.0
95.5
96.0
96.5
97.0
97.5
98.0
98.5
99.0
99.5
100.0
Yield
6.37
6.37
6.37
6.38
6.38
6.38
6.38
6.38
6.38
6.38
6.38
6.39
6.39
6.39
6.39
6.39
6.39
6.39
6.39
6.40
6.40
6.40
6.40
6.40
6.40
6.40
6.40
6.40
6.40
6.41
6.41
6.41
6.41
6.41
6.41
6.41
6.41
6.41
6.41
6.41
Bulletin No. 2026–6
Safe Harbor
Explanations – Eligible
Rollover Distributions
Notice 2026‑13
I. PURPOSE
This notice provides two safe harbor
explanations that plan administrators may
use to satisfy the requirement under section 402(f) of the Internal Revenue Code
(Code) to provide certain information to
recipients of eligible rollover distributions. One safe harbor explanation is for
distributions that are not from a designated
Roth account, and the other safe harbor
explanation is for distributions from a designated Roth account. These safe harbor
explanations modify the two safe harbor
explanations provided in Notice 2020‑62,
2020‑35 IRB 476. The modifications to
the safe harbor explanations take into
consideration certain legislative changes
made by Division T of the Consolidated
Appropriations Act, 2023, Pub. L. 117328, 136 Stat. 4459 (2022), known as the
SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (SECURE 2.0
Act), and implement a recommendation
from the U.S. Government Accountability
Office (GAO).
II. BACKGROUND
A. Section 402(f)
Section 402(f) requires the plan administrator of a plan qualified under section 401(a) to provide the written explanation described in section 402(f)(1)
(section 402(f) notice) to any recipient of
an eligible rollover distribution, as defined
in section 402(c)(4). In addition, section 403(a)(4)(B) requires the plan administrator of a section 403(a) plan to provide
the section 402(f) notice to any recipient
of an eligible rollover distribution, section
457(e)(16)(B) requires the plan administrator of a governmental section 457(b)
plan1 to provide the section 402(f) notice
to any recipient of an eligible rollover
distribution, and section 403(b)(8)(B)
1
requires a payor under a section 403(b)
plan to provide the section 402(f) notice
to any recipient of an eligible rollover distribution.
Section 1.402(f)‑1, Q&A‑1(a), provides that the plan administrator of a qualified plan is required, within a reasonable
period of time before making an eligible
rollover distribution, to provide the distributee with the section 402(f) notice.
Notice 2020‑62 sets forth two safe harbor explanations that may be used to satisfy the requirements for a section 402(f)
notice based on the relevant law as of
August 6, 2020: one safe harbor explanation is for payments not from a designated
Roth account and the other safe harbor
explanation is for payments from a designated Roth account. Notice 2020‑62 provides, however, that those two safe harbor explanations will not satisfy section
402(f) to the extent the explanations are
no longer accurate because of a change in
the relevant law occurring after August 6,
2020.
B. Recent Statutory Changes Related
to Distributions
1. Section 72(t)
Section 72(t)(1) generally provides for
a 10% additional tax on the portion of a
distribution from a qualified retirement
plan (as defined in section 4974(c)) that
is includible in gross income, unless the
distribution qualifies for one of the exceptions in section 72(t)(2).
a. Distributions for Emergency Personal
Expenses
Section 115 of the SECURE 2.0 Act
amended section 72(t)(2) of the Code by
adding section 72(t)(2)(I), which provides
a new exception to the 10% additional
tax for a distribution from an applicable
eligible retirement plan to an individual
for emergency personal expenses. For
a description of the rules relating to the
exception to the 10% additional tax for
emergency personal expense distributions
and the optional adoption of emergency
personal expense distribution provisions,
see Notice 2024‑55, 2024-28 IRB 31.
Section 72(t)(2)(I)(viii) generally provides that the special rules in section 72(t)
(2)(H)(vi)(II) (for qualified birth or adoption distributions) also apply for emergency personal expense distributions.
Thus, an emergency personal expense distribution is not treated as an eligible rollover distribution for purposes of the direct
rollover rules of section 401(a)(31), the
notice requirement under section 402(f),
or the mandatory withholding rules under
section 3405.
b. Certain Distributions to Qualified
Public Safety Employees and
Private‑Sector Firefighters
Prior to the enactment of the SECURE
2.0 Act, section 72(t)(10)(A) of the Code
provided that, in the case of a distribution
to a qualified public safety employee (as
defined in section 72(t)(10)(B)) from a
governmental plan (as defined in section
414(d)), the exception to the 10% additional tax in section 72(t)(2)(A)(v) (relating to separation from service) is applied
by substituting age 50 for age 55. The
SECURE 2.0 Act made changes to the
exception to the 10% additional tax for
qualified public safety employees in section 72(t)(10). Sections 308 and 329 of
the SECURE 2.0 Act modified the exception to the 10% additional tax under section 72(t)(10) of the Code by providing
that the exception applies to a distribution either from a governmental plan to a
qualified public safety employee or from
a qualified plan, section 403(a) annuity,
or section 403(b) plan to a private‑sector
employee who provides firefighting services, if the distribution is received after
the employee’s separation from service
and the earlier of the attainment of age 50
or 25 years of service under the plan. In
addition, section 330 of the SECURE 2.0
Act amended section 72(t)(10)(B)(i) of the
Code by adding State or local correction
officers and forensic security employees
providing for the care, custody, and control of forensic patients to the definition of
qualified public safety employee.
A governmental section 457(b) plan is an eligible section 457(b) plan maintained by a governmental employer described in section 457(e)(1)(A).
Bulletin No. 2026–6
499
February 2, 2026
c. Distributions to Domestic Abuse
Victims
Section 314 of the SECURE 2.0 Act
amended section 72(t)(2) of the Code by
adding section 72(t)(2)(K), which provides a new exception to the 10% additional tax for an eligible distribution to
a domestic abuse victim (domestic abuse
victim distribution). For a description of
the rules relating to the exception to the
10% additional tax for domestic abuse
victim distributions and the optional
adoption of domestic abuse victim distribution provisions, see Notice 2024‑55.
Section 72(t)(2)(K)(vi)(II) provides that
a domestic abuse victim distribution is
not treated as an eligible rollover distribution for purposes of the direct rollover
rules of section 401(a)(31), the notice
requirement under section 402(f), or the
mandatory withholding rules under section 3405.
d. Distributions to Terminally Ill
Individuals
Section 326 of the SECURE 2.0 Act
amended section 72(t)(2) of the Code by
adding a new exception to the 10% additional tax for distributions made to a terminally ill individual. Section 72(t)(2)(L)
provides that an employee who is a terminally ill individual and receives a distribution (terminally ill individual distribution)
on or after the date on which the employee
has been certified by a physician as having a terminal illness will not be subject
to the 10% additional tax with respect to
the distribution. For a description of the
rules relating to the exception to the 10%
additional tax for terminally ill individual
distributions, see Part F of Notice 2024‑2,
2024‑2 IRB 316. A terminally ill individual distribution is an eligible rollover
distribution for purposes of the direct rollover rules of section 401(a)(31), the notice
requirement under section 402(f), and the
mandatory withholding rules under section 3405.
Although section 72(t)(2)(L) provides
an exception to the 10% additional tax, it
does not provide an exception from the
distribution restriction requirements in
sections 401(k)(2)(B)(i), 403(b)(7)(A)
(i), and 403(b)(11). Therefore, a plan that
is subject to these distribution restric-
February 2, 2026
tion requirements may only make a terminally ill individual distribution to an
employee who is otherwise eligible for
a permissible distribution. For example,
a section 401(k) plan may distribute a
terminally ill individual distribution to
an employee who is otherwise eligible
for a permissible distribution and meets
the requirements of that permissible distribution, such as a distribution after the
employee separates from service, without violating the distribution restriction
requirements under section 401(k)(2)
(B)(i). For the distribution to also meet
the requirements of a terminally ill individual distribution, the distribution must
meet the applicable requirements in
Notice 2024‑2, for a terminally ill individual distribution, including the content
requirement for the certification described
in Q&A F‑6, the timing requirement for
the certification described in Q&A F‑7,
and the documentation requirement
described in Q&A F‑13 of Notice 2024‑2.
In the example above, when distributing
the terminally ill individual distribution, the plan administrator of the section 401(k) plan would need to provide
a section 402(f) notice for the separated
employee requesting a terminally ill individual distribution.
e. Qualified Disaster Recovery
Distributions
Section 331 of the SECURE 2.0 Act
amended section 72(t) of the Code by
(1) adding section 72(t)(2)(M), which
provides a new exception to the 10%
additional tax for any qualified disaster
recovery distribution, and (2) adding section 72(t)(11), which provides additional
rules related to qualified disaster recovery
distributions. Section 72(t)(11)(A) and
(B) permits an individual whose principal place of abode at any time during the
incident period of a qualified disaster is
located in the qualified disaster area and
who has sustained an economic loss by
reason of the qualified disaster to receive
a distribution of up to $22,000 (a qualified disaster recovery distribution) on or
after the first day of the incident period of
the qualified disaster and before the date
that is 180 days after the applicable date
with respect to the disaster. A qualified
disaster is defined in section 72(t)(11)(E)
500
as any disaster with respect to which a
major disaster has been declared by the
President under section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, Pub. L. 100‑707,
102 Stat. 4689 (1988), after December
27, 2020. The term applicable date is
defined in section 72(t)(11)(F)(iii) as the
latest of December 29, 2022 (the date of
enactment of section 72(t)(11)(F)), the
first day of the incident period (as specified by the Federal Emergency Management Agency) with respect to the qualified disaster, or the date of the disaster
declaration with respect to the qualified
disaster. Section 72(t)(11)(G)(i) provides
that a qualified disaster recovery distribution is not treated as an eligible rollover
distribution for purposes of the direct
rollover rules of section 401(a)(31), the
notice requirement under section 402(f),
or the mandatory withholding rules under
section 3405.
For a description of the rules relating to
the exception to the 10% additional tax for
qualified disaster recovery distributions
and the optional adoption of qualified
disaster recovery distribution provisions,
see IRS Fact Sheet 2024‑19, Disaster
relief frequently asked questions: Retirement plans and IRAs under the SECURE
2.0 Act of 2022 (IR‑2024‑132, May 3,
2024).
f. Distributions from Pension‑Linked
Emergency Savings Accounts
Section 127(e)(2) of the SECURE 2.0
Act amended section 72(t)(2) of the Code
by adding section 72(t)(2)(J), which provides that the 10% additional tax does
not apply to distributions from a pension-linked emergency savings account
(PLESA) pursuant to section 402A(e).
See section II.B.3.c of this notice for a
general description of PLESAs, including the application of section 402(f)
notice requirements to PLESA distributions.
g. Qualified Long-Term Care
Distributions
Section 334 of the SECURE 2.0 Act
amended section 72(t)(2) of the Code by
adding section 72(t)(2)(N) to provide a
new exception to the 10% additional tax
Bulletin No. 2026–6
for qualified long-term care distributions,
which are generally distributions made
to an employee during the taxable year
to pay for certified long-term care insurance for the employee or the employee’s
spouse. Section 334 of the SECURE 2.0
Act also added section 401(a)(39) of the
Code, which provides that a trust forming part of a qualified defined contribution plan will not be treated as failing to
constitute a qualified trust solely because
the plan permits qualified long-term care
distributions, if certain requirements are
met.2 Section 334 of the SECURE 2.0 Act
is effective for distributions made after
December 29, 2025.
Section 72(t)(2)(N)(iii) provides that a
qualified long-term care distribution is not
treated as an eligible rollover distribution
for purposes of the direct rollover rules of
section 401(a)(31), the notice requirement
under section 402(f), or the mandatory
withholding rules under section 3405.
2. Required Minimum Distributions
Section 401(a)(9) establishes a mandatory date, known as the “required beginning date,” by which required minimum
distributions to a plan participant must
start. Under section 402(c)(4)(B), required
minimum distributions are not eligible
rollover distributions.
a. Applicable Ages for Required
Minimum Distributions
Section 107 of the SECURE 2.0 Act
amended section 401(a)(9) of the Code
to increase the ages at which required
minimum distributions must begin. Section 401(a)(9)(C)(i) provides that the
required beginning date for required minimum distributions is April 1 of the calendar year following the later of (I) the calendar year in which the employee attains
the applicable age, or (II) the calendar
year in which the employee retires. Section 401(a)(9)(C)(v) provides that, (I) in
the case of an individual who attains age
72 after December 31, 2022, and age 73
before January 1, 2033, the applicable age
is 73, and (II) in the case of an individual who attains age 74 after December 31,
2032, the applicable age is 75.
b. Required Minimum Distributions Not
Required from Designated Roth Account
in a Plan
Section 325 of the SECURE 2.0 Act
amended section 402A(d) of the Code by
adding section 402A(d)(5), which provides that neither required minimum distributions under section 401(a)(9)(A) nor
the incidental death benefit requirements
of section 401(a) apply to any designated
Roth account in a plan.
c. Surviving Spouse Election to Be
Treated as Employee
Section 327 of the SECURE 2.0 Act
amended the special rule for the surviving spouse of an employee under section 401(a)(9)(B)(iv) of the Code. Under
section 401(a)(9)(B)(iv), if the designated
beneficiary in section 401(a)(9)(B)(iii)(I)
is the surviving spouse of the employee
and the surviving spouse will be taking
annual distributions over a period of longer than 10 years, then those distributions
are not required to start until the year in
which the employee would have attained
the applicable age. If the surviving spouse
dies before required minimum distributions to the surviving spouse begin, favorable required minimum distribution rules
in section 401(a)(9)(B)(iii) would apply
as if the surviving spouse is the employee.
In addition, a surviving spouse may
elect to be treated as if the surviving
spouse were the employee for purposes of
determining the amount of each required
minimum distribution. If this election
is made, then the surviving spouse may
take distributions over a longer number of
years than the surviving spouse’s remaining life expectancy. If this election is not
made, required minimum distributions
will be made over the life of the surviving spouse (or over a period not extending
beyond the life expectancy of the surviving spouse).
3. Other Statutory and Regulatory
Changes Related to Distributions
a. Mandatory Distributions
Section 304 of the SECURE 2.0 Act
increased from $5,000 to $7,000 the
dollar thresholds related to distributions
under sections 411(a)(11) and 401(a)(31)
(B) of the Code. Section 411(a)(11) generally permits plans qualified under section 401(a) to include provisions allowing
for the immediate distribution of a separating participant’s benefit without such
participant’s consent if the present value
of the nonforfeitable accrued benefit does
not exceed $7,000 (mandatory distributions). Plans may provide that amounts
attributable to previous rollovers into the
plan are excluded for purposes of determining whether the present value of the
nonforfeitable accrued benefit does not
exceed $7,000.
If a distributee does not make an affirmative election to have a mandatory distribution of more than $1,000 paid from
a plan qualified under section 401(a)3
in a direct rollover to an eligible retirement plan or to receive the distribution
directly, section 401(a)(31)(B) requires
that such mandatory distribution be paid
in a direct rollover to an individual retirement plan, i.e., an individual retirement
account as described in section 408(a) or
an individual retirement annuity described
in section 408(b) (IRA), of a designated
trustee or issuer. Section 401(a)(31)(B)(i)
requires that the plan administrator notify
the distributee in writing (either separately
or as part of the section 402(f) notice) that
the distribution may be paid in a direct
rollover to an IRA.
b. Distributions from Governmental
Plans to Eligible Retired Public Safety
Officers for Health and Long-Term Care
Insurance
Section 402(l) provides special rules
regarding distributions from governmental
plans to eligible retired public safety officers for health and long-term care insur-
Qualified long-term care distributions are also permitted from section 401(k) plans pursuant to section 401(k)(2)(B)(i)(VII), qualified annuity contracts pursuant to section 403(a)(6), section 403(b) custodial accounts pursuant to section 403(b)(7)(A)(i)(VII), section 403(b) annuity contracts pursuant to section 403(b)(11)(E), and governmental section 457(b) plans pursuant
to section 457(d)(1)(A)(v).
3
The mandatory distribution rules in section 401(a)(31)(B) also apply to 403(b) plans pursuant to section 403(b)(10) and governmental section 457(b) plans pursuant to section 457(d)(1)(C).
2
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501
February 2, 2026
ance. Section 402(l)(1) provides that, in
general, in the case of an employee who is
an eligible retired public safety officer and
who makes an election under section 402(l)
(6) with respect to any taxable year, the
employee’s gross income for that taxable
year does not include any distribution from
an eligible retirement plan to the extent
that the aggregate amount of the distributions does not exceed the amount paid by
the employee for qualified health insurance premiums for the taxable year. Section 402(l)(2) limits the amount that may
be excluded from gross income for the taxable year under section 402(l)(1) to $3,000.
Prior to the enactment of the SECURE
2.0 Act, section 402(l)(5)(A) of the Code
provided that insurance premiums may
be excluded from gross income only if
the payment of the premiums is made
directly to the provider of the accident or
health plan or qualified long-term insurance contract by deduction from a distribution from the retirement plan (the
direct payment requirement). As amended
by section 328 of the SECURE 2.0 Act,
section 402(l)(5)(A)(i) of the Code eliminates the direct payment requirement.
Instead, section 402(l)(5)(A)(i) provides
that the tax treatment under section 402(l)
(1) applies to a distribution without regard
to whether payment of the premiums is
made directly to the provider of the accident or health plan or qualified long-term
care insurance contract by deduction from
a distribution from the eligible retirement
plan, or is made to the employee.
c. Pension‑Linked Emergency Savings
Accounts
Section 127 of the SECURE 2.0 Act
amended title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974
(ERISA) and section 402A of the Code to
provide that certain retirement plans may
include PLESAs. In general, PLESAs are
short‑term savings accounts established
and maintained in connection with a
defined contribution plan and are treated
as a type of designated Roth account.
Section 402A(e)(10)(A) provides that
distributions from PLESAs generally are
not treated as eligible rollover distribu-
tions for purposes of section 402(f), except
as provided in section 402A(e)(10)(B).
Pursuant to section 402A(e)(10)(B), in the
case of termination of employment of the
participant or termination of the PLESA
by the plan sponsor, a distribution may be
transferred under section 402A(e)(8)(A)
(i)4 to another designated Roth account
in the defined contribution plan, and, if
so transferred, the distribution from the
PLESA is treated as an eligible rollover
distribution for purposes of section 402(f).
d. Collectibles
On July 19, 2024, the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service
(IRS) published TD 10001 (89 FR 58886),
which sets forth final regulations under
section 401(a)(9) that, among other things,
updated the list of distributions and deemed
distributions that are not eligible rollover
distributions. Specifically, § 1.402(c)‑2(c)
(3)(x) provides that amounts treated as distributed as a result of the purchase of a collectible pursuant to section 408(m) are not
eligible rollover distributions.
C. Government Accountability Office
Report
On May 22, 2024, the GAO released a
report, titled 401(k) Retirement Plan Tax
Notices: Federal Actions Can Help Participants Understand Their Distribution
Options, GAO-24-107167 (GAO Report).
The GAO Report examines the effectiveness of section 402(f) notices in helping
participants understand their distribution
options and associated tax consequences.
The GAO Report made several recommendations to the Department of the
Treasury (Treasury Department) to mitigate the challenges section 401(k) plan
participants face regarding section 402(f)
notices. The GAO Report recommended
that the section 402(f) notices provide
clearer and more concise information
about each of the following four distribution options and their associated tax consequences: (1) leave their savings in their
former employer’s plan, (2) roll over their
savings into a plan sponsored by their new
employer in a plan‑to‑plan rollover, (3)
roll over their savings into an IRA, or (4)
take a lump‑sum distribution.
The GAO Report also recommended
that the Treasury Department address the
timing requirements for plans to provide
the section 402(f) notice to ensure the
section 402(f) notice is provided to participants when they leave their jobs and
become eligible to take distributions. The
GAO Report acknowledged that the Treasury Department informed the GAO that
there is no statutory authority to require a
section 402(f) notice to a participant upon
separation from service.
Under § 1.402(f)‑1, Q&A‑2(b), a
plan administrator may provide a participant with a section 402(f) notice earlier than is required (for example, upon
a participant’s separation from service).
Then, rather than providing the full section 402(f) notice a second time within the
required section 402(f) notice timeframe,
a plan administrator would be permitted to
provide the participant with a summary of
the section 402(f) notice within that timeframe. However, if the participant requests
the full section 402(f) notice after receiving the summary, the plan administrator
would need to provide the section 402(f)
notice without charge.
The Treasury Department and the IRS
encourage plan administrators to consider
implementing the GAO Report’s recommendation to provide the section 402(f) notice in
connection with a participant’s separation
from service under the options described in
§ 1.402(f)‑1, Q&A‑2(b), in order to provide
the participant with information about distribution options at the point in time when the
participant is facing an important decision
about retirement savings.
III. MODIFICATIONS TO THE SAFE
HARBOR EXPLANATIONS
Two updated safe harbor explanations are appended to this notice (see the
Appendix). The safe harbor explanations
modify the safe harbor explanations in
Notice 2020‑62 to reflect certain legislative changes made after August 6, 2020,
including: (1) various changes relating
to the exceptions under section 72(t)
(2) to the 10% additional tax under sec-
Under section 402A(e)(8)(A)(i), a participant may elect to transfer the PLESA account balance, in whole or in part, into another designated Roth account of the participant under the defined
contribution plan.
4
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502
Bulletin No. 2026–6
tion 72(t)(1), (2) changes relating to the
required minimum distribution rules for
surviving spouses, (3) the increased age
for determining required beginning dates
for required minimum distributions under
section 401(a)(9), (4) the elimination
of required minimum distributions with
respect to designated Roth accounts in a
plan, (5) the increased dollar thresholds
related to small lump-sum distributions
under sections 411(a)(11) and 401(a)(31)
(B), (6) changes to the rules relating to
distributions from governmental plans for
health and long-term care insurance, and
(7) rules relating to PLESA distributions.
The safe harbor explanations also include
a paragraph setting forth the options generally available to plan participants receiving
eligible rollover distributions. As noted in
the GAO Report, providing clear and concise information will allow notice recipients to fully consider the implications of
their distribution options before they make
decisions about their plan savings. Finally,
the safe harbor explanations include other
minor modifications to improve clarity,
including a limitation on rollovers to SIMPLE IRA plans under section 408(p)(1)(B)
and a table of contents to help a recipient
easily identify information and topics that
are relevant to the recipient’s decision.
The updated safe harbor explanations
provided in this notice may be used by
plan administrators and payors to satisfy
section 402(f). The updated safe harbor
explanations will not, however, satisfy
section 402(f) to the extent the explanations are no longer accurate because of a
change in the relevant law occurring after
January 15, 2026. The IRS anticipates
updating the safe harbor explanations to
reflect relevant future changes, including
provisions of the SECURE 2.0 Act that
are not effective until taxable years beginning after December 31, 2026.5
The first safe harbor explanation reflects
the rules relating to distributions not from
a designated Roth account. Thus, the first
safe harbor explanation should be used
only if the participant is eligible to receive
an eligible rollover distribution that is not
from a designated Roth account. The second safe harbor explanation reflects the
rules relating to distributions from a desig-
nated Roth account. Thus, the second safe
harbor explanation should be used only if
the participant is eligible to receive an eligible rollover distribution from a designated
Roth account. Both explanations should be
provided to a participant if the participant is
eligible to receive eligible rollover distributions from both a designated Roth account
and an account other than a designated
Roth account.
The safe harbor explanation in this
notice for distributions not from a designated Roth account meets the requirements
of section 402(f) for an eligible rollover
distribution that is not from a designated
Roth account if it is provided to the recipient of the eligible rollover distribution
within a reasonable period of time before
the distribution is made. Similarly, the safe
harbor explanation in this notice for distributions from a designated Roth account
meets the requirements of section 402(f)
for an eligible rollover distribution from a
designated Roth account if it is provided to
the recipient of the eligible rollover distribution within a reasonable period of time
before the distribution is made.
Section 1.402(f)‑1, Q&A‑2, currently
provides, in general, that a reasonable
period of time for providing an explanation is no less than 30 days (subject to
waiver by the distributee) and no more
than 90 days before the date on which the
distribution is made. However, proposed
§ 1.402(f)‑1, Q&A‑2(a), pursuant to section 1102(a)(1)(B) of the Pension Protection Act of 2006, Pub. L. 109‑280, 120
Stat. 780, provides that a notice required
to be provided under section 402(f) may
be provided to a participant as much as
180 days before the date on which the distribution is made (or the annuity starting
date). The proposed regulations further
provide that, with respect to the extended
period for notices, plans may rely on the
proposed regulations for notices provided
during the period beginning on the first
day of the first plan year beginning on or
after January 1, 2007, and ending on the
effective date of final regulations. Thus,
the section 402(f) notice may be provided
as many as 180 days before the date on
which the distribution is made (or the
annuity starting date).
A plan administrator or payor may
customize a safe harbor explanation
by omitting any information that does
not apply to the plan, and the Treasury
Department and IRS encourage that
customization. For example, if the plan
does not hold after-tax employee contributions, it would be appropriate to
eliminate the section “If your payment
includes after-tax contributions” in the
explanation for payments not from a designated Roth account. Similarly, if the
plan does not provide for distributions of
employer stock or other employer securities, it would be appropriate to eliminate
the section “If your payment includes
employer stock that you do not roll
over.” Other information that may not be
relevant to a particular plan includes, for
example, the sections “If your payment is
from a governmental section 457(b) plan”
and “If you are an eligible retired public
safety officer and your payment is used
to pay for health coverage or qualified
long-term care insurance.” In addition,
the plan administrator or payor may provide additional information with a safe
harbor explanation if the information is
not inconsistent with section 402(f).
Alternatively, a plan administrator or
payor may satisfy section 402(f) by providing an explanation that is different
from a safe harbor explanation provided
in this notice. To satisfy section 402(f), an
explanation must include the information
required by section 402(f) and must be
written in a manner designed to be easily
understood.
IV. EFFECT ON OTHER
DOCUMENTS
Notice 2020‑62 is superseded.
DRAFTING INFORMATION
The principal authors of this notice are
Jordan D. Kohl and Christina M. Cerasale
of the Office of Associate Chief Counsel
(Employee Benefits, Exempt Organizations, and Employment Taxes). For further information regarding this notice,
contact Ms. Kohl at (312) 292‑2170 (not
a toll-free number).
The SECURE 2.0 Act includes the following provisions that are not effective until taxable years beginning after December 31, 2026: section 103 (adding Code section 6433, which provides
for Saver’s Match contributions) and section 309 (adding Code section 139C, which provides for the exclusion from income of certain disability-related qualified first responder retirement
payments).
5
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February 2, 2026
Appendix
For Payments Not From a
Designated Roth Account
YOUR OPTIONS FOR ELIGIBLE ROLLOVER DISTRIBUTIONS
You are receiving this notice because you are eligible to receive a payment from the [INSERT NAME OF PLAN] (the “Plan”) that
you can transfer (roll over) to an IRA or another employer plan. This notice is intended to help you decide whether to roll over the
payment (or some portion of it).
CONTENTS
GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT ROLLOVERS
What can I do with an amount that is eligible for rollover?
How can a payment affect my taxes?
How can a rollover affect my taxes?
What types of retirement accounts and plans may accept my rollover?
How do I do a rollover?
How much may I roll over?
If I don’t do a rollover, will I have to pay the 10% additional tax on distributions before age 59½?
If I do a rollover to an IRA, will the 10% additional tax apply to a later distribution from the IRA before age 59½?
Will I owe state income taxes?
SPECIAL RULES AND OPTIONS
If your payment includes after-tax contributions
If you miss the 60-day rollover deadline
If your payment includes employer stock that you don’t roll over
If you have an outstanding loan that is being offset
If you receive a payment and you were born on or before January 1, 1936
If your payment is from a governmental section 457(b) plan
If you are an eligible retired public safety officer and your payment is used to pay for health coverage or qualified long-term care
insurance
If you roll over your payment to a SIMPLE IRA
If you roll over your payment to a Roth IRA
If you roll over your payment to a designated Roth account in the Plan
If you aren’t a Plan participant
If you are a nonresident alien
Other special rules
FOR MORE INFORMATION
GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT ROLLOVERS
This notice describes the rollover rules that apply to payments from the Plan that are not from a designated Roth account (a type of
account in some employer plans that is subject to special tax rules). If you also receive a payment from a designated Roth account
in the Plan, you will be provided a different notice for that payment, and the Plan administrator or the payor will tell you the amount
that is being paid from each account.
Rules that apply to most payments from a plan are described in this “General Information About Rollovers” section. Special rules
that only apply in certain circumstances are described in the “Special Rules and Options” section, including rules if your Plan is a
governmental section 457(b) plan, you have after-tax contributions, or your benefit doesn’t exceed $7,000.
What can I do with an amount that is eligible for rollover?
When an amount payable (that is, an amount you are eligible to take as a payment from the Plan) is eligible for rollover, you generally
may choose some combination of the following:
February 2, 2026
504
Bulletin No. 2026–6
•
•
•
•
Leave it in the Plan, that is, do not take the payment,
Roll it over into another employer plan,
Roll it over into an IRA, or
Take it, don’t roll it over, and pay any required taxes.
Whether these options are available to you depends on your circumstances and the terms of the Plan. For example, you may be
required to take a payment (and not roll it over) based on your age or if your benefit is below a certain threshold.
How can a payment affect my taxes?
If you don’t do a rollover, you will be taxed on a payment from the Plan, and, if you are under age 59½, you will also have to pay a
10% additional tax (unless an exception applies).
How can a rollover affect my taxes?
If you do a rollover, you won’t have to pay tax until you receive payments later.
What types of retirement accounts and plans may accept my rollover?
You may roll over the payment to either an IRA (an individual retirement account or individual retirement annuity) or an employer
plan (a tax-qualified plan (such as a section 401(k) plan), a section 403(b) plan, or a governmental section 457(b) plan) that will accept
the rollover. The rules of the IRA or employer plan that receives the rollover will determine your investment options, fees, and rights
to payment from the IRA or employer plan (for example, IRAs aren’t subject to spousal consent rules, and IRAs may not provide
loans). Further, the amount rolled over will become subject to the tax rules that apply to the IRA or employer plan. For additional
information on IRAs, see IRS Publication 590‑A, Contributions to Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs), and IRS Publication
590‑B, Distributions from Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs).
How do I do a rollover?
There are two ways to do a rollover. You can do either a direct rollover or a 60‑day rollover.
If you do a direct rollover, the Plan will make the payment directly to your IRA or an employer plan. You should contact the IRA
provider or the administrator of the employer plan for information on how to do a direct rollover.
If you do a 60-day rollover, you will receive a payment from the Plan and then make a deposit into an IRA or eligible employer plan
that will accept it. Generally, you will have 60 days after you receive the payment to make the deposit. If you don’t do a direct rollover, the Plan is required to withhold 20% of the payment for federal income taxes (up to the amount of cash and property received
other than employer stock). This means that, in order to roll over the entire payment in a 60‑day rollover, you must use other funds
to make up for the amount withheld. If you don’t roll over the entire amount of the payment, the portion not rolled over will be taxed
and will be subject to the 10% additional tax on early distributions if you are under age 59½ (unless an exception applies).
How much may I roll over?
You may roll over all or part of the amount eligible for rollover. Any payment from the Plan is eligible for rollover, except:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Certain payments spread over a period of at least 10 years or over your life or life expectancy (or the joint lives or joint life
expectancies of you and your beneficiary);
Required minimum distributions;
Hardship distributions;
Payments of employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) dividends;
Corrective distributions of contributions that exceeded tax law limitations;
Loans treated as deemed distributions (for example, loans in default due to missed payments before your employment ends);
Cost of life insurance paid by the Plan;
Payments of certain automatic enrollment contributions that you request to withdraw within 90 days of your first contribution;
Amounts treated as distributed because of a prohibited allocation of S corporation stock under an ESOP;
Distributions used to pay certain premiums for health and accident insurance; and
Amounts treated as distributed as a result of the purchase of a collectible.
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February 2, 2026
The Plan administrator or the payor can tell you what portion of a payment is eligible for rollover.
If I don’t do a rollover, will I have to pay the 10% additional tax on distributions before age 59½?
If you are under age 59½, you will have to pay the 10% additional tax on early distributions for any payment from the Plan (including
amounts withheld for income tax) that you don’t roll over, unless one of the exceptions listed below applies. This tax applies to the
part of the distribution that you must include in income and is in addition to the regular income tax on the payment not rolled over.
The 10% additional tax doesn’t apply to the following payments from the Plan:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Payments made after you separate from service if you are at least age 55 in the year of the separation;
Payments that start after you separate from service if paid at least annually in substantially equal amounts over your life or life
expectancy (or the joint lives or joint life expectancies of you and your beneficiary);
Payments from a governmental plan made after you separate from service as a qualified public safety employee and, in the year
of separation, have reached age 50 or 25 years of service under the Plan;
Payments from a private‑sector plan made after you separate from service as a private‑sector firefighter and, in the year of separation, have reached age 50 or 25 years of service under the Plan;
Payments made due to disability;
Payments made after your death;
Payments of ESOP dividends;
Corrective distributions of contributions that exceed tax law limitations;
Cost of life insurance paid by the Plan;
Payments made directly to the government to satisfy a federal tax levy;
Payments made under a qualified domestic relations order (QDRO);
Payments from a defined contribution plan that are qualified birth or adoption distributions;
Payments from a defined contribution plan for purposes of meeting unforeseeable or immediate financial needs relating to personal or family emergency expenses (emergency personal expense distributions);
Payments to a victim of domestic abuse from a defined contribution plan that isn’t subject to the qualified joint survivor annuity
or qualified preretirement survivor annuity rules (domestic abuse victim distributions);
Payments after you receive a certification from a physician that you have a terminal illness (terminal illness distributions);
Payments that are qualified disaster recovery distributions;
Payments made from a defined contribution plan that are qualified long-term care distributions;
Payments up to the amount of your deductible medical expenses (without regard to whether you itemize deductions for the taxable year);
Certain payments made while you are on active duty if you were a member of a reserve component called to duty after September
11, 2001, for more than 179 days;
Payments of certain automatic enrollment contributions that you request to withdraw within 90 days of your first contribution;
Phased retirement payments made to federal employees; and
Payments from a pension-linked emergency savings account.
For more information about the 10% additional tax and the exceptions to the 10% additional tax, see IRS Publication 575, Pension
and Annuity Income, under the heading Tax on Early Distributions. For information on how to claim an exception, see the Instructions
for IRS Form 5329, Additional Taxes on Qualified Plans (Including IRAs) and Other Tax-Favored Accounts.
If I do a rollover to an IRA, will the 10% additional tax apply to a later distribution from the IRA before age 59½?
If you receive a payment from an IRA when you are under age 59½, you will have to pay the 10% additional tax on early distributions
on the part of the payment that you must include in income, unless an exception applies. In general, the exceptions to the 10% additional tax for early distributions from an IRA are the same as the exceptions listed above for early distributions from a plan. However,
there are a few differences for payments from an IRA, including:
•
•
The exception for payments from a plan made after you separate from service if you are at least age 55 in the year of the separation (or the earlier of age 50 or attainment of 25 years of service under the Plan for qualified public safety employees and
private‑sector firefighters) doesn’t apply to payments from an IRA;
The exception for payments made pursuant to a QDRO under a plan doesn’t apply to an IRA (although a special rule applies
under which, as part of a divorce or separation agreement, a tax-free transfer may be made directly to an IRA of a spouse or
former spouse); and
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•
The exception for substantially equal periodic payments from a plan also applies to payments from an IRA but without regard to
whether you have had a separation from service.
Also, there are exceptions to the 10% additional tax that do not apply to payments from a plan but that do apply to payments from
an IRA, including:
•
•
•
Payments for qualified higher education expenses;
Payments up to $10,000 used in a qualified first-time home purchase; and
Payments for health insurance premiums after you have received unemployment compensation for 12 consecutive weeks (or
would have been eligible to receive unemployment compensation but for self‑employed status).
For more general information about the 10% additional tax and the exceptions to the 10% additional tax on payments from an IRA,
see the Instructions to IRS Form 5329, Additional Taxes on Qualified Plans (Including IRAs) and Other Tax-Favored Accounts. See
also, IRS Publication 590‑B, Distributions from Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs), under the heading Early Distributions.
Will I owe state income taxes?
This notice doesn’t address any state or local income tax rules (including withholding rules).
SPECIAL RULES AND OPTIONS
If your payment includes after‑tax contributions
After-tax contributions included in a payment aren’t taxed. If you receive a partial payment of your total benefit, an allocable portion
of your after-tax contributions is included in the payment, so you can’t take a payment of only after-tax contributions. However, if you
have pre‑1987 after‑tax contributions maintained in a separate account, a special rule may apply to determine whether the after‑tax
contributions are included in the payment. In addition, special rules apply when you do a rollover, as described below.
You may roll over to an IRA a payment that includes after-tax contributions through either a direct rollover or a 60‑day rollover. You
must keep track of the aggregate amount of the after-tax contributions in all of your IRAs (in order to determine your taxable income
for later payments from the IRAs). If you do a direct rollover of only a portion of the amount paid from the Plan and at the same time
the rest is paid to you, the portion rolled over consists first of the amount that would be taxable if not rolled over. For example, assume
you are receiving a payment of $12,000, of which $2,000 is after-tax contributions. In this case, if you directly roll over $10,000 to an
IRA that isn’t a Roth IRA, no amount is taxable because the $2,000 amount not rolled over is treated as being after-tax contributions.
If you do a direct rollover of the entire amount paid from the Plan to two or more destinations at the same time, you can choose which
destination receives the after-tax contributions.
Similarly, if you do a 60‑day rollover to an IRA of only a portion of a payment made to you, the portion rolled over consists first of
the amount that would be taxable if not rolled over. For example, assume you are receiving a payment of $12,000, of which $2,000
is after-tax contributions, and no part of the payment is directly rolled over. In this case, if you roll over $10,000 to an IRA that isn’t
a Roth IRA in a 60‑day rollover, no amount is taxable because the $2,000 amount not rolled over is treated as being after-tax contributions.
You may roll over to an employer plan all of a payment that includes after-tax contributions, but only through a direct rollover (and
only if the receiving plan separately accounts for after-tax contributions and isn’t a governmental section 457(b) plan). You can do a
60‑day rollover to an employer plan of part of a payment that includes after-tax contributions, but only up to the amount of the payment that would be taxable if not rolled over.
If you miss the 60‑day rollover deadline
Generally, the 60‑day rollover deadline can’t be extended. However, the IRS has authority to waive the deadline under certain extraordinary circumstances, such as when external events prevented you from completing the rollover by the 60‑day rollover deadline.
Under certain circumstances, you may claim eligibility for a waiver of the 60‑day rollover deadline by making a written self-certification. Otherwise, to apply for a waiver from the IRS, you must file a private letter ruling request with the IRS. Private letter ruling
requests require the payment of a nonrefundable user fee. For more information, see IRS Publication 590‑A, Contributions to Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs), under the heading Rollovers.
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If your payment includes employer stock that you don’t roll over
If you don’t do a rollover, you can apply a special rule to payments of employer stock (or other employer securities) that are either
attributable to after-tax contributions or paid in a lump sum after separation from service (or after age 59½, disability, or the participant’s death). Under the special rule, the net unrealized appreciation on the stock won’t be taxed when distributed from the Plan
and will be taxed at capital gain rates when you sell the stock. Net unrealized appreciation is generally the increase in the value of
employer stock after it was acquired by the Plan. If you do a rollover to an IRA or an employer plan for a payment that includes
employer stock (for example, by selling the stock and rolling over the proceeds within 60 days of the payment), the special rule relating to the distributed employer stock won’t apply to any later payments from the IRA or, generally, the plan. The Plan administrator
can tell you the amount of any net unrealized appreciation.
If you have an outstanding loan that is being offset
If you have an outstanding loan from the Plan, your Plan benefit may be offset by the outstanding amount of the loan (offset amount),
typically when your employment ends. The offset amount is treated as a distribution to you at the time of the offset, even though you
will not receive the offset amount. Generally, you may roll over all or any portion of the offset amount using other funds. Any offset
amount that isn’t rolled over will be taxed (including the 10% additional tax on early distributions, unless an exception applies). You
may roll over offset amounts to an IRA or an employer plan (if the terms of the employer plan permit the plan to receive plan loan
offset rollovers).
How long you have to complete the rollover depends on what kind of plan loan offset you have. If you have a qualified plan loan
offset, you will have until your tax return due date (including extensions) for the tax year during which the offset occurs to complete
your rollover. A qualified plan loan offset occurs when a plan loan in good standing is offset because your employer plan terminates,
or because you separate from service. If your plan loan offset occurs for any other reason (such as a failure to make level loan repayments that results in a deemed distribution), then you have 60 days from the date the offset occurs to complete your rollover.
If you receive a payment and you were born on or before January 1, 1936
If you were born on or before January 1, 1936, and receive a lump sum payment that you don’t roll over, special rules for calculating
the amount of the tax on the payment might apply to you. For more information, see IRS Publication 575, Pension and Annuity Income.
If your payment is from a governmental section 457(b) plan
If the Plan is a governmental section 457(b) plan, the same rules described elsewhere in this notice generally apply, allowing you
to roll over the payment to an IRA or an employer plan that accepts rollovers. One difference is that, if you don’t do a rollover, you
won’t have to pay the 10% additional tax on early distributions from the Plan even if you are under age 59½ (unless the payment is
from a separate account holding rollover contributions that were made to the Plan from a tax-qualified plan, a section 403(b) plan,
or an IRA). However, if you do a rollover to an IRA or to an employer plan that isn’t a governmental section 457(b) plan, a later
distribution made before age 59½ will be subject to the 10% additional tax on early distributions (unless an exception applies). Other
differences include that you can’t do a rollover if the payment is an “unforeseeable emergency” distribution, and that the special rules
under the sections “If your payment includes employer stock that you don’t roll over” and “If you were born on or before January 1,
1936” don’t apply.
If you are an eligible retired public safety officer and your payment is used to pay for health coverage or qualified long-term
care insurance
If the Plan is a governmental plan, you retired as a public safety officer, and your retirement was by reason of disability or was after
normal retirement age, you can exclude from your taxable income, not to exceed $3,000, the amounts, (1) that were paid by the Plan
directly to an insurer of health coverage or qualified long-term care insurance or (2) that were received by you from the Plan and used
to pay for premiums to an accident or health plan (or a qualified long-term care insurance contract) that your employer maintains for
you, your spouse, or your dependents. For this purpose, a public safety officer is a law enforcement officer, firefighter, chaplain, or
member of a rescue squad or ambulance crew.
If you roll over your payment to a SIMPLE IRA
You can only roll over a payment from the Plan to a SIMPLE IRA plan after the end of the 2‑year period beginning on the date you
first participated in the SIMPLE IRA plan.
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If you roll over your payment to a Roth IRA
If you roll over a payment from the Plan to a Roth IRA (which, for purposes of this explanation, includes a Roth SIMPLE IRA), a
special rule applies under which the amount of the payment rolled over, reduced by any after-tax amounts, will be taxed. In general,
the 10% additional tax on early distributions won’t apply. However, if you take the amount rolled over out of the Roth IRA within the
5‑year period that begins on January 1 of the year of the rollover, the 10% additional tax will apply on the amount includible in gross
income (unless an exception applies).
If you roll over the payment to a Roth IRA, you won’t have to take required minimum distributions from the Roth IRA during your
lifetime. Later payments from the Roth IRA that are qualified distributions won’t be taxed, including earnings after the rollover. A
qualified distribution from a Roth IRA is a payment made after you are age 59½ (or after your death or disability, or as a qualified
first-time homebuyer distribution of up to $10,000) and after you have had a Roth IRA for at least 5 years. In applying this 5‑year
rule, you count from January 1 of the year for which your first contribution was made to a Roth IRA. Payments from the Roth IRA
that aren’t qualified distributions will be taxed to the extent of earnings after the rollover, including the 10% additional tax on early
distributions (unless an exception applies). For more information, see IRS Publication 590‑A, Contributions to Individual Retirement
Arrangements (IRAs), and IRS Publication 590‑B, Distributions from Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs).
If you roll over your payment to a designated Roth account in the Plan
You can’t roll over a payment to a designated Roth account in another employer’s plan. However, you can roll the payment over into
a designated Roth account in the distributing Plan. If you roll over a payment from the Plan to a designated Roth account in the Plan,
the amount of the payment rolled over, reduced by any after-tax amounts directly rolled over, will be taxed. In general, the 10% additional tax on early distributions won’t apply. However, if you take the amount rolled over out of the designated Roth account within
the 5‑year period that begins on January 1 of the year of the rollover, the 10% additional tax will apply on the amount includible in
gross income (unless an exception applies).
If you roll over the payment to a designated Roth account in the Plan, you won’t have to take required minimum distributions from
the designated Roth account during your lifetime. Later payments from the designated Roth account that are qualified distributions
won’t be taxed, including earnings after the rollover. A qualified distribution from a designated Roth account is a payment made both
after you are age 59½ (or after your death or disability) and after you have had a designated Roth account in the Plan for at least 5
years. In applying this 5‑year rule, you count from January 1 of the year of the first contribution to your designated Roth account.
However, if you made a direct rollover to a designated Roth account in the Plan from a designated Roth account in a plan of another
employer, the 5‑year period begins on January 1 of the year you made the first contribution to the designated Roth account in the Plan
or, if earlier, to the designated Roth account in the plan of the other employer. Payments from the designated Roth account that aren’t
qualified distributions will be taxed to the extent of earnings after the rollover, including the 10% additional tax on early distributions
(unless an exception applies).
If you aren’t a Plan participant
Payments after death of the participant. If you receive a payment after the participant’s death that you don’t roll over, the payment
generally will be taxed in the same manner described elsewhere in this notice. However, the 10% additional tax on early distributions
and the special rules for public safety officers don’t apply, and the special rule described under the section “If you were born on or
before January 1, 1936” applies only if the deceased participant was born on or before January 1, 1936.
If you are a surviving spouse. If you receive a payment from the Plan as the surviving spouse of a deceased participant, you have
the same rollover options that the participant would have had, as described elsewhere in this notice. In addition, if you choose to
do a rollover to an IRA, you may treat the IRA either as your own or as an inherited IRA.
An IRA you treat as your own is treated like any other IRA of yours, so that payments made to you before you are age 59½ will
be subject to the 10% additional tax on early distributions (unless an exception applies) and required minimum distributions from
your IRA will be based on your age.
If you treat the IRA as an inherited IRA, payments from the IRA won’t be subject to the 10% additional tax on early distributions.
However, if the participant had started taking required minimum distributions from the Plan, required minimum distributions must
continue to be made from the inherited IRA. If the participant had not started taking required minimum distributions from the
Plan, distributions from the inherited IRA must begin when the participant would have been required to begin required minimum
distributions.
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If you are a surviving beneficiary other than a spouse. If you receive a payment from the Plan because of the participant’s death
and you are a designated beneficiary other than a surviving spouse, the only rollover option you have is to do a direct rollover to an
inherited IRA. Payments from the inherited IRA won’t be subject to the 10% additional tax on early distributions. You will have
to take required minimum distributions from the inherited IRA.
For more information, see IRS Publication 590‑A, Contributions to Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs), and IRS Publication
590‑B, Distributions from Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs).
Payments under a qualified domestic relations order (QDRO). If you are the spouse or former spouse of the participant who receives
a payment from the Plan under a QDRO, you generally have the same options and the same tax treatment that the participant would
have (for example, you may roll over the payment to your own IRA or an eligible employer plan that will accept it). However, payments under the QDRO won’t be subject to the 10% additional tax on early distributions.
For more information, see IRS Publication 504, Divorced or Separated Individuals.
If you are a nonresident alien
If you are a nonresident alien and you don’t do a direct rollover to a U.S. IRA or U.S. employer plan, instead of withholding 20%,
the Plan is generally required to withhold 30% of the payment for federal income taxes. If the amount withheld exceeds the amount
of tax you owe (as may happen if you do a 60-day rollover), you may request an income tax refund by filing IRS Form 1040NR, U.S.
Nonresident Alien Income Tax Return, and attaching your IRS Form 1042‑S, Foreign Person’s U.S. Source Income Subject to Withholding. See IRS Form W‑8BEN, Certificate of Foreign Status of Beneficial Owner for United States Tax Withholding and Reporting
(Individuals), for claiming that you are entitled to a reduced rate of withholding under an income tax treaty. For more information,
see also IRS Publication 519, U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens, and IRS Publication 515, Withholding of Tax on Nonresident Aliens and
Foreign Entities.
Other special rules
If a payment is one in a series of payments for less than 10 years, your choice whether to do a direct rollover will apply to all later
payments in the series (unless you make a different choice for later payments).
If your payments for the year are less than $200, not including payments from a designated Roth account in the Plan, the Plan isn’t
required to allow you to do a direct rollover and isn’t required to withhold federal income taxes. However, you may do a 60‑day
rollover.
Unless you elect otherwise, a mandatory cashout of more than $1,000, not including payments from a designated Roth account in the
Plan, will be directly rolled over to an IRA chosen by the Plan administrator or the payor. A mandatory cashout is a payment from a
plan to a participant made before age 62 (or normal retirement age, if later) without the participant’s consent. Generally, a mandatory
cashout is only allowed if the participant’s benefit doesn’t exceed $7,000.
You may have the ability to repay certain distributions from your retirement plan. If you took a qualified reservist distribution, a qualified disaster recovery distribution, a qualified birth or adoption distribution, an emergency personal expense distribution, a domestic
abuse victim distribution, or a terminal illness distribution, you generally may repay that distribution to an eligible retirement plan
within a certain time period. For more information on repayments of qualified reservist distributions, see IRS Publication 3, Armed
Forces’ Tax Guide. For more information on other repayments, see IRS Publication 575, Pension and Annuity Income, or consult a
professional tax advisor.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
You may wish to consult with the Plan administrator or payor, or a professional tax advisor, before taking a payment from the Plan.
Also, you can find more detailed information on the federal tax treatment of payments from employer plans in: IRS Publication 575,
Pension and Annuity Income; IRS Publication 590‑A, Contributions to Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs); IRS Publication 590‑B, Distributions from Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs); and IRS Publication 571, Tax-Sheltered Annuity Plans
(403(b) Plans). These publications are available from a local IRS office, on the web at www.irs.gov, or by calling 1‑800‑TAX‑FORM.
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For Payments From a
Designated Roth Account
YOUR OPTIONS FOR ELIGIBLE ROLLOVER DISTRIBUTIONS
You are receiving this notice because you are eligible to receive a payment from the [INSERT NAME OF PLAN] (the “Plan”) that
you can transfer (roll over) to a Roth IRA or designated Roth account in an employer plan. This notice is intended to help you decide
whether to roll over the payment (or some portion of it).
CONTENTS
GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT ROLLOVERS
What can I do with an amount that is eligible for rollover?
How can a payment affect my taxes?
How can a rollover affect my taxes?
What types of retirement accounts and plans may accept my rollover?
How do I do a rollover?
How much may I roll over?
If I don’t do a rollover, will I have to pay the 10% additional tax on distributions before age 59½?
If I do a rollover to a Roth IRA, will the 10% additional tax apply to a later distribution from the IRA before age 59½?
Will I owe state income taxes?
SPECIAL RULES AND OPTIONS
If you miss the 60-day rollover deadline
If your payment includes employer stock that you don’t roll over
If you have an outstanding loan that is being offset
If you receive a payment and you were born on or before January 1, 1936
If your payment is from a governmental section 457(b) plan
If you are an eligible retired public safety officer and your payment is used to pay for health coverage or qualified long-term care
insurance
If you roll over your payment to a Roth SIMPLE IRA
If you aren’t a Plan participant
If you are a nonresident alien
If you receive a payment from a pension‑linked emergency savings account
Other special rules
FOR MORE INFORMATION
GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT ROLLOVERS
This notice describes the rollover rules that apply to payments from the Plan that are from a designated Roth account. If you also
receive a payment from the Plan that isn’t from a designated Roth account, you will be provided a different notice for that payment,
and the Plan administrator or the payor will tell you the amount that is being paid from each account.
Rules that apply to most payments from a designated Roth account are described in this “General Information About Rollovers” section. Special rules that only apply in certain circumstances are described in the “Special Rules and Options” section, including rules
if your Plan is a governmental section 457(b) plan, you have after-tax contributions, or your benefit doesn’t exceed $7,000.
What can I do with an amount that is eligible for rollover?
When an amount payable (that is, an amount you are eligible to take as a payment from the Plan) is eligible for rollover, you generally
may choose some combination of the following:
•
•
•
•
Leave it in the Plan, that is, do not take the payment,
Roll it over into a designated Roth account in another plan,
Roll it over into a Roth IRA, or
Take it, don’t roll it over, and pay any required taxes.
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Whether these options are available to you depends on your circumstances and the terms of the Plan. For example, you may be
required to take a payment (and not roll it over) based on your age or if your benefit is below a certain threshold.
How can a payment affect my taxes?
After-tax contributions included in a payment from a designated Roth account aren’t taxed, but earnings might be taxed. The tax
treatment of earnings included in the payment depends on whether the payment is a qualified distribution. If a payment is only part of
your designated Roth account, the payment will include an allocable portion of the earnings in your designated Roth account.
If the payment from the Plan isn’t a qualified distribution and you don’t do a rollover to a Roth IRA or a designated Roth account in
an employer plan, you will be taxed on the portion of the payment that is earnings. If you are under age 59½, a 10% additional tax
on early distributions (generally, distributions made before age 59½) will also apply to the earnings (unless an exception applies).
If the payment from the Plan is a qualified distribution, you won’t be taxed on any part of the payment even if you don’t do a rollover.
A qualified distribution from a designated Roth account in the Plan is a payment made after you are age 59½ (or after your death or
disability) and after you have had a designated Roth account in the Plan for at least 5 years. In applying the 5‑year rule, you count
from January 1 of the year the first contribution was made to the designated Roth account. However, if you did a direct rollover to
a designated Roth account in the Plan from a designated Roth account in another employer plan, your participation will count from
January 1 of the year the first contribution was made to the designated Roth account in the Plan or, if earlier, to the designated Roth
account in the other employer plan.
How can a rollover affect my taxes?
If the payment isn’t a qualified distribution and you do a rollover, you won’t have to pay taxes currently on the earnings and you won’t
have to pay taxes later on payments that are qualified distributions. If the payment is a qualified distribution and you do a rollover, you
won’t be taxed on the amount you roll over and any earnings on the amount you roll over won’t be taxed when paid later.
What types of retirement accounts and plans may accept my rollover?
You may roll over the payment to either a Roth IRA (a Roth individual retirement account or Roth individual retirement annuity) or
a designated Roth account in an employer plan (a tax-qualified plan, section 403(b) plan, or governmental section 457(b) plan) that
will accept the rollover. The rules of the Roth IRA or employer plan that holds the rollover will determine your investment options,
fees, and rights to payment from the Roth IRA or employer plan (for example, Roth IRAs cannot provide loans). Further, the amount
rolled over will become subject to the tax rules that apply to the Roth IRA or the designated Roth account in the employer plan. In
general, these tax rules are similar to those described elsewhere in this notice, but differences include:
•
•
•
If you do a rollover to a Roth IRA, all of your Roth IRAs will be considered for purposes of determining whether you have satisfied the 5‑year rule (counting from January 1 of the year for which your first contribution was made to any of your Roth IRAs).
If you do a rollover to a Roth IRA, you must keep track of the aggregate amount of the after-tax contributions in all of your Roth
IRAs (in order to determine your taxable income for later Roth IRA payments that aren’t qualified distributions).
Eligible rollover distributions from a Roth IRA can only be rolled over to another Roth IRA.
How do I do a rollover?
There are two ways to do a rollover. You can either do a direct rollover or a 60‑day rollover.
If you do a direct rollover, the Plan will make the payment directly to your Roth IRA or designated Roth account in an employer plan.
You should contact the Roth IRA sponsor or the administrator of the employer plan for information on how to do a direct rollover.
If you do a direct rollover of only a portion of the amount paid from the Plan and a portion is paid to you at the same time, the portion directly rolled over consists first of earnings. For example, assume you are receiving a nonqualified distribution of $12,000, of
which $2,000 is earnings. In this case, if you directly roll over $10,000 to an IRA that is a Roth IRA, no amount is taxable because
the $10,000 amount rolled over includes the $2,000 in earnings and the remaining $2,000 paid to you is attributable to after-tax contributions.
If you do a 60-day rollover, you will receive a payment from the Plan and then make a deposit (generally within 60 days) into a Roth
IRA, whether the payment is a qualified or nonqualified distribution. In addition, you can do a rollover by making a deposit within 60
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days into a designated Roth account in an employer plan if the payment is a nonqualified distribution and the rollover doesn’t exceed
the amount of the earnings in the payment. You can’t do a 60‑day rollover to an employer plan of any part of a qualified distribution.
If you do a 60-day rollover and the payment isn’t a qualified distribution, the Plan is required to withhold 20% of the earnings for
federal income taxes (up to the amount of cash and property received other than employer stock). This means that, in order to roll over
the entire payment in a 60‑day rollover to a Roth IRA, you must use other funds to make up for the amount withheld.
How much may I roll over?
You may roll over all or part of the amount eligible for rollover. Any payment from the Plan is eligible for rollover, except:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Certain payments spread over a period of at least 10 years or over your life or life expectancy (or the joint lives or joint life
expectancies of you and your beneficiary);
Required minimum distributions to a beneficiary;
Hardship distributions;
Payments of employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) dividends;
Corrective distributions of contributions that exceeded tax law limitations;
Loans treated as deemed distributions (for example, loans in default due to missed payments before your employment ends);
Cost of life insurance paid by the Plan;
Payments of certain automatic enrollment contributions that you request to withdraw within 90 days of your first contribution;
Amounts treated as distributed because of a prohibited allocation of S corporation stock under an ESOP;
Distributions used to pay certain premiums for health and accident insurance; and
Amounts treated as distributed as a result of the purchase of a collectible.
The Plan administrator or the payor can tell you what portion of a payment is eligible for rollover.
If I don’t do a rollover, will I have to pay the 10% additional tax on distributions before age 59½?
If a payment isn’t a qualified distribution and you are under age 59½, you will have to pay the 10% additional tax on early distributions with respect to the earnings allocated to the payment that you don’t roll over (including amounts withheld for income tax),
unless one of the exceptions listed below applies. This tax is in addition to the regular income tax on the earnings not rolled over.
The 10% additional tax doesn’t apply to the following payments from the Plan:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Payments made after you separate from service if you are at least age 55 in the year of the separation;
Payments that start after you separate from service if paid at least annually in equal or close to equal amounts over your life or
life expectancy (or the joint lives or joint life expectancies of you and your beneficiary);
Payments from a governmental plan made after you separate from service as a qualified public safety employee and, in the year
of separation, have reached age 50 or 25 years of service under the Plan;
Payments from a private‑sector plan made after you separate from service as a private‑sector firefighter and, in the year of separation, have reached age 50 or 25 years of service under the Plan;
Payments made due to disability;
Payments made after your death;
Payments of ESOP dividends;
Corrective distributions of contributions that exceed tax law limitations;
Cost of life insurance paid by the Plan;
Payments made directly to the government to satisfy a federal tax levy;
Payments made under a qualified domestic relations order (QDRO);
Payments from a defined contribution plan that are qualified birth or adoption distributions;
Payments from a defined contribution plan for purposes of meeting unforeseeable or immediate financial needs relating to personal or family emergency expenses (emergency personal expense distributions);
Payments to a victim of domestic abuse from a defined contribution plan that isn’t subject to the qualified joint survivor annuity
or qualified preretirement survivor annuity rules (domestic abuse victim distributions);
Payments after you receive a certification from a physician that you have a terminal illness (terminal illness distributions);
Payments that are qualified disaster recovery distributions;
Payments made from a defined contribution plan that are qualified long-term care distributions;
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•
•
•
•
Payments up to the amount of your deductible medical expenses (without regard to whether you itemize deductions for the taxable year);
Certain payments made while you are on active duty if you were a member of a reserve component called to duty after September
11, 2001, for more than 179 days;
Payments of certain automatic enrollment contributions that you request to withdraw within 90 days of your first contribution;
and
Payments from a pension-linked emergency savings account.
For more information about the 10% additional tax and the exceptions to the 10% additional tax, see IRS Publication 575, Pension
and Annuity Income, under the heading Tax on Early Distributions. For information on how to claim an exception, see the Instructions
for IRS Form 5329, Additional Taxes on Qualified Plans (Including IRAs) and Other Tax-Favored Accounts.
If I do a rollover to a Roth IRA, will the 10% additional tax apply to a later distribution from the Roth IRA before age 59½?
If you receive a payment from a Roth IRA when you are under age 59½, you will have to pay the 10% additional tax on early distributions on the earnings paid from the Roth IRA, unless an exception applies or the payment is a qualified distribution. In general,
the exceptions to the 10% additional tax for early distributions from a Roth IRA listed above are the same as the exceptions for early
distributions from a designated Roth account in an employer plan. However, there are a few differences for payments from a Roth
IRA, including:
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•
•
The exception for payments from a plan made after you separate from service if you are at least age 55 in the year of the separation (or the earlier of age 50 or attainment of 25 years of service under the Plan for qualified public safety employees and
private-sector firefighters) doesn’t apply to payments from an IRA;
The exception for payments made pursuant to a QDRO under a plan doesn’t apply to an IRA (although a special rule applies
under which, as part of a divorce or separation agreement, a tax-free transfer may be made directly to a Roth IRA of a spouse or
former spouse); and
The exception for substantially equal periodic payments from a plan also applies to payments from an IRA but without regard to
whether you have had a separation from service.
Also, there are exceptions to the 10% additional tax that do not apply to payments from a plan but that do apply to payments from a
Roth IRA, including:
•
•
•
Payments for qualified higher education expenses;
Payments up to $10,000 used in a qualified first-time home purchase; and
Payments for health insurance premiums after you have received unemployment compensation for 12 consecutive weeks (or
would have been eligible to receive unemployment compensation but for self‑employed status).
For more general information about the 10% additional tax and the exceptions to the 10% additional tax on payments from an IRA,
see the Instructions to IRS Form 5329, Additional Taxes on Qualified Plans (Including IRAs) and Other Tax-Favored Accounts. See
also, IRS Publication 590‑B, Distributions from Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs), under the heading Early Distributions.
Will I owe state income taxes?
This notice doesn’t address any state or local income tax rules (including withholding rules).
SPECIAL RULES AND OPTIONS
If you miss the 60‑day rollover deadline
Generally, the 60‑day rollover deadline can’t be extended. However, the IRS has authority to waive the deadline under certain extraordinary circumstances, such as when external events prevented you from completing the rollover by the 60‑day rollover deadline.
Under certain circumstances, you may claim eligibility for a waiver of the 60‑day rollover deadline by making a written self-certification. Otherwise, to apply for a waiver from the IRS, you must file a private letter ruling request with the IRS. Private letter ruling
requests require the payment of a nonrefundable user fee. For more information, see IRS Publication 590‑A, Contributions to Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs), under the heading Rollovers.
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If your payment includes employer stock that you don’t roll over
If you receive a payment that isn’t a qualified distribution and you don’t roll it over, you can apply a special rule to payments of
employer stock (or other employer securities) that are paid in a lump sum after separation from service (or after age 59½, disability,
or the participant’s death). Under the special rule, the net unrealized appreciation on the stock included in the earnings in the payment won’t be taxed when distributed to you from the Plan and will be taxed at capital gain rates when you sell the stock. If you do a
rollover to a Roth IRA or a designated Roth account in another employer plan for a nonqualified distribution that includes employer
stock (for example, by selling the stock and rolling over the proceeds within 60 days of the distribution), you won’t have any taxable
income and the special rule relating to the distributed employer stock won’t apply to any later payments from the Roth IRA or, generally, the plan. Net unrealized appreciation is generally the increase in the value of the employer stock after it was acquired by the
Plan. The Plan administrator can tell you the amount of any net unrealized appreciation.
If you receive a payment that is a qualified distribution that includes employer stock and you don’t roll it over, your basis in the stock
(used to determine gain or loss when you later sell the stock) will equal the fair market value of the stock at the time of the payment
from the Plan.
If you have an outstanding loan that is being offset
If you have an outstanding loan from the Plan, your Plan benefit may be offset by the outstanding amount of the loan (offset amount),
typically when your employment ends. The offset amount is treated as a distribution to you at the time of the offset. Generally, you
may roll over all or any portion of the offset amount. If the distribution attributable to the offset isn’t a qualified distribution and you
don’t roll over the offset amount, you will be taxed on any earnings included in the distribution (including the 10% additional tax on
early distributions, unless an exception applies). You may roll over the earnings included in the loan offset to a Roth IRA or designated Roth account in an employer plan (if the terms of the employer plan permit the plan to receive plan loan offset rollovers). You
may also roll over the full amount of the offset to a Roth IRA.
How long you have to complete the rollover depends on what kind of plan loan offset you have. If you have a qualified plan loan
offset, you will have until your tax return due date (including extensions) for the tax year during which the offset occurs to complete
your rollover. A qualified plan loan offset occurs when a plan loan in good standing is offset because your employer plan terminates,
or because you separate from service. If your plan loan offset occurs for any other reason (such as a failure to make level repayments
that results in a deemed distribution), then you have 60 days from the date the offset occurs to complete your rollover.
If you receive a payment and you were born on or before January 1, 1936
If you were born on or before January 1, 1936, and receive a lump sum payment that isn’t a qualified distribution and that you don’t
roll over, special rules for calculating the amount of the tax on the earnings in the payment might apply to you. For more information,
see IRS Publication 575, Pension and Annuity Income.
If your payment is from a governmental section 457(b) plan
If the Plan is a governmental section 457(b) plan, the same rules described elsewhere in this notice generally apply, allowing you to
roll over the payment to a Roth IRA or a designated Roth account in an employer plan that accepts rollovers. One difference is that,
if you receive a payment that isn’t a qualified distribution and you don’t roll it over, you won’t have to pay the 10% additional tax
on early distributions with respect to the earnings allocated to the payment that you don’t roll over, even if you are under age 59½
(unless the payment is from a separate account holding rollover contributions that were made to the Plan from a tax-qualified plan,
a section 403(b) plan, or an IRA). However, if you do a rollover to a Roth IRA or to a designated Roth account in an employer plan
that isn’t a governmental section 457(b) plan, a later distribution that isn’t a qualified distribution made before age 59½ will be subject to the 10% additional tax on earnings allocated to the payment (unless an exception applies). Other differences include that you
can’t do a rollover if the payment is an “unforeseeable emergency” distribution and that the special rules under the sections “If your
payment includes employer stock that you don’t roll over” and “If you receive a nonqualified distribution and you were born on or
before January 1, 1936” don’t apply.
If you are an eligible retired public safety officer and your payment is used to pay for health coverage or qualified long-term
care insurance
If the Plan is a governmental plan, you retired as a public safety officer, and your retirement was by reason of disability or was after
normal retirement age, you can exclude from your taxable income, up to a maximum of $3,000 annually, nonqualified distributions
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(1) that were paid by the Plan directly to an insurer of health coverage or qualified long-term care insurance or (2) that were received
b
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