Notice of Plan Merger or Consolidation, Spinoff, or Transfer of Plan Assets or Liabilities; Notice of Qualified Separate Lines of Business

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Instructions for Form 5310-A

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Instructions for
Form 5310-A

Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service

(Rev. April 2006)
Notice of Plan Merger or Consolidation, Spinoff, or Transfer of Plan Assets or
Liabilities;
Notice of Qualified Separate Lines of Business
Section references are to the Internal Revenue Code unless otherwise noted.

How To Get Forms
and Publications

General Instructions

notice. Only one notice per employer,
within the meaning of Code sections
414(b), (c), and (m) is required.

Internet. You can access the IRS
website 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
at www.irs.gov to:
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publications.
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questions.
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or keyword.
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tax news by email.

Purpose of Form

Examples

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CD-ROM. You can order Pub. 1796,
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Buy the CD-ROM from the National
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1-877-CDFORMS (1-877-233-6767)
toll-free to buy the CD-ROM for $25
(plus a $5 handling fee).
By phone and in person. You can
order forms and publications 24 hours a
day, 7 days a week, by calling
1-800-TAX-FORM (1-800-829-3676).
You can also get most forms and
publications at your local IRS office.

Form 5310-A is used by employers to
give notice of:
• A plan merger or consolidation which
is the combining of two or more plans
into a single plan.
• A plan spinoff which is the splitting of
a single plan into two or more spinoff
plans.
• A plan transfer of plan assets or
liabilities to another plan which is the
splitting off of a portion of the assets or
liabilities of the transferor plan and the
concurrent acquisition or assumption of
these split-off assets or liabilities by the
transferee plan.
• Qualified separate lines of business
(QSLOBs).
Note. An IRS determination letter will
not be issued when a Form 5310-A is
filed.

Who Must File

• Pension plan, profit-sharing plan,

or other deferred compensation
plan. Any sponsor or plan administrator
of a pension, profit-sharing, or other
deferred compensation plan (except a
multi-employer plan covered by PBGC
insurance) should file this form for a
plan merger or consolidation, a spinoff,
or a transfer of plan assets or liabilities
to another plan. See section 6058(b).
Note. This form must be filed for each
plan with a separate employer
identification and plan number if that
plan is involved in a merger or transfer
of plan assets or liabilities. This
includes plans that were not in
existence before the plan merger and
plans that cease to exist after the plan
merger. In the case of a plan spinoff,
file Form 5310-A only for the plan in
existence prior to the spinoff.
• Qualified separate lines of
business. The employer must file
notice that it elects to be treated as
operating QSLOBs or that it either
modifies or revokes a previously filed
Cat. No. 12899J

Example One - Initial Notice
Employer A is composed of four
separate corporations that are treated
as one employer within the meaning of
section 414(b). Employer A treats each
corporation as a separate line of
business. The 2003 testing year is the
first year for which Employer A elects to
be treated as operating QSLOBs for the
purpose of section 410(b) (see When
To File on page 3 for a definition of
“testing year”). Employer A must file
Form 5310-A and provide information
on each of the four QSLOBs on or
before the notification date for the 2003
testing year (see When To File for a
definition of “notification date”). If the
notice is not timely filed, Employer A is
not treated as operating QSLOBs for
purposes of the coverage rules for the
2003 testing year (see Part III ).

Example Two - Modification
The facts are the same as in Example
One. During the 2004 testing year,
Employer A sold QSLOB four. Also,
assume that Employer A timely filed
Form 5310-A for the 2003 testing year.
For the 2004 testing year, Employer A
intends to treat QSLOBs one and two
as a single QSLOB. Employer A must
modify its initial notice by filing Form
5310-A on or before the notification
date for the 2004 testing year, including
a revised list of QSLOBs for line 10 of
the form. If Employer A does not timely
provide a new notice, the initial notice
filed for the 2003 testing year will be
treated as the only notice filed for the
2004 testing year (see Part III).

Example Three - Revocation
The facts are the same as in Example
Two. Assume that Employer A timely
filed a new notice for the 2004 testing
year. During 2005, Employer A elects
not to treat itself as operating QSLOBs
for the 2005 testing year. Employer A
must revoke the last notice it filed (that

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is, the notice for the 2004 testing year).
Employer A must revoke the notice filed
for the 2004 testing year by filing Form
5310-A for the 2005 testing year and
indicating on line 8 of the Form 5310-A
that it is revoking a previously filed
notice and is no longer testing on a
QSLOB basis. If such notice is not filed
on or before the notification date for the
2005 testing year, the notice filed for
the 2004 testing year will be treated as
the only notice filed for the 2005 testing
year (see Part III).

Exceptions From Filing
Notice of Plan Merger or
Consolidation, Spinoff,
or Transfer of Plan
Assets or Liabilities
Direct Rollover. Do not file Form
5310-A for an eligible rollover
distribution that is paid directly to an
eligible retirement plan in a direct
rollover as described in section
401(a)(31).
Plan Merger or Consolidation or
Spinoff. Do not file Form 5310-A if the
plan merger or consolidation or the
spinoff complies with Regulations
section 1.414(l)-1(d), (h), (m), or (n)(2).
Generally, these requirements will
be satisfied in the following four
situations:
1. Two or more defined contribution
plans are merged and all of the
following conditions are met:
a. The sum of the account balances
in each plan prior to the merger
(including unallocated forfeitures, an
unallocated suspense account for
excess annual additions, and an
unallocated suspense account for an
ESOP) equals the fair market value of
the entire plan assets.
Example: Neither plan has an
outstanding section 412(d) waiver
balance.
b. The assets of each plan are
combined to form the assets of the plan
as merged.
c. Immediately after the merger,
each participant in the plan has an
account balance equal to the sum of
the account balances the participant
had in the plans immediately prior to
the merger.
2. There is a spinoff of a defined
contribution plan and all of the following
conditions are met:
a. The sum of the account balances
in the plan prior to the spinoff equals
the fair market value of the entire plan
assets.
Example: The plan does not have an
outstanding section 412(d) waiver
balance.

b. The sum of the account balances
for each of the participants in the
resulting plan(s) equals the account
balances of the participants in the plan
before the spinoff.
c. The assets in each of the plans
immediately after the spinoff equal the
sum of the account balances for all
participants in that plan.
Example: The plan does not have
unallocated accounts.
3. Two or more defined benefit
plans are merged into one defined
benefit plan and both of the following
conditions are met:
a. The total liabilities (the present
value of benefits whether or not vested)
that are merged into the larger plan
involved in the merger are less than 3%
of the assets of the larger plan. This
condition must be satisfied on at least 1
day in the larger plan’s plan year during
which the merger occurs. All previous
mergers (including transfers from
another plan) occurring in the same
plan year are taken into account in
determining the percentage of assets
described above.
Example: Assume that a merger
involving almost 3% of the assets of the
larger plan occurs in the first month of
the larger plan’s plan year. In the fourth
month of the larger plan’s plan year, a
second merger occurs involving
liabilities equal to 2% of the assets of
the larger plan. The total of both
mergers exceeds 3% of the assets of
the larger plan. As a result of the
second merger, both mergers must be
reported on Form 5310-A. Enter the
date of the second merger on line 5g.
Also, mergers occurring in previous
plan years are taken into account in
determining the percentage of assets
above if the series of mergers is, in
substance, one transaction with the
merger occurring during the current
plan year.
Aggregating mergers may cause a
merger, for which a Form 5310-A was
not initially required to be filed, to
become reportable as a result of a
subsequent merger. In this case, the
merger(s) must be reported on the
Form 5310-A filed for the subsequent
merger.
b. The provisions of the larger plan
that allocate assets at the time of
termination must provide that, in the
event of a spinoff or termination of the
plan within 5 years following the
merger, plan assets will be allocated
first for the benefit of the participants in
the other plan(s) to the extent of their
benefits on a termination basis just prior
to the merger.
4. There is a spinoff of a defined
benefit plan into two or more defined

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benefit plans and both of the following
conditions are met:
a. For each plan that results from
the spinoff, other than the spunoff plan
with the greatest value of plan assets
after the spinoff, the value of the assets
spun off is not less than the present
value of the benefits spun off (whether
or not vested).
b. The value of the assets spun off
to all the resulting spunoff plans (other
than the spunoff plan with the greatest
value of plan assets after the spinoff)
plus other assets previously spun off
(including transfers to another plan)
during the plan year in which the spinoff
occurs is less than 3% of the assets of
the plan before the spinoff as of at least
1 day in that plan’s plan year.
Example: Assume that a spinoff
involving almost 3% of the assets of the
plan occurs in the first month of the
plan year. In the fourth month of the
plan year a second spinoff occurs
involving liabilities equal to 2% of the
assets of the plan. The total of both
spinoffs exceeds 3% of the plan assets.
As a result of the second spinoff, Form
5310-A must be filed to report both
spinoffs. Enter the date of the second
spinoff on line 5g.
Spinoffs occurring in previous or
subsequent plan years are taken into
account in determining the percentage
of assets spun off if such spinoffs are,
in substance, one transaction with the
spinoff occurring during the current plan
year.
Aggregating spinoffs may cause a
spinoff, for which a Form 5310-A was
not initially required to be filed, to
become reportable as a result of a
subsequent spinoff. In this case, report
the spinoff(s) on the Form 5310-A filed
for the subsequent spinoff. Enter the
date of the subsequent spinoff on line
5g.
Transfer of Plan Assets or Liabilities.
A transfer of plan assets or liabilities is
considered a combination of separate
plan spinoffs and mergers.
Do not file Form 5310-A for:

• The transferor plan in a transfer
transaction if the assets transferred
satisfy the spinoff conditions in 2 or 4
above.
• The transferee plan in a transfer
transaction if the plan liabilities
transferred satisfy the merger
conditions in 1 or 3 above.
Thus, in some situations, the
transferor plan may have to file Form
5310-A but not the transferee plan, or,
the transferee plan may have to file but
not the transferor plan.

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Examples:
Transfer of Plan Assets or
Liabilities
Plans A, B, and C are separate plans
within the meaning of section 414(l). A
portion of the assets and liabilities of
both Plan B and Plan C will be
transferred to Plan A. None of the plans
is excluded from filing under the
exceptions from filing listed above. In
this situation, three Forms 5310-A must
be filed. Each of the plans must file a
completed Form 5310-A; enter code 4
(notice of a transfer of plan assets or
liabilities) as the reason for filing and
complete all of Parts I and II of the
form. For Plan A, line 5 of the form will
show information regarding Plan B and
an attached statement with the line 5
information for Plan C. Plan B and Plan
C will each enter the information
regarding Plan A on line 5.

Plan Merger
Plans A, B, and C are separate plans
within the meaning of section 414(l).
Plans A, B, and C are being merged.
Assets and liabilities from each plan will
be merged into Plan D, a new plan that
was established for the purpose of
effecting the merger. None of the plans
are excluded from filing under the
exceptions from filing above.
In this situation, four separate Forms
5310-A must be filed. Because Plan D
is receiving assets from Plans A, B, and
C, Plan D must file a complete Form
5310-A, enter code 2 (notice of a plan
merger) as the reason for filing and
complete all of Parts I and II of the
form. Line 5 of the form will show
information regarding Plan A and an
attached statement with the line 5
information for Plans B and C. Plans A,
B, and C are merging with Plan D.
Plans A, B, and C will each file a
separate Form 5310-A completed as
follows: Enter code 2 as the reason for
filing, complete all of Parts I and II, and
enter the information regarding Plan D
on line 5.

When To File

• File Form 5310-A at least 30 days
prior to a plan merger or consolidation,
spinoff, or transfer of plan assets or
liabilities to another plan.
• If you are filing Form 5310-A to notify
the IRS that the employer treats itself
as operating QSLOBs or either modifies
or revokes a previously filed notice, file
Form 5310-A on or before the
notification date for the testing year.
The “Notification Date” for a testing
year is the later of: (a) October 15 of
the year following the testing year, or
(b) the 15th day of the 10th month after
the close of the plan year of the plan of
the employer that begins earliest in the

testing year. “Testing Year” means the
calendar year.

Penalties
If you are filing Form 5310-A to report a
plan merger or consolidation, spinoff, or
transfer of plan assets or liabilities,
there is a penalty for late filing. The
penalty is $25 a day for each day the
Form 5310-A is late (up to a maximum
of $15,000). The form is late if it is not
filed at least 30 days before the plan
merger or consolidation, spinoff, or
transfer of plan assets or liabilities.

Where To File
File Form 5310-A at the address
indicated below:
Internal Revenue Service
P.O. Box 192
Covington, KY 41012-0192
Private Delivery Services. In addition
to the United States mail, you can use
certain private delivery services
designated by the IRS to meet the
“timely mailing as timely filing/paying”
rule for tax returns and payments.
These private delivery services include
only the following.
• DHL Express (DHL): DHL Same Day
Service, DHL Next Day 10:30 am, DHL
Next Day 12:00 pm, DHL Next Day
3:00 pm, and DHL 2nd Day Service.
• Federal Express (FedEx): FedEx
Priority Overnight, FedEx Standard
Overnight, FedEx 2Day, FedEx
International Priority, and FedEx
International First.
• United Parcel Service (UPS): UPS
Next Day Air, UPS Next Day Air Saver,
UPS 2nd Day Air, UPS 2nd Day Air
A.M., UPS Worldwide Express Plus,
and UPS Worldwide Express.
The private delivery service can tell
you how to get written proof of the
mailing date.

Signature
In general, the employer or plan
administrator must sign the form. For
single employer plans the plan
administrator and the employer are
generally the same person. When the
plan administrator is a joint employer —
union board or committee — at least
one employer representative and one
union representative must sign. A Form
5310-A filed with the IRS by a
representative on behalf of an employer
or plan administrator must be
accompanied by:
1. A power of attorney specifically
authorizing such representation in this
matter (you may use Form 2848, Power
of Attorney and Declaration of
Representative), or
2. A written declaration that the
representative is a currently qualified
attorney, certified public accountant,

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enrolled actuary, or is currently enrolled
to practice before the IRS (include
either the enrollment number or the
expiration date of the enrollment card)
and is authorized to represent the
employer or plan administrator.

How to Complete the
Application
Form 5310-A is screened for
completeness. Incomplete notices will
be returned. Here are some tips to help
you complete the form correctly.
1. N/A (not applicable) is accepted
as a response only for line 1c.
2. If a number is requested, a
number must be entered.
3. For questions regarding this form,
call the Employee Plans Customer
Service at 1-877-829-5500.
The IRS may, at its discretion,
require additional information when it is
deemed necessary.

Specific Instructions
Reason for filing. Enter the
appropriate code that describes the
reason you are filing Form 5310-A.
Enter 1 for a notice of qualified
separate lines of business.
Enter 2 for a notice of a plan merger
or consolidation.
Enter 3 for a notice of a plan spinoff.
Enter 4 for a notice of a transfer of
plan assets or liabilities to another plan.

Part I
All filers must complete Part I.
Line 1a. Enter the name and address
of the employer or plan sponsor. A plan
sponsor means:
1. In the case of a plan that covers
the employees of one employer, the
employer;
2. In the case of a plan sponsored
by two or more entities required to be
aggregated under sections 414(b), (c),
or (m), one of the members
participating in the plan; or
3. In the case of a plan that covers
the employees and/or partners of a
partnership, the partnership.
The name of the plan sponsor/
employer should be the same name
that was or will be used when the Form
5500 series returns/reports are filed for
the plan.
Address. Include the suite, room, or
other unit number after the street
address. If the Post Office does not
deliver mail to the street address and
the plan has a P.O. box, show the box
number instead of the street address.

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This address should be the address of
the sponsor/employer.
Line 1b. Enter the 9-digit employer
identification number (EIN) assigned to
the plan sponsor/employer. This should
be the same EIN that was or will be
used when the Form 5500 series
annual returns/reports are filed for the
plan. For a multiple employer plan, the
EIN should be the same EIN that was
or will be used when Form 5500 is filed.

!

Do not use a social security
number or the EIN of the trust.

CAUTION

The plan sponsor/employer must
have an EIN. A plan sponsor/employer
without an EIN can apply for one.
• Online — Generally, a plan sponsor/
employer can receive an EIN by
Internet and use it immediately to file a
return. Go to the IRS website at
www.irs.gov/businesses/small and click
on Employer ID Numbers.
• By telephone — Call 1-800-829-4933.
• By mail or fax — Send in a completed
Form SS-4, Application for Employer
Identification Number.
For the plan of a group of entities
required to be combined under sections
414(b), (c), or (m), whose sponsor is
more than one of the entities required
to be combined, enter the EIN of only
one of the sponsoring members. This
EIN must be used in all subsequent
filings of determination letter requests,
and for filing annual returns/reports
unless there is a change of sponsor.
Line 1c. Enter the two digits
representing the month the employer’s
tax year ends. This is the employer
whose EIN was entered on line 1b.
Line 2. The contact person will receive
copies of all correspondence as
authorized in a Power of Attorney and
Declaration of Representative, Form
2848, or Tax Information Authorization,
Form 8821. Either complete the
contact’s information on this line, or
check the box and attach a completed
Form 2848 or Form 8821.

Part II—Plan Merger,
Consolidation, Spinoff,
or Transfer
Line 3a. Enter the name you
designated for your plan.
Line 3b. Enter the three-digit number
that the employer or plan administrator
has assigned to the plan. The number
assigned to a plan must not be
changed or used for any other plan.
This should be the same number that
was or will be used when the Form
5500 series returns/reports are filed for
the plan.
Lines 4a and 4b. Attach an actuarial
statement of valuation showing

compliance with section 414(l). The
statement must (1) identify the type of
transaction involved (for example,
merger or consolidation, spinoff, or
transfer of assets or liabilities), and (2)
provide information verifying
compliance with the requirements of
sections 401(a)(12) and 414(l). This
statement need not be signed by an
actuary.
Line 4b. Enter the code that describes
your plan.
Enter 1 for a profit-sharing plan.
Enter 2 for a stock bonus plan.
Enter 3 for a money purchase plan.
Enter 4 for a target benefit plan.
Enter 5 for a profit-sharing/401(k)
plan.
Enter 6 for an ESOP plan.
Enter 7 for other and specify the type
of plan.
Line 5a. Enter the total number of
plans, other than the plan named on
line 3a, involved in this transaction.
Lines 5c through 5h. Complete lines
5c through 5h for the other plan(s)
involved in the merger or consolidation,
spinoff, or transfer of plan assets or
liabilities with the plan named on line
3a. If there is more than one other plan,
attach a separate statement showing
the information requested for lines 5a
through 5h.
Example: Plans A, B, and C are
merging with Plan D. Plan D would
complete a Form 5310-A, reporting
information about itself on line 3. Plan
D would then complete the line 5
information for Plan A and attach two
statements showing the line 5
information for Plans B and C. In
addition, Plans A, B, and C must each
file a separate Form 5310-A (see the
example of a plan merger on page 3).
Lines 5h. On line 5h, enter the code
that describes the other plan.
Enter 1 for a defined benefit plan.
Enter 2 for a profit-sharing plan.
Enter 3 for a profit-sharing/401(k)
plan.
Enter 4 for a stock bonus plan.
Enter 5 for an ESOP plan.
Enter 6 for a money purchase plan.
Enter 7 for a target benefit plan.
Enter 8 for other and specify the type
of plan.

Part III—Qualified
Separate Lines of
Business
Rev. Proc. 93-40, 1993-2 C.B. 535,
contains procedures relating to the
notification requirements of section
414(r)(2)(B).

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Notice given by an employer applies
to all plans maintained by the employer
for plan years beginning in the testing
year. Once the notification date (see
When To File on page 3) for a testing
year has passed, the employer is
deemed to have irrevocably elected to
apply the specified section(s) of the
Code on the basis of QSLOBs for all
plan years beginning in the testing
year.
In addition, after the notification
date, notice cannot be modified,
withdrawn or revoked, and will be
treated as applying to subsequent
testing years unless the employer takes
timely action to provide new notice (see
examples under Who Must File on page
1). Timely action will be deemed to
have been taken any time prior to the
notification date for any subsequent
testing year.
Line 6. If you previously filed a notice
of QSLOB for a testing year, enter the
first testing year for which such notice
applied on line 6b. Enter the date the
notice was filed on line 6c. Also, enter
on line 6d the appropriate code number
listed below for the location you filed
the prior notice.
1. Brooklyn Office
2. Baltimore Office
3. Cincinnati Office
4. Dallas Office
5. Atlanta Office
6. Los Angeles/Monterey Park
Office
7. Chicago Office
8. Other
Line 7. Enter the first testing year for
which this notice applies. See When To
File for the definition of “Testing Year.”
Line 8. Indicate whether you are filing
this form to give notice that you are no
longer testing on a QSLOB basis. If
your answer to line 8 is “yes,” complete
line 9 and skip lines 10 and 11. Answer
line 9 based on the previously filed
notice that you are now revoking. If
your answer to line 8 is “no,” complete
lines 9 through 11. See Who Must File
for an example of a revocation.
Line 9. Section 414(r) provides rules
for determining whether an employer
operates QSLOBs for purposes of
applying sections 410(b) (relating to
minimum coverage), 401(a)(26)
(relating to minimum participation
rules), and 129(d)(8) (relating to
dependent care assistance programs).
If you are treated as operating QSLOBs
under section 414(r), you will be
permitted to apply the aforementioned
Code provisions separately for the
employees in each QSLOB. Check the
appropriate box(es) for the Code
section(s) you are testing on a QSLOB
basis. See instructions for line 8 to

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determine how to answer this question
if you answered ‘‘yes’’ to line 8.
Line 10. Attach a list identifying the
part or parts of the employer that make
up each QSLOB of the employer. The
list should include, for example, the
type of business or industry in which
the QSLOB is involved, the business
unit (such as corporation, partnership,
or division) the qualified line of business
comprises, and the name (formal or
informal) of the QSLOB.

Line 11. Enter the information
requested on lines 11a through 11e. If
there is more than one plan, attach a
separate statement showing the
information requested on lines 11a
through 11e for each plan.
Line 11b. Enter the date of the
determination letter, if any. Otherwise,
leave blank.
Line 11c. If the plan is a master or
prototype or volume submitter plan,
enter the date of the letter and the

serial number or the Advisory letter
number, as applicable.
Line 11d. Enter the appropriate code
number that indicates the location of
the pending letter request, if any. See
instructions for line 6 for a code list. If
this question is not applicable, leave
blank.
Line 11e. List on this line the QSLOBs
identified on line 10 that have
employees benefiting under the plan. If
you need additional space to list the
QSLOBs, use the area below line 11e.

Paperwork Reduction Act Notice. We ask for the information on this form to carry out the Internal Revenue laws of the
United States. You are required to give us the information. We need it to determine whether you meet the legal requirements
for plan approval.
You are not required to provide the information requested on a form that is subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act unless
the form displays a valid OMB control number. Books or records relating to a form or its instructions must be retained as long
as their contents may become material in the administration of any Internal Revenue law. Generally, tax returns and return
information are confidential, as required by section 6103.
The time needed to complete and file the form is listed below and will vary depending on individual circumstances. The
estimated average time is:
Recordkeeping

Learning about the
law or the form

Preparing, copying,
assembling, and sending the
form to the IRS

Part I

2 hr., 9 min.

1 hr., 3 min.

2 hr., 20 min.

Part II

3 hr., 21 min.

35 min.

40 min.

Part III

4 hr., 32 min.

35 min.

42 min.

If you have comments concerning the accuracy of these time estimates or suggestions for making this form simpler, we
would be happy to hear from you. You can write to Internal Revenue Service, Tax Products Coordinating Committee,
SE:W:CAR:MP:T:T:SP, 1111 Constitution Ave. NW, IR-6406, Washington, DC 20224.
Do not send the form to this address. Instead, please see Where To File on page 3.

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