Summary of Changes to Rev. Proc 2011-4

IRS - OMB REVIEW REQUEST FORM
Request for OMB review of currently approved document:
Date:

07/12/2011

Name:

Sherri Edelman

Office Symbols: SE:T:EP:RA:G
Phone Number:

(202) 283 9587

Summary of Changes
Rev. Proc. 2011-4 contains procedures for an applicant to submit a letter ruling request that a qualified plan is a
church plan under section 414(e) of the Internal Revenue Code. Appendix E of Rev. Proc. 2011-4 contains a checklist
applicable to church plan ruling requests. However, Rev. Proc. 2011-4 does not require any notice to participants and
other interested persons prior to issuing a letter ruling under section 414(e).
This revenue procedure modifies Rev. Proc. 2011-4 by adding a notice requirement. The Appendix E checklist will
also be revised to add this requirement. The applicant must send a notice to participants, beneficiaries, alternate
payees and employee organizations (interested persons) and submit a copy of this notice to the Service in connection
with the letter ruling request to the Service. A model notice is attached to the revenue procedure.
The notice will inform interested persons of the effect of issuing a letter ruling under section 414(e) when a plan is a
nonelecting church plan. The notice will give them the opportunity to comment to the IRS before the letter ruling is
issued. A nonelecting church plan is a plan that has not elected under section 410(d) of the Code to be subject to the
Employee Retirement Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and therefore is not required to comply with as many rules. Thus,
participants and other interested persons may not have as many protections and rights under federal law as
participants in other qualified plans. This notice requirement will also apply to ruling requests pending in the Service,
so those applications must be supplemented.
We have 41 ruling requests pending involving church plans. These applicants will need to send notices to each
interested person and supplement their requests by sending a copy of the notice to the IRS. They will also have the
option of informing the IRS that they do not wish to comply, and the IRS will then decline to issue a ruling. Based on
rulings received in the past, we would expect to receive 6-8 new ruling requests annually. This could increase once the
public realizes we are issuing rulings. Rulings are valid until circumstances change. Thus, only one ruling per applicant
is needed. This would mean that the collection of documents would increase by 6-8 every year until demand ends.

Impact on Approved Collection
Public
Law No.

Regulation
No.

Other
Code
References

SAMPLE:
PL 109-567

REG-345675-08

RP 2009-134

RP 2011-4

+/- 5

N/A

Change In IRS Form
& Instructions
No. of Filers
Words

+/- 20,000

+8

+/- 500

N/A

Attachments

+/- 1

N/A

*Please insert how this new (PL, REG, or other), document will affect the currently approved collection.