Pre-Approved Plans Program

Forms and Documents

Document Name	Status
Form Form 4461-B Form 4461-B Form and Instruction	Unchanged
Form Form 4461-A Form 4461-A Form and Instruction	Unchanged
Form Form 4461 Form 4461 Form and Instruction	Unchanged
Supporting Statement 1545-1674.docx Supporting Statement A	2021-02-24

IC Document Collections

IC ID	Document Title	Status
43885	Rev Proc 2017-41 Section 5.09	Modified
244739	Rev Proc 2017-41 Section 10	New
244738	Rev Proc 2017-41 Section 8.01, 8.02, & 18	New
227135	Form 4461-B Form and Instruction	Unchanged
227134	Form 4461-A Form and Instruction	Unchanged
227133	Form 4461 Form and Instruction	Unchanged

ICR Details

OMB Control No: 1545-1674	ICR Reference No: 202012-1545-002
Status: Received in OIRA	Previous ICR Reference No: 201711-1545-010
Agency/Subagency: TREAS/IRS	Agency Tracking No:
Title: Pre-Approved Plans Program
Type of Information Collection: Extension without change of a currently approved collection	Common Form ICR:  No
Type of Review Request: Regular	Date Submitted to OIRA: 02/26/2021

	Requested	Previously Approved
Expiration Date	36 Months From Approved	02/28/2021
Responses	321,500	321,500
Time Burden (Hours)	1,108,225	1,108,225
Cost Burden (Dollars)	0	0

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Abstract: The issuance of an opinion letter for a pre-approved plan by the Employee Plans function of the Tax Exempt and Government Entities Division approves a plan as to form. Typically, once a plan is submitted for an opinion letter the entity that submits the plan (the “provider”) will begin marketing the plan for its adoption by various employers. The issuance of the opinion letter allows the provider to make retroactive changes to the form of the plan to conform to recent changes in statutory requirements. Form 4461, Form 4461-A, and Form 4461-B are used by providers to apply for approval of their employee benefit plans under section 401(a). Revenue procedure 2017-41 sets forth the procedures of the Internal Revenue Service for issuing Opinion Letters regarding the qualification in form of Pre-approved Plans under §§ 401, 403 (a), and 4975 (e) (7) of the Internal Revenue Code (Code). In addition, this revenue procedure modifies the IRS pre-approved letter program by combining the master and prototype (M&P) and volume submitter (VS) programs into a new Opinion Letter program. The M&P and VS Programs are combined and replaced by a single Opinion Letter program involving two types of plans: Standardized Plans and Nonstandardized Plans.

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Authorizing Statute(s): US Code: 26 USC 403(a) Name of Law: Taxation of employee annuities
   US Code: 26 USC 401 Name of Law: Qualified pension, profit-sharing, and stock bonus plans.
   US Code: 26 USC 4975(e)(7) Name of Law: Tax on prohibited transactions
  

Citations for New Statutory Requirements: None

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Associated Rulemaking Information
RIN:	Stage of Rulemaking:	Federal Register Citation:	Date:
	Not associated with rulemaking

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Federal Register Notices & Comments
60-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	85 FR 61798	09/30/2020
30-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	86 FR 10437	02/19/2021
Did the Agency receive public comments on this ICR? No

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Number of Information Collection (IC) in this ICR: 6

IC Title	Form No.	Form Name
Rev Proc 2017-41 Section 5.09
Form 4461	Form 4461	Application for Approval of Master or Prototype or Volume Submitter Defined Contribution Plans
Form 4461-A	Form 4461-A	Application for Approval of Master or Prototype or Volume Submitter Defined Benefit Plan
Form 4461-B	Form 4461-B	Application for Approval of Master or Prototype or Volume Submitter Plans
Rev Proc 2017-41 Section 8.01, 8.02, & 18
Rev Proc 2017-41 Section 10

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ICR Summary of Burden

	Total Request	Previously Approved	Change Due to New Statute	Change Due to Agency Discretion	Change Due to Adjustment in Estimate	Change Due to Potential Violation of the PRA
Annual Number of Responses	321,500	321,500	0	0	0	0
Annual Time Burden (Hours)	1,108,225	1,108,225	0	0	0	0
Annual Cost Burden (Dollars)	0	0	0	0	0	0

Burden increases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: No

Burden Increase Due to:

Burden decreases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: No

Burden Reduction Due to:

Short Statement: There is no change in the burden previously approved by OMB. Corrections were made to how the burden is reported in ROCIS. IRS is making this submission for renewal purposes.

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Annual Cost to Federal Government: $3,187

Does this IC contain surveys, censuses, or employ statistical methods? No

Does this ICR request any personally identifiable information (see OMB Circular No. A-130 for an explanation of this term)? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination.     Yes

Does this ICR include a form that requires a Privacy Act Statement (see 5 U.S.C. §552a(e)(3))? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination.     Yes

Is this ICR related to the Affordable Care Act [Pub. L. 111-148 & 111-152]? No

Is this ICR related to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, [Pub. L. 111-203]? No

Is this ICR related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)? No

Is this ICR related to the Pandemic Response? No

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Common Form ICR:  No

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On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that the collection of information encompassed by this request complies with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).

The following is a summary of the topics, regarding the proposed collection of information, that the certification covers:

(a) It is necessary for the proper performance of agency functions;

(b) It avoids unnecessary duplication;

(c) It reduces burden on small entities;

(d) It uses plain, coherent, and unambiguous language that is understandable to respondents;

(e) Its implementation will be consistent and compatible with current reporting and recordkeeping practices;

(f) It indicates the retention periods for recordkeeping requirements;

(g) It informs respondents of the information called for under 5 CFR 1320.8 (b)(3) about:

(i) Why the information is being collected;

(ii) Use of information;

(iii) Burden estimate;

(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a benefit, or mandatory);

(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and

(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control number;

(h) It was developed by an office that has planned and allocated resources for the efficient and effective management and use of the information to be collected.

(i) It uses effective and efficient statistical survey methodology (if applicable); and

(j) It makes appropriate use of information technology.

If you are unable to certify compliance with any of these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.

Certification Date: 02/26/2021

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