Eligibility
Available to employers, plan administrators, or interested employees who have exhausted administrative remedies and have put the plan or amendment into effect.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is eligible for the Declaratory Judgment for Retirement Plan Qualification?
Available to employers, plan administrators, or interested employees who have exhausted administrative remedies and have put the plan or amendment into effect.
How does the Declaratory Judgment for Retirement Plan Qualification work?
Allows employers or plan administrators to seek a Tax Court ruling on the initial or continuing tax-qualified status of a retirement plan if the IRS fails to act or issues an adverse determination.
What law authorizes the Declaratory Judgment for Retirement Plan Qualification?
The Declaratory Judgment for Retirement Plan Qualification is authorized under IRC §7476 of the Internal Revenue Code (Title 26, United States Code).
Statutory Text — IRC §7476
Source: Internal Revenue Code, Title 26, United States Code
§ 7476. Declaratory judgments relating to qualification of certain retirement plans(a) Creation of remedyIn a case of actual controversy involving—(1) a determination by the Secretary with respect to the initial qualification or continuing qualification of a retirement plan under subchapter D of chapter 1, or
(2) a failure by the Secretary to make a determination with respect to—(A) such initial qualification, or
(B) such continuing qualification if the controversy arises from a plan amendment or plan termination,
upon the filing of an appropriate pleading, the Tax Court may make a declaration with respect to such initial qualification or continuing qualification. Any such declaration shall have the force and effect of a decision of the Tax Court and shall be reviewable as such. For purposes of this section, a determination with respect to a continuing qualification includes any revocation of or other change in a qualification.
(b) Limitations(1) PetitionerA pleading may be filed under this section only by a petitioner who is the employer, the plan administrator, an employee who has qualified under regulations prescribed by the Secretary as an interested party for purposes of pursuing administrative remedies within the Internal Revenue Service, or the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.
(2) NoticeFor purposes of this section, the filing of a pleading by any petitioner may be held by the Tax Court to be premature, unless the petitioner establishes to the satisfaction of the court that he has complied with the requirements prescribed by regulations of the Secretary with respect to notice to other interested parties of the filing of the request for a determination referred to in subsection (a).
(3) Exhaustion of administrative remediesThe Tax Court shall not issue a declaratory judgment or decree under this section in any proceeding unless it determines that the petitioner has exhausted administrative remedies available to him within the Internal Revenue Service. A petitioner shall not be deemed to have exhausted his administrative remedies with respect to a failure by the Secretary to make a determination with respect to initial qualification or continuing qualification of a retirement plan before the expiration of 270 days after the request for such determination was made.
(4) Plan put into effectNo proceeding may be maintained under this section unless the plan (and, in the case of a controversy involving the continuing qualification of the plan because of an amendment to the plan, the amendment) with respect to which a decision of the Tax Court is sought has been put into effect before the filing of the pleading. A plan or amendment shall not be treated as not being in effect merely because under the plan the funds contributed to the plan may be refunded if the plan (or the plan as so amended) is found to be not qualified.
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