Internal Revenue Bulletin 2015-16 (PDF rendition): IRS Revenue Procedures

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HIGHLIGHTS
OF THIS ISSUE
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.
INCOME TAX
REG–133489–13, page 926.
Proposed regulations relating to the allocation of the credit for
increasing research activities to corporations and trades or
businesses under common control. Also contains proposed
regulations relating to the allocation of the railroad track main-
tenance credit, and the election for a reduced research credit.
T.D. 9717, page 910.
Final and temporary regulations relating to the allocation of the
credit for increasing research activities to corporations and
trades or businesses under common control. Also contains
final and temporary regulations relating to the allocation of the
railroad track maintenance credit, and the election for a re-
duced research credit.
EMPLOYEE PLANS
Rev. Proc. 2015–27, page 914.
This revenue procedure contains modifications to Revenue
Procedure 2013–12, 2013–4 I.R.B. 313. The modifications
reflected in this revenue procedure include miscellaneous
changes made to improve EPCRS, such as reducing VCP
compliance fees relating to failures to meet the requirements
of § 72(p) with respect to participant loans, and clarifying that
for certain Overpayments, as defined in sections 5.01(3)(c) and
5.02(4) of Rev. Proc. 2013–12, a plan may use correction
methods other than the correction methods set forth in section
6.06(3) and 6.06(4) of Rev. Proc. 2013–12. This revenue
procedure also requests comments on recoupment of Over-
payments.
Rev. Proc. 2015–28, page 920.
This revenue procedure contains modifications to Revenue
Procedure 2013–12, 2013–4 I.R.B. 313. The modifications
reflected in this revenue procedure include new safe harbor
EPCRS correction methods relating to automatic contribution
features (including automatic enrollment and automatic esca-
lation of elective deferrals) in plans described in § 401(k) and
§ 403(b); and special safe harbor correction methods estab-
lished for plans (including those with automatic contribution
features) that have failures that are of limited duration involving
elective deferrals.
Finding Lists begin on page ii.
Bulletin No. 2015–16
April 20, 2015

The IRS Mission
Provide America’s taxpayers top-quality service by helping
them understand and meet their tax responsibilities and en-
force 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 Conven-
tions, 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 other-
wise indicated. Procedures relating solely to matters of internal
management are not published; however, statements of inter-
nal 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, identify-
ing 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, Legisla-
tion 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 Rul-
ings. Bank Secrecy Act Administrative Rulings are issued by
the Department of the Treasury’s Office of the Assistant Sec-
retary (Enforcement).
Part IV.—Items of General Interest.
This part includes notices of proposed rulemakings, disbar-
ment 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.
April 20, 2015Bulletin No. 2015–16

Part I. Rulings and Decisions Under the Internal Revenue Code
of 1986
T.D. 9717
DEPARTMENT OF THE
TREASURY
Internal Revenue Service
26 CFR Part 1
Allocation of Controlled
Group Research Credit
AGENCY:Internal Revenue Service (IRS),
Treasury.
ACTION:Final and temporary regulations.
SUMMARY: This document contains fi-
nal and temporary regulations relating to
the allocation of the credit for increasing
research activities (research credit) to cor-
porations and trades or businesses under
common control (controlled groups). This
document also contains final and tempo-
rary regulations relating to the allocation
of the railroad track maintenance credit
and the election for a reduced research
credit. The text of these temporary regu-
lations also serves as the text of the pro-
posed regulations (REG–133489–13)
published in the Proposed Rules section in
this issue of theFederal Register.
DATES:Effective date: These regulations
are effective April 3, 2015.
Applicability date: For dates of appli-
cability, see §§ 1.41–6T(j), 1.45G–1T(g),
and 1.280C–4T(c).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT: James Holmes, at (202) 317-
4137; (not a toll-free number).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
This document contains final and tem-
porary regulations for § 1.41–6,
§ 1.45G–1, and § 1.280C–4 of the Income
Tax Regulations (26 CFR Part 1). These
regulations update the rules in a manner
that is consistent with the amendments
made to section 41(f)(1)(A)(ii) and sec-
tion 41(f)(1)(B)(ii) in Section 301(c) of
the Act.
Explanation of Provisions
Section 41—Research Credit
Section 41(a) provides an incremental
tax credit for increasing research activities
and is based on a percentage of a taxpay-
er’s qualified research expenses over a
base amount, basic research payments as
determined under section 41(e)(1)(A), and
amountspaid or incurred to energy research
consortiums (collectively, “QREs”). Under
section 41(f)(1) and § 1.41–6(b), allmem-
bers of a controlled group are treated as a
single taxpayer for purposes of computing
the research credit for the group (group
credit). Section 1.41–6(b) provides that
the group credit is computed by applying
all of the section 41 computational rules
on an aggregate basis. Section 1.41–6(c)
provides a method of allocating a group
research credit among the members of the
controlled group.
Section 301(c) of the Act amended section
41(f)(1)(A)(ii) and section 41(f)(1)(B)(ii) by
requiring the allocation ofresearch credits to
each controlled group member “on a
proportionate basis to its share of the
aggregate of the qualified research ex-
penses, basic research payments, and
amounts paid or incurred to energy re-
search consortiums, taken into account
by such controlled group for purposes of
this section.” Section 301(c) of the Act
applies to taxable years beginning after
December 31, 2011.
Former section 41(f)(1)(A)(ii) and for-
mer section 41(f)(1)(B)(ii) provided that
the research credit allowable to a con-
trolled group member shall be its propor-
tionate shares of the QREs giving rise to
the credit. Prior to these regulations,
§ 1.41–6(c)(1)(i) required a controlled
group to allocate the group credit in pro-
portion to each member’s stand-alone en-
tity credit, as defined in § 1.41–6(c)(2), in
cases in which the group credit does not
exceed the sum of the stand-alone entity
credits of all of the members. If the group
credit does exceed this sum, then the ex-
cess of the group credit over the sum of
the stand-alone entity credits of all of the
members was allocated in proportion to
the QREs of the members of the con-
trolled group. See § 1.41–6(c)(1)(ii).
Notice 2013–20 (2013–15 IRB 902
(April 8, 2013)) was released on March 9,
2013, to provide interim guidance relating
to the allocation of the controlled group
research credit and is effective for taxable
years beginning after December 31, 2011.
Notice 2013–20 provides that the group
credit is allocated to group members based
on each member’s share of QREs, without
regard to whether the member would have a
stand-alone entity credit or what the amount
of any such credit would be.
The final and temporary regulations
implement the Act’s changes to the allo-
cation of the controlled group research
credit by revising the allocation method in
§ 1.41–6(c), (d), and (e). Section 1.41–
6T(c) provides an allocation method that
follows the approach taken in Notice
2013–20. Section 1.41–6T(c) provides
that the group credit is allocated to group
members based on a member’s propor-
tionate share of the controlled group’s ag-
gregate QREs. Members are no longer
required to calculate a stand-alone entity
credit. The temporary regulations also re-
move references to the stand-alone entity
credit in § 1.41–6(d)(1) and (3). New ex-
amples are provided in § 1.41–6T(e). The
first example illustrates a general applica-
tion of the allocation method provided in
these temporary regulations. The second
example demonstrates an allocation under
these temporary regulations where a con-
solidated group is treated as a single mem-
ber of a controlled group pursuant to
§ 1.41–6T(d).
A commenter to Notice 2013–20 sug-
gested that the IRS adopt a safe harbor
under § 1.41–6(c) that permits taxpayers
to calculate and allocate group credits for
taxable years ending prior to January 1,
2013, under the new law. The comment-
er’s proposal would effectively make the
Act’s amendments retroactive to before
the effective date of the statutory change
(change effective for taxable years begin-
ning after December 31, 2011). Therefore,
the regulations do not adopt this sugges-
tion for taxable years beginning before
January 1, 2012. For taxable years begin-
April 20, 2015Bulletin No. 2015–16
910

ning before January 1, 2012, taxpayers
must apply the rules applicable to such
taxable years.
Section 45G—Railroad track
maintenance credit (RTMC)
Section 45G, subject to limitations,
generally provides a RTMC in an amount
equal to fifty percent of the qualified rail-
road track maintenance expenditures paid
or incurred by an eligible taxpayer during
the year. Section 45G(e)(2) provides, for
controlled groups, that rules similar to the
rules of section 41(f)(1) shall apply for
purposes of section 45G. Section 1.45G–
1(f) provides guidance on determining the
amount of RTMC under section 45G if a
taxpayer is a member of a controlled
group. Section 1.45G–1(f) applies rules
similar to the rules of § 1.41–6 for allo-
cating a group RTMC.
The temporary regulations add
§ 1.45G–1T(f)(4) to provide an allocation
method for the RTMC that is consistent
with the Act’s amendments to section
41(f)(1). Section 1.45G–1T(f)(5)(i) and
(ii) of the temporary regulations remove
references to the stand-alone entity credit.
Section 280C(c)—Credit for Increasing
Research Activities
Section 280C(c)(1) generally disallows
otherwise allowable deductions for QREs
in an amount equal to the research credit
determined under 41(a) for a taxable year.
Section 280C(c)(3) provides a method to
elect a reduced amount of research credit.
Section 280C(c)(4) provides, by reference
to section 280C(b)(3), that in the case of a
corporation which is a member of acon-
trolled group of corporations (within the
meaning of section 41(f)(5)) or a trade or
business treated as being under common
control with other trades or business (within
the meaning of section 41(f)(1)(B)),section
280C(c) shall be applied under rules pre-
scribed by the Secretary similar to the
rules applicable under section 41(f)(1)(A)
and (B). Section 1.280C–4(b) relates to
the election under section 280C(c)(3) that
a member of a controlled group may
make. Section 1.280C–4(b)(2) contains
an example that includes references to the
rules in § 1.41–6(c). The temporary reg-
ulations update the example in § 1.280C–
4(b)(2) because it describes the rules of
section 41(f) in effect before the Act’s
amendments.
Effect on Other Documents
Notice 2013–20 (2013–15 IRB 902) is
obsolete for taxable years beginning on or
after April 3, 2015.
Effective/Applicability Dates
The temporary regulations are applica-
ble for taxable years beginning on or after
April 3, 2015 and expire on April 2, 2018.
A taxpayer may apply §§ 1.41–6T,
1.45G–1T, and 1.280C–4T to taxable
years beginning after December 31, 2011,
but before April 3, 2015. For a taxpayer
that does not apply these temporary regu-
lations to a taxable year beginning after
December 31, 2011, but before April 3,
2015, the guidance that applies to such
taxable year is contained in Notice
2013–20 (2013–15 IRB 902).
Special Analyses
It has been determined that this Trea-
sury decision is not a significant regula-
tory action as defined in Executive Order
12866, as supplemented by Executive Or-
der 13563. Therefore, a regulatory assess-
ment is not required. It also has been
determined that section 553(b) of the Ad-
ministrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C.
chapter 5) does not apply to these regula-
tions. For the applicability of the Regula-
tory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. chapter 6),
refer to the Special Analyses section of
the preamble to the cross-referenced no-
tice of proposed rulemaking published in
the Proposed Rules section in this issue of
theFederal Register.Pursuant to section
7805(f) of the Code, these regulations
have been submitted to the Chief Counsel
for Advocacy of the Small Business Ad-
ministration for comment on their impact
on small business.
Drafting Information
The principal author of these regula-
tions is James Holmes, Office of the As-
sociate Chief Counsel (Passthroughs and
Special Industries). However, other per-
sonnel from the IRS and Treasury Depart-
ment participated in their development.
****
Amendments to the Regulations
Accordingly, 26 CFR part 1 is amended
as follows:
PART 1—INCOME TAXES
Paragraph 1. The authority citation for
part 1 continues to read in part as follows:
Authority: 26 U.S.C. 7805***
Section 1.41–6T also issued under 26
U.S.C. 41(f)(1)***
Section 1.45G–1T also issued under 26
U.S.C. 45G(e)(2)***
Section 1.280C–4T also issued under
26 U.S.C. 280C(c)(4)***
Par. 2.Section 1.41–0 is amended by
removing the entries in the table of contents
for § 1.41–6(c)(1) and § 1.41–6(c)(2) and
adding an entry for §§ 1.41–6(j)(4) and (5)
to read as follows:
§ 1.41– 0. Table of contents.
*****
(j)***
(4)Taxable years beginning after De-
cember 31, 2011.
(5)Taxable years ending before Janu-
ary 1, 2012.
Par. 3. Section 1.41–6 is amended by
revising paragraphs (c), (d)(1) and (3),
and (e) and adding paragraphs (j)(4) and
(5) to read as follows:
§ 1.41– 6. Aggregation of expenditures.
*****
(c) [Reserved]. For further guidance,
see § 1.41–6T(c).
*****
(d)***
(1) [Reserved]. For further guidance,
see § 1.41–6T(d)(1).
*****
(3) [Reserved]. For further guidance,
see § 1.41–6T(d)(3).
(e) [Reserved]. For further guidance,
see § 1.41–6T(e).
*****
(j)***
(4)Taxable years beginning after De-
cember 31, 2011. [Reserved]. For further
guidance, see § 1.41–6T(j)(4).
(5)Taxable years ending before Janu-
ary 1, 2012. [Reserved]. For further guid-
ance, see § 1.41–6T(j)(5).
Bulletin No. 2015–16April 20, 2015
911

Par. 4. Section 1.41–6T is added to
read as follows:
§ 1.41– 6T. Aggregation of expenditures
(temporary).
(a) through (b) [Reserved]. For further
guidance, see § 1.41–6(a) through (b).
(c)Allocation of the group credit. The
group credit is allocated to each member
of the controlled group on a proportionate
basis to its share of the aggregate of the
qualified research expenses, basic re-
search payments, and amounts paid or in-
curred to energy research consortiums
(collectively “QREs” for purposes of
paragraphs (c), (d), and (e) of this section)
taken into account for the taxable year by
such controlled group for purposes of the
credit.
(d)Special rules for consolidated
groups—(1)In general. For purposes of
applying paragraph (c) of this section,
members of a consolidated group who are
members of a controlled group are treated
as a single member of the controlled
group.
(2) [Reserved]. For further guidance,
see § 1.41–6(d)(2).
(3)Special rule for allocation of group
credit among consolidated group mem-
bers. The portion of the group credit that
is allocated to a consolidated group is
allocated to each member of the consoli-
dated group on a proportionate basis to its
share of the aggregate of the QREs taken
into account for the taxable year by such
consolidated group for purposes of the
credit.
(e)Examples. The following examples
illustrate the provisions of paragraphs (c)
and (d) of this section.
Example 1.Controlled group.A,B,andCare
a controlled group. A had $100x, B $300x, and
C $500x of qualified research expenses for the
year,totaling $900x for the group. A, in the
course of its trade or business, also made a
payment of $100x to an energy research con-
sortium for energy research. The group’s
QREs total 1000x and the group calculated
its total research credit to be $60x for the
year. Based on each member’s proportionate
share of the controlled group’s aggregate
QREs, A is allocated $12x, B $18x, and C
$30x of the credit.
Example 2. Consolidated group is a member of
controlled group. The controlled group’s mem-
bers are D, E, F, G, and H. F, G, and H file a
consolidated return and are treated as a single
member (FGH) of the controlled group. D had
$240x, E $360x, and FGH$600x of qualified
research expenses for the year ($1,200x ag-
gregate). The group calculated its research
credit to be $100x for the year. Based on the
proportion of each member’s share of QREs
to the controlled group’s aggregate QREs for
the taxable year D is allocated $20x, E $30x,
and FGH $50x of the credit. The $50x of
credit allocated to FGH is then allocated to
the consolidated group members based on
the proportion of each consolidated group
member’s share of QREs to the consolidated
group’s aggregate QREs. F had $120x, G
$240x, and H $240x of QREs for the year.
Therefore, F is allocated $10x, G is allocated
$20x, and H is allocated $20x.
(f) through (i) [Reserved]. For further
guidance, see § 1.41–6(f) through (i).
(j)(1) through (3) [Reserved]. For fur-
ther guidance, see § 1.41–6(j)(1) through
(3).
(4)Taxable years beginning after De-
cember 31, 2011. Section 1.41–6T is ap-
plicable for taxable years beginning on or
after April 3, 2015. Taxpayers may ap-
ply § 1.41–6T to taxable years begin-
ning after December 31, 2011, but be-
fore April 3, 2015. For a taxpayer that
does not apply § 1.41–6T to a taxable
year beginning after December 31,
2011, but before April 3, 2015, the guid-
ance that applies to such taxable year is
contained in Notice 2013–20 (2013–15
IRB 902).
(5)Taxable years beginning before
January 1, 2012.See § 1.41–6 as con-
tained in 26 CFR part 1, revised April 1,
2014.
(6)Expiration date. The applicability
of § 1.41–6T expires on April 2, 2018.
Par. 5. Section 1.45G–0 is amended by
removing the entries in the table of con-
tents for § 1.45G–1(f)(4)(i) and § 1.45G–
1(f)(4)(ii) and adding an entry in the table
of contents for §§ 1.45G–1(g)(4) and (5)
to read as follows:
§ 1.45G– 0. Table of contents for the
railroad track maintenance credit.
*****
(g)***
(4)Taxable years beginning after De-
cember 31, 2011.
(5)Taxable years beginning before
January 1, 2012.
Par. 6. Section 1.45G–1 is amended by
revising paragraphs (f)(4) and (f)(5)(i) and
(ii) and adding paragraphs (g)(4) and (5)
to read as follows:
§ 1.45G–1. Railroad track maintenance
credit.
*****
(f)***
(4) [Reserved]. For further guidance,
see § 1.45G–1T(f)(4).
(5) [Reserved]. For further guidance
see § 1.45G–1T(f)(5).
(g)***
(4)Taxable years beginning after De-
cember 31, 2011. [Reserved]. For further
guidance see § 1.45G–1T(g)(4).
(5)Taxable years beginning before
January 1, 2012. [Reserved]. For further
guidance see § 1.45G–1T(g)(5).
Par. 7. Section 1.45G–1T is added to
read as follows:
§ 1.45G–1T. Railroad track maintenance
credit (temporary).
(a) through (e) [Reserved]. For further
guidance, see § 1.45G–1(a) through (e).
(f)(1) through (3) [Reserved]. For fur-
ther guidance, see § 1.45G–1(f)(1)
through (3).
(4)Allocation of the group credit. The
group credit is allocated to each member
of the controlled group on a proportionate
basis to its share of the aggregate of the
QRTMEs taken into account for the tax-
able year by such controlled group for
purposes of the credit.
(5)Special rules for consolidated
groups—(i)In general. For purposes of
applying paragraph (f)(4) of this section,
members of a consolidated group who are
members of a controlled group are treated
as a single member of the controlled
group.
(ii)Special rule for allocation of group
credit among consolidated group mem-
bers. The portion of the group credit that
is allocated to a consolidated group is
allocated to each member of the consoli-
dated group on a proportionate basis to its
share of the aggregate of the QRTMEs
taken into account for the taxable year by
such consolidated group for purposes of
the credit.
(6) through (8) [Reserved]. For further
guidance, see § 1.45G–1(f)(6) through (8).
(g)(1)through (3) [Reserved]. For
further guidance, see § 1.45G–1(g)(1)
through (3).
April 20, 2015Bulletin No. 2015–16
912

(4)Taxable years beginning after De-
cember 31, 2011. Section 1.45G–1T is
applicable for taxable years beginning on
or after April 3, 2015. Taxpayers may
apply § 1.45G–1T to taxable years begin-
ning after December 31, 2011, but before
April 3, 2015. For a taxpayer that does not
apply § 1.45G–1T to a taxable year begin-
ning after December 31, 2011, but before
April 3, 2015, the guidance that applies to
such taxable year is contained in Notice
2013–20 (2013–15 IRB 902).
(5)Taxable years ending before Janu-
ary 1, 2012. See § 1.45–1 as contained in
26 CFR part 1, revised April 1, 2014.
(6)Expiration date. The applicability
of § 1.45G–1T expires on April 2, 2018.
Par. 8. Section 1.280C–4 is amended
by revising paragraph (b)(2) , redesignat-
ing paragraph (c) as (c)(1) and adding
paragraphs (c)(2) and (3) to read as fol-
lows:
§ 1.280C– 4. Credit for increasing
research activities.
*****
(b)***
(2) [Reserved]. For further guidance,
see § 1.280C–4T(b)(2).
*****
(c)***
(2) [Reserved]. For further guidance,
see § 1.280C–4T(c)(2).
(3) [Reserved]. For further guidance,
see § 1.280C–4T(c)(3).
Par. 9. Section 1.280C–4T is added to
read as follows:
§ 1.280C– 4T. Credit for increasing
research activities (temporary).
(a) [Reserved]. For further guidance,
see § 1.280C–4(a).
(b)Controlled groups of corporations;
trades or businesses under common con-
trol. (1) [Reserved]. For further guidance,
see § 1.280C–4(b)(1).
(2)Example. The following example illustrates
an application of paragraph (b) of this section: A, B,
and C, all of which are calendar year taxpayers, are
members of a controlled group of corporations
(within the meaning of section 41(f)(5)). A, B, and C
each attach a statement to the 2012 Form 6765,
“Credit for Increasing Research Activities,” showing
A and C were the only members of the controlled
group to have qualified research expenses when cal-
culating the group credit. A and C report their allo-
cated portions of the group credit on the 2012 Form
6765 and B reports no research credit on Form 6765.
Pursuant to § 1.280C–4(a), A and B, but not C, each
make an election for the reduced credit under section
280(c)(3)(B) on the 2012 Form 6765. In December
2013, B determines it had qualified research ex-
penses in 2012 resulting in an increased group credit.
On an amended 2012 Form 6765, A, B, and C each
report their allocated portions of the group credit. B
reports its credit as a regular credit under section
41(a) and reduces the credit under section
280C(c)(3)(B). C may not reduce its credit under
section 280(c)(3)(B) because C did not make an elec-
tion for the reduced credit with its original return.
(c)(1) [Reserved]. For further guidance
see § 1.280C–4(c)(1).
(2)Taxable years beginning after De-
cember 31, 2011. Section 1.280C–4T is
applicable for taxable years beginning on
or after April 3, 2015. Taxpayers may
apply § 1.280C–4T to taxable years be-
ginning after December 31, 2011, but be-
fore April 3, 2015. For a taxpayer that
does not apply § 1.280C–4T to a taxable
year beginning after December 31, 2011,
but before April 3, 2015, the guidance that
applies to such taxable year is contained
in Notice 2013–20 (2013–15 IRB 902).
(3)For taxable years ending before
January 1, 2012. See § 1.280C–4 as con-
tained in 26 CFR part 1, revised April 1,
2014.
(4)Expiration date. The applicability
of paragraph (b)(2) expires on April 2,
2018.
John Dalrymple,
Deputy Commissioner for
Services and Enforcement
Approved: March 16, 2015.
Mark J. Mazur,
Assistant Secretary of the
Treasury (Tax Policy)
Bulletin No. 2015–16April 20, 2015
913

Part III. Administrative, Procedural, and Miscellaneous
Rev. Proc. 2015–27
SECTION 1. PURPOSE
The Employee Plans Compliance Res-
olution System (“EPCRS”) sets forth a
comprehensive system of correction pro-
grams for sponsors of retirement plans
that are intended to satisfy the require-
ments of § 401(a), 403(a), 403(b), 408(k),
or 408(p) of the Internal Revenue Code
(“Code”), but that have failed to meet
those requirements for a period of time.
The components of EPCRS are the Self-
Correction Program (“SCP”), the Volun-
tary Correction Program (“VCP”), and the
Audit Closing Agreement Program (“Au-
dit CAP”). EPCRS permits plan sponsors
to correct failures and thereby continue to
provide employees with retirement bene-
fits on a tax-favored basis. The most re-
cent restatement of EPCRS is set forth in
Rev. Proc. 2013–12, 2013–4 I.R.B. 313.
The modifications to Rev. Proc. 2013–12
reflected in this revenue procedure include
miscellaneous changes made to improve
EPCRS, such as reducing VCP compli-
ance fees relating to failures to meet the
requirements of § 72(p) with respect to
participant loans, and clarifying that for
certain Overpayments, as defined in sec-
tions 5.01(3)(c) and 5.02(4) of Rev. Proc.
2013–12, a plan may use correction meth-
ods other than the correction methods set
forth in sections 6.06(3) and 6.06(4) of
Rev. Proc. 2013–12. This revenue proce-
dure also requests comments on recoup-
ment of Overpayments.
SECTION 2. BACKGROUND
.01 The Internal Revenue Service (Ser-
vice) is issuing this revenue procedure to
improve and update EPCRS by making
limited modifications and clarifications to
Rev. Proc. 2013–12. These modifications
to EPCRS are described in Section 3, and
revisions to Rev. Proc. 2013–12 imple-
menting these modifications are set forth
in Section 4.
.02 Section 2.05 of Rev. Proc. 2013–12
provides that it is expected that the
EPCRS revenue procedure will continue
to be updated, in whole or in part, from
time to time. It is anticipated that updates
will provide further improvements to
EPCRS based on comments that are cur-
rently being evaluated and on additional
comments that may be received.
.03 The Treasury Department and the
Service continue to invite further com-
ments on how to improve EPCRS. For
information about how to submit com-
ments, see section 7 of this revenue pro-
cedure.
SECTION 3. DESCRIPTION OF
MODIFICATIONS TO EPCRS
.01Effect on programs. This revenue
procedure modifies, but does not super-
sede, Rev. Proc. 2013–12.
.02Clarification to the correction rules
on Overpayment failures. (1)Reasonable
andappropriatecorrection. Section
6.02(2) of Rev. Proc. 2013–12 provides
that any correction of a failure should be
reasonable and appropriate for the failure.
Correction rules for dealing with Over-
payments are described in sections 6.06(3)
and 6.06(4) of Rev. Proc. 2013–12. Under
these correction rules, the employer is to
take reasonable steps to have the Over-
payment returned to the plan. The Service
has been informed that some plans have
demanded recoupment of large amounts
from plan participants and beneficiaries
on account of plan administration errors
made over lengthy periods of time, and
that plan participants and beneficiaries,
particularly those who are older individu-
als, may have financial difficulty meeting
some corrective actions that have been
sought by plan administrators, including
the return of Overpayments with substan-
tial accumulated interest.
(2)Flexibility in correction of Over-
payment failures. Some plans may be in-
terpreting the correction rules in Rev.
Proc. 2013–12 as requiring a demand for
recoupment from plan participants and
beneficiaries in all cases. However, de-
pending on the facts and circumstances,
correcting an Overpayment under EPCRS
may not need to include requesting that an
Overpayment be returned to the plan by
plan participants and beneficiaries.
(3)Description of modifications to
clarify that there is flexibility in correcting
Overpayment failures. Sections 6.06(3)
and 6.06(4) of Rev. Proc. 2013–12 are
modified to clarify that that there is flex-
ibility in correcting an Overpayment un-
der EPCRS. For example, depending on
the nature of the Overpayment failure
(such as an Overpayment failure resulting
from a benefit calculation error), an ap-
propriate correction method may include
using rules similar to the correction meth-
ods of sections 6.06(3) and 6.06(4) in Rev.
Proc. 2013–12 but having the employer or
another person contribute the amount of
the Overpayment (with appropriate inter-
est) to the plan in lieu of seeking recoup-
ment from plan participants and beneficia-
ries. Another example of an appropriate
correction method includes a Plan Spon-
sor adopting a retroactive amendment to
conform the plan document to the plan’s
operations in accordance with section 4.05
of Rev. Proc. 2013–12. Any correction
method used must be consistent with the
correction principles in section 6.02 and
any applicable rules under EPCRS. The
modifications are in sections 4.06 and
4.07 of this revenue procedure.
(4)Comments relating to recoupment
of Overpayments. The Service intends to
make further revisions to Rev. Proc.
2013–12 regarding the correction of Over-
payments and seeks comments on this is-
sue. For information about how to submit
comments, see section 7 of this revenue
procedure. Comments relating to recoup-
ment of Overpayments will be shared with
the Department of Labor. Comments are
requested on—
(a) whether, and under what circum-
stances and conditions, correction should
require employer make-whole contribu-
tions rather than recouping prior Overpay-
ments from participants and beneficiaries;
(b) whether guidance should be pro-
vided on Overpayments relating to benefit
calculation errors and whether the correc-
tion method should follow rules similar to
the rules on the recoupment of overpay-
ments issued by the Pension Benefits
Guaranty Corporation in 29 C.F.R.
§ 4022.82;
(c) whether additional guidance is
needed regarding the calculation of inter-
est on Overpayments for benefit calcula-
tion errors; and
(d) whether any other changes or addi-
tional guidance is needed relating to the
April 20, 2015Bulletin No. 2015–16
914

recoupment of Overpayments, including
guidance on any unusual circumstances in
which full corrective payments to a plan
should not be required for Overpayments.
.03Description of other modifications.
The other modifications to Rev. Proc.
2013–12 consist of the following revi-
sions:
•Revising section 4.04 of Rev. Proc.
2013–12 to extend SCP eligibility so
that repeated corrections of excess an-
nual additions will not prevent certain
plans from satisfying the SCP require-
ment to have established practices and
procedures as long as the plan corrects
excess annual additions through the
return of elective deferrals to affected
employees within 9½ months after the
end of the plan’s limitation year. See
section 4.01 of this revenue procedure.
•Revising section 6.02(5)(d) of Rev.
Proc. 2013–12 to delete a reference to
the Social Security letter forwarding
program because the Social Security
Administration has announced that the
program is no longer available as a
method for locating lost plan partici-
pants who are owed additional retire-
ment benefits. See section 4.04 of this
revenue procedure.
•Revising sections 6.05(1), 6.05(2), and
6.05(3)(c) of Rev. Proc. 2013–12 to
clarify that, if corrective plan amend-
ments are used to correct Qualifica-
tion Failures as defined in section
5.01(2), the requirement to submit a
determination letter application to
the Service does not apply to certain
amendments made to prototype or
volume submitter plans. Section
6.05(1) is also revised to provide that
a determination letter application is
not required to be submitted if more
than 12 months have passed since
distribution of substantially all plan
assets as part of the plan’s termina-
tion. See section 4.05 of this revenue
procedure.
•Revising section 10.07(9) of Rev.
Proc. 2013–12 to extend the correction
period for adopting certain corrective
plan amendments in situations in
which a determination letter applica-
tion is required to be submitted con-
currently with the VCP submission.
See sections 4.08 of this revenue pro-
cedure.
•Revising sections 11.01 and 11.02 of
Rev. Proc. 2013–12 to require that ap-
plicants electing to use model VCP
submission documents submit such
documents by completing the Form
14568 series. As the model VCP sub-
mission documents are now published
on forms, Appendix C model VCP
submission documents are no longer
part of Rev. Proc. 2013–12. See sec-
tion 4.09 of this revenue procedure.
•Revising section 11.11 of Rev. Proc.
2013–12 to provide that applicants
wishing to obtain an acknowledge-
ment of receipt of a VCP submission
must use IRS Letter 5265,Form 8950
Application for Voluntary Correction
Program Acknowledgment Letter. See
section 4.11 of this revenue procedure.
•Revising section 12.02(2) of Rev.
Proc. 2013–12 to expand the availabil-
ity of a reduced compliance fee for
submissions under VCP that involve
the failure to satisfy the minimum dis-
tribution requirements. See section
4.12 of this revenue procedure.
•Revising section 12.02(3) of Rev.
Proc. 2013–12 to modify the method
for determining compliance fees for
submissions under VCP relating solely
to participant loans that do not satisfy
the requirements of § 72(p). This
change is being made to provide an
improved method for determining
compliance fees for large plans that
have a relatively small number of
loans that do not satisfy the require-
ments of § 72(p). See section 4.13 of
this revenue procedure.
•Removing Appendices C and D in
light of other modifications made in
this revenue procedure. See section
4.17 of this revenue procedure.
•Revising sections 4.11, 5.01(3)(c),
11.10, 12.06(2), Appendix A .08, and
Appendix B, section 2.07(2)(b), Ex-
ample 26, of Rev. Proc. 2013–12 to
reflect appropriate citations or cross
references. See sections 4.02, 4.03,
4.10, 4.14, 4.15, and 4.16 of this rev-
enue procedure.
SECTION 4. MODIFICATIONS TO
REV. PROC. 2013–12
.01 Section 4.04 of Rev. Proc. 2013–12
is revised to provide for an extended pe-
riod of time to correct excess annual ad-
ditions through the return of elective de-
ferrals to affected employees by changing
the reference “two and a half months” to
“9½ months.” As revised, section 4.04
reads as follows:
4.04Established practices and
procedures. In order to be eligible
for SCP, the Plan Sponsor or admin-
istrator of a plan must have estab-
lished practices and procedures (for-
mal or informal) reasonably
designed to promote and facilitate
overall compliance with applicable
Code requirements. For example,
the plan administrator of a Qualified
Plan that may be top-heavy under
§ 416 may include in its plan oper-
ating manual a specific annual step
to determine whether the plan is
top-heavy and, if so, to ensure that
the minimum contribution require-
ments of the top-heavy rules are sat-
isfied. A plan document alone does
not constitute evidence of estab-
lished procedures. In order for a
Plan Sponsor or administrator to use
SCP, these established procedures
must have been in place and rou-
tinely followed, and an Operational
Failure must have occurred through
an oversight or mistake in applying
them. SCP may also be used in sit-
uations where the Operational Fail-
ure occurred because the procedures
that were in place, while reasonable,
were not sufficient to prevent the
occurrence of the failure. A plan
that provides for elective deferrals
and nonelective employer contribu-
tions that are not matching contri-
butions is not treated as failing to
have established practices and pro-
cedures to prevent the occurrence of
a § 415(c) violation in the case of a
plan under which excess annual ad-
ditions under § 415(c) are regularly
corrected by return of elective de-
ferrals to the affected employee
within 9½ months after the end of
the plan’s limitation year. The cor-
rection, however, should not violate
another applicable Code require-
ment. In the case of a failure that
relates to Transferred Assets or to a
plan assumed in connection with a
corporate merger, acquisition, or
other similar employer transaction
between the Plan Sponsor and the
sponsor of the transferor plan or the
prior Plan Sponsor of an assumed
plan, the plan is considered to have
Bulletin No. 2015–16April 20, 2015
915

established practices and procedures
for the Transferred Assets if such
practices and procedures are in ef-
fect for the Transferred Assets by
the end of the first plan year that
begins after the corporate merger,
acquisition, or other similar transac-
tion. (See section 6.10(2) for special
rules regarding established practices
and procedures for 403(b) Plans.)
.02 Section 4.11 of Rev. Proc. 2013–12
is revised by deleting all references to
section 12.06 and replacing them with ref-
erences to section 12.07, clarifying lan-
guage regarding a defined contribution
plan “to which” a contribution is made,
and, to be consistent with other references
to the Internal Revenue Service in Rev.
Proc. 2013–12, replacing “IRS” with the
term “Service.” As revised, section 4.11
reads as follows:
.11Egregious failures. SCP is
not available to correct Operational
Failures that are egregious. Egre-
gious failures include: (a) a plan that
has consistently and improperly
covered only highly compensated
employees; (b) a plan that provides
more favorable benefits for an
owner of the employer based on a
purported collective bargaining
agreement where there has in fact
been no good faith bargaining be-
tween bona fide employee represen-
tatives and the employer (see Notice
2003–24, 2003–1 C.B. 853, with re-
spect to welfare benefit funds); or
(c) a defined contribution plan to
which a contribution is made on be-
half of a highly compensated em-
ployee that is several times greater
than the dollar limit set forth in
§ 415(c). VCP is available to correct
egregious failures. However, egre-
gious failures are subject to the VCP
fees described in section 12.07 and,
for purposes of section 12.07, an
egregious failure would include any
case in which the Service concludes
that the parties controlling the plan
recognized that the action taken
would constitute a failure and the
failure either involves a substantial
number of participants or beneficia-
ries or involves participants who are
predominantly highly compensated
employees. Audit CAP also is avail-
able to correct egregious failures.
.03 Section 5.01(3)(c) of Rev. Proc.
2013–12 is revised by modifying the last
sentence to clarify that the corrections for
overpayments from defined benefit plans
and defined contribution plans are de-
scribed in sections 6.06(3) and 6.06(4) of
Rev. Proc. 2013–12, respectively. As re-
vised, section 5.01(3)(c) reads as follows:
(c)Overpayment. The term
“Overpayment” means a Qualifica-
tion Failure due to a payment being
made to a participant or beneficiary
that exceeds the amount payable to
the participant or beneficiary under
the terms of the plan or that exceeds
a limitation provided in the Code or
regulations. Overpayments include
both payments from a defined ben-
efit plan and payments from a de-
fined contribution plan (either not
made from the participant’s or ben-
eficiary’s account under the plan or
not permitted to be paid under the
Code, the regulations, or the terms
of the plan). However, an Overpay-
ment does not include a payment
that is made pursuant to a correction
method provided under this revenue
procedure for a different Qualifica-
tion Failure. Overpayments must be
corrected in accordance with section
6.06(3) for defined benefit plans and
section 6.06(4) for defined contribu-
tion plans and 403(b) Plans.
.04 Section 6.02(5)(d) of Rev. Proc.
2013–12 is revised by deleting the refer-
ence to the Social Security letter forward-
ing program. As revised, section
6.02(5)(d)(i) reads as follows:
(d)Locating lost participants. (i)
Reasonable actions must be taken to
find all current and former partici-
pants and beneficiaries to whom ad-
ditional benefits are due, but who
have not been located after a mail-
ing to the last known address. In
general, such actions include, but
are not limited to, a mailing to the
individual’s last known address us-
ing certified mail and, if that is un-
successful, an additional search
method, such as the use of a com-
mercial locator service, a credit re-
porting agency, or Internet search
tools. Depending on the facts and
circumstances, the use of more than
one of these additional search meth-
ods may be appropriate. A plan will
not be considered to have failed to
correct a failure due to the inability
to locate an individual if reasonable
actions to locate the individual have
been undertaken in accordance with
this paragraph, provided that, if the
individual is later located, the addi-
tional benefits are provided to the
individual at that time.
.05 Sections 6.05(1), 6.05(2), and
6.05(3)(c) of Rev. Proc. 2013–12 are clar-
ified to state that the requirement to sub-
mit a determination letter application to
the IRS does not apply to corrective
amendments made to pre-approved plans
on which the adopting employer has reli-
ance if such amendments are part of an
adopted prototype or volume submitter
plan on which the adopting employer con-
tinues to have reliance after the adoption
of the corrective amendments and in cases
in which more than 12 months have
passed since the distribution of substan-
tially all the plan assets following a plan
termination.
(a) As revised, sections 6.05(1) and
6.05(2) of Rev. Proc. 2013–12 read as
follows:
.05Submission of a determina-
tion letter application. (1)In gen-
eral. This section 6.05 sets forth the
situations in which a determination
letter application is required to be
submitted as part of the correction
of a Qualification Failure if the cor-
rection includes a plan amendment.
If a determination letter application
is required under this section 6.05,
then, unless otherwise specified in
this revenue procedure, the provi-
sions of Rev. Proc. 2007–44 will
apply. Thus, for example, in the
case of an ongoing individually de-
signed plan, a determination letter
application will be reviewed with
respect to all items included in the
Cumulative List (as defined in Rev.
Proc. 2007–44) that would apply to
the remedial amendment cycle dur-
ing which the determination letter is
filed. Notwithstanding any other
part of this section 6.05, a determi-
nation letter application is not re-
quired and may not be submitted
with the VCP submission if (a) the
correction by plan amendment is
achieved through (i) the adoption of
an amendment that is designated as
a model amendment by the Service,
(ii) the adoption of a prototype or
volume submitter plan with an opin-
ion or advisory letter as provided in
Rev. Proc. 2015–6, 2015–1 I.R.B.
194, on which the Plan Sponsor has
April 20, 2015Bulletin No. 2015–16
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reliance (or is treated as having re-
liance pursuant to section 6.05(5)
below), or (iii) the adoption of an
amendment to a previously adopted
prototype or volume submitter plan
with an opinion or advisory letter as
provided in Rev. Proc. 2015–6, on
which the Plan Sponsor has reliance
(or is treated as having reliance pur-
suant to section 6.05(5) below) after
the adoption of such amendment,
(b) the failure corrected is a Demo-
graphic Failure, or (c) more than 12
months have elapsed since the date
of distribution of substantially all
plan assets in connection with the
termination of the plan.
(2)Determination letter applica-
tion required. (a)VCP and Audit
CAP. (i)Operational failure cor-
rected by plan amendment during
on-cycle year. Except as provided in
section 6.05(1), to correct an Oper-
ational Failure that includes a plan
amendment (in a case in which the
Plan Sponsor submits the failure un-
der VCP or corrects the failure un-
der Audit CAP during an on-cycle
year or in connection with a plan
termination), a determination letter
application is required for individu-
ally designed plans. An “on-cycle
year” means the last 12 months of
the plan’s remedial amendment cy-
cle set forth in Rev. Proc. 2007–44.
(ii)Nonamender failure. Except
as provided in section 6.05(1) and
(3)(a), a determination letter appli-
cation is required for individually
designed plans in order to correct a
nonamender failure under VCP or
Audit CAP, whether or not the plan
is submitted under VCP or corrected
under Audit CAP during an on-
cycle year. For this purpose, the
term “nonamender failure” means a
failure to amend the plan to correct
a disqualifying provision described
in § 1.401(b)–1(b) within the appli-
cable remedial amendment period.
In general, a disqualifying provision
includes a provision in the plan doc-
ument that violates a qualification
requirement of the Code or the ab-
sence of a provision that causes the
plan to fail to satisfy a qualification
requirement of the Code. A disqual-
ifying provision also includes any
provision designated by the Com-
missioner as a disqualifying provi-
sion under § 1.401(b)–1(b)(3).
(b)SCP. Except as provided in
section 6.05(1), in the case of any
correction of an Operational Failure
through plan amendment under SCP
that is permitted under section
4.05(2) of this revenue procedure, a
Plan Sponsor must submit a deter-
mination letter application for the
plan, including the corrective plan
amendment, during the plan’s next
on-cycle year if individually de-
signed, or earlier, if in connection
with the plan’s termination. The de-
termination letter application should
be mailed to the address provided in
the instructions for the applicable
Form 5300 or 5310. As part of the
determination letter submission, the
cover letter must identify the
amendment as a corrective amend-
ment under SCP. In addition, the
Plan Sponsor must include in the
cover letter to the application: (1) a
statement that neither the plan nor
the Plan Sponsor has been a party to
an abusive tax avoidance transac-
tion (as defined in section 4.13(2) of
this revenue procedure); or (2) a
brief identification of any abusive
tax avoidance transaction to which
the plan or the Plan Sponsor has
been a party.
(b) As revised, section 6.05(3)(c)
of Rev. Proc. 2013–12 reads as fol-
lows:
(c)Operational Failures cor-
rected through plan amendment un-
der VCP and Audit CAP during an
off-cycle year. If, during an off-
cycle year, a Plan Sponsor submits
an Operational Failure under VCP
or corrects such a failure under Au-
dit CAP, then a determination letter
application is not required and may
not be submitted with the VCP sub-
mission or as part of the correction
of the failure under Audit CAP. If
the plan amendment is accepted as a
proper correction for an Operational
Failure, the compliance statement
under VCP or closing agreement is-
sued under Audit CAP constitutes a
determination on the effect of the
plan amendment on the qualification
of the plan. The reliance provided
by a compliance statement or clos-
ing agreement is limited to the spe-
cific failures and years specified and
does not provide reliance for any
other failure or year. Except as pro-
vided in section 6.05(1), with re-
spect to correction of an Operational
Failure through plan amendment,
the compliance statement issued un-
der VCP or closing agreement is-
sued under Audit CAP is subject to
the condition that the amendment be
submitted as part of a determination
letter submission during the plan’s
next on-cycle year, or, if earlier, in
connection with the plan’s termina-
tion, and that a favorable determina-
tion letter be issued with respect to
the plan. Generally this determina-
tion letter application requirement is
limited to individually designed
plans. The determination letter ap-
plication should be mailed to the
address listed in the instructions of
the applicable Form 5300, or 5310
and should include a copy of the
related compliance statement or
closing agreement. A Plan Sponsor
that corrects an Operational Failure
through a plan amendment under
Audit CAP during an off-cycle year
should also include a copy of the
closing agreement when submitting
a determination letter application
during the plan’s next on-cycle
year, or if earlier, in connection with
the plan’s termination.
.06 Section 6.06(3) of Rev. Proc.
2013–12 is revised to clarify that there is
flexibility in correcting an Overpayment
in a defined benefit plan as long as the
correction method is consistent with the
correction principles in section 6.02 and
any other applicable rules under EPCRS.
As revised, section 6.06(3) reads as fol-
lows:
(3)Correction of Overpayment
(defined benefit plans).An Over-
payment from a defined benefit plan
is corrected in accordance with rules
similar to the Return of Overpay-
ment and Adjustment of Future Pay-
ments correction methods described
in section 2.04(1) of Appendix B or
any other appropriate correction
method. Depending on the nature of
the Overpayment failure, an appro-
priate correction method may in-
clude using rules similar to the cor-
rection method described in section
2.04(1) of Appendix B but having
the employer or another person con-
tribute the amount of the Overpay-
ment (with appropriate interest) to
the plan in lieu of seeking recoup-
ment from plan participants and
beneficiaries. Another example of
an appropriate correction method
Bulletin No. 2015–16April 20, 2015
917

includes a Plan Sponsor adopting a
retroactive amendment to conform
the plan document to the plan’s op-
erations (subject to the requirements
of section 4.05). Any other correc-
tion method used must satisfy the
correction principles of section 6.02
and any other applicable rules in
this revenue procedure.
.07 Section 6.06(4)(f) of Rev. Proc.
2013–12 is added to clarify that there is
flexibility in correcting an Overpayment
in a defined contribution plan as long as
the correction method is consistent with
the correction principles in section 6.02
and any other applicable rules under EP-
CRS. As added, section 6.06(4)(f) reads as
follows:
(f)Other correction methods.
Other appropriate correction meth-
ods may be used to correct Over-
payment failures from a defined
contribution plan. Depending on the
nature of the Overpayment failure,
an appropriate correction method
may include using rules similar to
the correction method in section
6.06(4)(a) but having the employer
or another person contribute the
amount of the Overpayment (with
appropriate interest) to the plan in
lieu of seeking recoupment from
plan participants and beneficiaries.
Another example of an appropriate
correction method includes a Plan
Sponsor adopting a retroactive
amendment to conform the plan
document to the plan’s operations
(subject to the requirements of sec-
tion 4.05). Any other correction
method used must satisfy the cor-
rection principles of section 6.02
and any other applicable rules of
this revenue procedure.
.08 Section 10.07(9) of Rev. Proc.
2013–12 is revised to extend the period to
adopt certain corrective plan amendments
and eliminate a cross-reference. Section
10.07(9) is also reorganized for clarity. As
revised, section 10.07(9) reads as follows:
(9)Timing of correction. (a)In
general. The Plan Sponsor must im-
plement the specific corrections and
administrative changes set forth in
the compliance statement within
150 days of the date of the compli-
ance statement. Any request for an
extension of this time period must
be made in writing prior to the ex-
piration of the correction period and
must be approved by the Service.
(b)Good faith, interim, or op-
tional law change amendments.
Correction of the failure to adopt
timely good faith amendments, in-
terim amendments, or amendments
relating to the implementation of
optional law changes, as described
in section 6.05(3)(a), must be made
by the date of the submission. Thus,
the submission should include the
executed amendments that would
correct this failure.
(c)Other plan amendments. Ex-
cept as provided in section
10.07(9)(b), if a determination letter
application is required to be filed
with a VCP submission as described
in section 6.05, the corrective plan
amendment must be adopted by the
later of 150 days after the date of the
compliance statement or 91 days af-
ter a favorable determination letter
is issued. However, for a govern-
mental plan (within the meaning of
§ 414(d)), the corrective amend-
ment must be adopted by the later of
150 days after the date of the com-
pliance statement or the 91st day
after the close of the first legislative
session that begins more than 120
days after a favorable determination
letter is issued.
.09 Revising sections 11.01 and 11.02
of Rev. Proc. 2013–12 to require that Plan
Sponsors that choose to use Model VCP
Submission Documents must submit such
documents by completing Form 14568,
Appendix C Part I, Model VCP Submis-
sion Compliance Statement(and, if appli-
cable, Form(s) 14568–A through 14568–
I). As revised, sections 11.01 and 11.02
read as follows:
.01General rules. (1) A VCP
submission must satisfy the require-
ments of this section 11.
(2) A VCP submission must in-
clude completed Forms 8950 and
8951.
(3) A VCP submission must in-
clude a description of the failures, a
description of the proposed methods
of correction, and other procedural
items set forth in this section 11.
Appendix C to Rev. Proc. 2013–12
provided assistance to applicants in
satisfying these requirements. In
2014, the Appendix C Model Com-
pliance Statement and related
Schedules were published by the
Service as official IRS forms. The
submission of a Model Compliance
Statement and Schedules remains
optional. However, if an applicant
wishes to submit a Model Compli-
ance Statement, Form 14568,Ap-
pendix C Part I, Model VCP Sub-
mission Compliance Statement, and,
if appropriate, one or more sched-
ules, Forms 14568–A through
14568–I, must be used. Appendix C
model documents were deleted pur-
suant to Rev. Proc. 2015–27,
2015–16 I.R.B. 914, and those doc-
uments may not be submitted as
Model Compliance Statements. To
avoid confusion, Form 14568 and
Forms 14568–A through 14568–I
will be revised to remove references
to “Appendix C”. In the meantime,
applicants may use the current ver-
sions of Form 14568 and Forms
14568–A through 14568–I that are
available on the IRS website
(www.irs.gov). The Service also re-
serves the right to modify the Form
14568 series to improve usability,
reflect changes in law, or create ad-
ditional Schedules by adding new
forms to the Form 14568 series.
.02Use of Schedules (Forms
14568 –A through 14568 –I). (1)
Schedules 1 through 9 provide de-
scriptions of common qualification
failures and standardized correction
methods which may be submitted in
lieu of individually drafted descrip-
tions. For applicants that do not
choose to use the Model Compli-
ance Statement, the Schedules can
be used to satisfy certain require-
ments of this revenue procedure.
(2) Multiple Schedules may be
included in a single VCP submis-
sion.
(3) A Schedule may be used only
if its printed content applies without
modification to the applicant’s situ-
ation.
(4) The following failures are de-
scribed in the Schedules:
(a)Form 14568 –A, Schedule 1 –
Interim and Certain Discretionary
Nonamender Failures. If the Plan
Sponsor failed to adopt timely good
faith amendments, interim amend-
ments, or amendments required to
reflect the changed operation of the
plan on account of the Plan Spon-
sor’s decision to implement optional
law changes (see section 6.05(3)(a)
of this revenue procedure for a de-
April 20, 2015Bulletin No. 2015–16
918

scription of each of these amend-
ments), the Plan Sponsor may sub-
mit Form 14568–A, which may be
used only if the corrective amend-
ment was adopted before the expi-
ration of the plan’s extended reme-
dial amendment period (as
determined under Rev. Proc. 2007–
44) for that amendment.
(b)Form 14568 –B, Schedule 2 –
Nonamender Failures (other than
those to which Schedule 1 applies)
and Failure to Adopt a 403(b) Plan
Timely. If the Plan Sponsor failed to
adopt timely amendments to comply
with required legislative or regula-
tory changes (other than as de-
scribed in section 11.02(4)(a)) or
failed to adopt a written 403(b) Plan
timely in accordance with the final
regulations under § 403(b) and No-
tice 2009–3, the Plan Sponsor may
submit Form 14568–B.
(c)Form 14568 –C, Schedule 3 –
SEPs and SARSEPs. If the Plan is a
SEP or a SARSEP and experienced
one or more of the failures shown
on Schedule 3 and the Plan Sponsor
proposes to correct such failure(s)
by using the method(s) provided on
such schedule, the Plan Sponsor
may submit Form 14568–C.
(d)Form 14568 –D, Schedule 4 –
SIMPLE IRAs. If the Plan is a SIM-
PLE IRA and experienced one or
more of the failures shown on
Schedule 4 and the Plan Sponsor
proposes to correct such failure(s)
by using the method(s) provided on
such schedule, the Plan Sponsor
may submit Form 14568–D.
(e)Form 14568 –E, Schedule 5 –
PlanLoanFailures(Qualified
Plans and 403(b) Plans). If the Plan
Sponsor failed to administer loans
in accordance with the provisions of
§ 72(p)(2), the failure solely relates to
employees who are neither key em-
ployees (as defined in § 416(i)(1)) nor
self-employed individuals (as defined
in § 401(c)(1)(B)), and the Plan Spon-
sor proposes to correct such failure(s)
by using the method(s) provided on
Schedule 5, the Plan Sponsor may
submit Form 14568–E.
(f)Form 14568 –F, Schedule 6 –
Employer Eligibility Failure (§ 401(k)
and 403(b) Plans only). If the Plan
Sponsor failed to satisfy the criteria
for an employer to sponsor either a
§ 401(k) plan or a 403(b) Plan and
proposes to correct such failure by
using the method provided on
Schedule 6, the Plan Sponsor may
submit Form 14568–F.
(g)Form 14568 –G, Schedule 7 –
Failure to Distribute Elective De-
ferrals in Excess of the § 402(g)
Limit. If the plan failed to distribute
elective deferrals made in excess of
the § 402(g) limit and the Plan
Sponsorproposes to correct such fail-
ure using the method described in Ap-
pendix A, section .04, the Plan Spon-
sor may submit Form 14568–G.
(h)Form 14568 –H, Schedule 8 –
Failure to Pay Required Minimum Dis-
tributions Timely under § 401(a)(9).If
the plan failed to make required
minimum distributions pursuant to
§ 401(a)(9) and proposes to correct
such failure using the method de-
scribed in Appendix A, section .06,
the Plan Sponsor may submit Form
14568–H.
(i)Form 14568 –I, Schedule 9 –
Correction by Plan Amendment (in
accordance with Appendix B). The
Plan Sponsor may submit Form
14568–I if a proposed correction to
one or more of the failures de-
scribed in Schedule 9 is being made.
.10 Section 11.10 of Rev. Proc.
2013–12 is revised to replace “Eligible
Person” with “Eligible Party.” As revised,
section 11.10 reads as follows:
.10Orphan Plan. The VCP sub-
mission should indicate, if appropri-
ate, that it concerns an Orphan Plan
and should include information that
establishes that the applicant is an
Eligible Party as defined in section
5.03(2).
.11 Section 11.11 of Rev. Proc.
2013–12 is revised to provide that appli-
cants that wish to obtain an acknowledge-
ment of receipt of a VCP submission must
use IRS Letter 5265. As revised, section
11.11 reads as follows:
.11Acknowledgement letter. The
Service will acknowledge receipt of
a VCP submission (or non-VCP
submission for a § 457(b) plan, as
permitted by section 4.09) only if
the Plan Sponsor or the Plan Spon-
sor’s representative completes IRS
Letter 5265,Form 8950 Application
for Voluntary Correction Program
Acknowledgement Letter, and in-
cludes it in the submission. A sepa-
rate IRS Letter 5265 should be in-
cluded for each plan submitted.
.12 Section 12.02(2) of Rev. Proc.
2013–12 is revised to expand the avail-
ability of a reduced compliance fee for
submissions under VCP involving the
failure to satisfy the minimum distribution
requirements. As revised, section 12.02(2)
reads as follows:
(2) If (a) a VCP submission in-
volves a failure to satisfy the mini-
mum distribution requirements of
§ 401(a)(9), (b) such failure is the
only failure described in the submis-
sion, and (c) the failure would result
in the imposition of the excise tax
under § 4974, the compliance fee is
$500 if 150 or fewer participants are
affected and $1,500 if 151 to 300
participants are affected. If the num-
ber of affected participants is
greater than 300, the general fee un-
der section 12.02 applies.
.13 Section 12.02(3) of Rev. Proc.
2013–12 is revised to modify the method
for determining compliance fees for sub-
missions under VCP relating solely to par-
ticipant loans that do not satisfy the re-
quirements of § 72(p). As revised, section
12.02(3) reads as follows:
(3) If (a) a VCP submission in-
volves a loan failure corrected in
accordance with section 6.07, (b)
the failure does not affect more than
25% of the Plan Sponsor’s partici-
pants in any year in which the fail-
ure occurred, and (c) the failure is
the only failure described in the sub-
mission, the compliance fee will be:
Number of
Participants with
Loan Failures
Compliance
Fee
13 or fewer$ 300
14 to 50$ 600
51 to 100$1,000
101 to 150$2,000
Over 150$3,000
.14 Section 12.06(2) of Rev. Proc.
2013–12 is revised to replace a reference
to section 6.10(1) with a reference to sec-
tion 6.11(1). As revised, section 12.06(2)
reads as follows:
(2) In any case in which a SEP or
SIMPLE IRA Plan correction is not
similar to a correction for a similar
Qualification Failure (as provided
under section 6.11(1)), the Service
Bulletin No. 2015–16April 20, 2015
919

may impose an additional fee. If the
failure involves an Excess Amount
under a SEP or a SIMPLE IRA Plan
and the Plan Sponsor retains the Ex-
cess Amount in the SEP or SIMPLE
IRA Plan, a fee equal to at least
10% of the Excess Amount with no
adjustment for Earnings will be im-
posed. This is in addition to the SEP
or SIMPLE IRA Plan compliance
fee set forth in section 12.06(1).
.15 Appendix A .08 of Rev. Proc.
2013–12 is revised by replacing the refer-
ence to section 6.06(3) of Rev. Proc.
2013–12 in the last sentence with a refer-
ence to section 6.06(4). As revised, Ap-
pendix A .08 reads as follows:
.08Failure to satisfy the § 415
limits in a defined contribution plan.
For limitation years beginning be-
fore January 1, 2009, the permitted
correction for failure to limit annual
additions (other than elective defer-
rals and after-tax employee contri-
butions) allocated to participants in
a defined contribution plan as re-
quired in § 415 (even if the excess
did not result from the allocation of
forfeitures or from a reasonable er-
ror in estimating compensation) is
to place the excess annual additions
into an unallocated account, similar
to the suspense account described in
§ 1.415–6(b)(6)(iii) (as it appeared
in the April 1, 2007 edition of 26
CFR part 1) prior to amendments
made by the final regulations under
§ 415, to be used as an employer
contribution, other than elective de-
ferrals, in the succeeding year(s).
While such amounts remain in the
unallocated account, the Plan Spon-
sor is not permitted to make addi-
tional contributions to the plan. The
permitted correction for failure to
limit annual additions that are elec-
tive deferrals or after-tax employee
contributions (even if the excess did
not result from a reasonable error in
determining compensation, the
amount of elective deferrals or
after-tax employee contributions
that could be made with respect to
an individual under the § 415 limits)
is to distribute the elective deferrals
or after-tax employee contributions
using a method similar to that de-
scribed under § 1.415–6(b)(6)(iv)
(as it appeared in the April 1, 2007
edition of 26 CFR part 1) prior to
amendments made by the final reg-
ulations under § 415. Elective defer-
rals and after-tax employee contri-
butions that are matched may be
returned to the employee, provided
that the matching contributions re-
lating to such contributions are for-
feited (which will also reduce ex-
cess annual additions for the
affected individuals). The forfeited
matching contributions are to be
placed into an unallocated account
to be used as an employer contribu-
tion, other than elective deferrals, in
succeeding periods. For limitation
years beginning on or after January
1, 2009, the failure to limit annual
additions allocated to participants in
a defined contribution plan as re-
quired in § 415 is corrected in ac-
cordance with section 6.06(2) and
(4) of this revenue procedure.
.16 In Appendix B, section 2.07(2)(b)
of Rev. Proc. 2013–12, the correction for
Example 26is modified by replacing the
first reference to 2005 in the last sentence
with 2007. As revised, the correction
reads as follows:
Correction:
Employer K corrects the failure un-
der VCP by adopting a plan amend-
ment in 2007, effective January 1,
2005, to provide a hardship distri-
bution option that satisfies the rules
applicable to hardship distributions in
§ 1.401(k)–1(d). The amendment pro-
vides that the hardship distribution
option is available to all employees.
Thus, the amendment satisfies
§ 401(a), and the plan as amended
in 2007 would have satisfied
§ 401(a) (including § 1.401(a)(4)–4
and the requirements applicable to
hardship distributions under § 401(k)) if
the amendment had been adopted in
2005.
.17 Appendices C and D of Rev. Proc.
2013–12 are removed.
SECTION 5. EFFECT ON OTHER
DOCUMENTS
Rev. Proc. 2013–12 is modified by this
revenue procedure.
SECTION 6. EFFECTIVE DATE
This revenue procedure is generally ef-
fective July 1, 2015. However, Plan Spon-
sors are permitted, at their option, to apply
the provisions of this revenue procedure
on or after March 27, 2015.
SECTION 7. PUBLIC COMMENTS
The Treasury Department and the Ser-
vice invite comments on this revenue pro-
cedure. Send submissions to CC:PA:LPD:
PR, (Rev. Proc. 2015–27), Room 5203,
Internal Revenue Service, PO Box 7604,
Ben Franklin Station, Washington, D.C.
20044. Comments may also be hand de-
livered Monday through Friday between
the hours of 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. to: Internal
Revenue Service, CC:PA:LPD:PR, (Rev.
Proc. 2015–27), Courier’s Desk, Internal
Revenue Service, 1111 Constitution Ave-
nue, N.W., Washington DC. Alternatively,
comments may be submitted via the Internet
atnotice.comments@irscounsel.treas.gov
(Rev. Proc. 2015–27). For the request for
comments in section 3.02(4) of this revenue
procedure, please submit written comments
by July 20, 2015. All comments will be
available for public inspection.
SECTION 8. PAPERWORK
REDUCTION ACT
The collection of information con-
tained in Rev. Proc. 2013–12 has been
reviewed and approved by the Office of
Management and Budget in accordance
with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44
U.S.C. 3507) undercontrol number
1545-1673. The modifications made in
this revenue procedure to Rev. Proc.
2013–12 do not impose any additional
paperwork burden.
SECTION 9. DRAFTING
INFORMATION
The principal author of this revenue
procedure is Kathleen Herrmann of the
Office of the Division Counsel/Associate
Chief Counsel (Tax Exempt and Govern-
ment Entities). For further information re-
garding this revenue procedure, contact
Kathleen Herrmann or Vernon Carter at
(202) 317-6799 (not a toll-free number).
Rev. Proc. 2015–28
SECTION 1. PURPOSE
The Employee Plans Compliance Res-
olution System (“EPCRS”) sets forth a
April 20, 2015Bulletin No. 2015–16
920

comprehensive system of correction pro-
grams for sponsors of retirement plans
that are intended to satisfy the require-
ments of § 401(a), 403(a), 403(b), 408(k),
or 408(p) of the Internal Revenue Code
(“Code”), but that have failed to meet
those requirements for a period of time.
The components of EPCRS are the Self-
Correction Program (“SCP”), the Volun-
tary Correction Program (“VCP”), and the
Audit Closing Agreement Program (“Au-
dit CAP”). EPCRS permits plan sponsors
to correct failures and thereby continue to
provide employees with retirement bene-
fits on a tax-favored basis. The most re-
cent restatement of EPCRS is set forth in
Rev. Proc. 2013–12, 2013–4 I.R.B. 313.
The following modifications to Rev. Proc.
2013–12 are reflected in this revenue pro-
cedure:
•New safe harbor EPCRS correction
methods relating to automatic contri-
bution features (including automatic
enrollment and automatic escalation of
elective deferrals) in plans described in
§ 401(k) and § 403(b); and
•Special safe harbor correction methods
for plans (including those with auto-
matic contribution features) that have
failures that are of limited duration and
involve elective deferrals.
SECTION 2. BACKGROUND
.01 Section 2.05 of Rev. Proc. 2013–12
provides that it is expected that the
EPCRS revenue procedure will continue
to be updated, in whole or in part, from
time to time, including in response to
questions received from the public.
.02 Section 2.05(2) of Rev. Proc.
2013–12 specifically requested comments
regarding methods to correct failures to
implement automatic contribution fea-
tures (including automatic escalation fea-
tures that were affirmatively elected) with
respect to elective deferrals in a § 401(k)
plan or a § 403(b) Plan.
.03 The Internal Revenue Service
(“Service”) has received comments re-
questing special correction methods with
respect to a failure to implement auto-
matic contribution features. Commenters
have stated that the cost associated with
correcting failures to implement auto-
matic contribution features under the cur-
rent rules in EPCRS, as set forth in Rev.
Proc. 2013–12, discourages employers
from adopting plans with automatic con-
tribution features because implementation
errors are more common for plans with
automatic contribution features (particu-
larly automatic escalation features). The
commenters also noted that implementa-
tion errors typically are discovered in con-
nection with the preparation of a plan’s
Form 5500 series return/report for a plan
year. In addition, commenters expressed
the view that current EPCRS safe harbor
correction methods for the exclusion of
eligible employees in a § 401(k) plan or
§ 403(b) Plan, or for failing to implement
a salary reduction election in a § 401(k)
plan or § 403(b) Plan, create a “windfall”
for affected employees because those em-
ployees receive both their full salary and a
50% make-up corrective contribution.
Commenters argue that this correction
overcompensates affected participants for
failures that last a short period of time
because the participants usually have the
opportunity to increase elective deferrals
in later periods.
.04 The 50% make-up corrective con-
tribution mentioned by commenters was
first provided with respect to the improper
exclusion of eligible employees in Rev.
Proc. 2006–27, 2006–1 C.B. 945, and
was extended to failures to implement em-
ployee elections with respect to elective
deferrals in Rev. Proc. 2008–50, 2008–2
C.B. 464. Previously, Rev. Proc. 2003–
44, 2003–1 C.B. 1051, had provided for a
make-up corrective contribution based on
the actual deferral percentage for an af-
fected employee’s group multiplied by the
affected employee’s compensation. The
correction principle underlying the 50%
make-up corrective contribution was that
corrective contributions should make up
for the value of the lost opportunity for an
employee to have a portion of his or her
compensation accumulate with earnings
tax deferred in the future assuming the
participant would not have the opportu-
nity to increase elective deferrals in later
periods to make up for missed contribu-
tions and earnings that would have accu-
mulated until retirement.
.05 The Service is issuing this revenue
procedure to improve and update EPCRS
by making limited modifications to Rev.
Proc. 2013–12. These modifications to
EPCRS are described in Section 3, and
revisions to Rev. Proc. 2013–12 imple-
menting these modifications are set forth
in Section 4.
.06 The Treasury Department and the
Service continue to invite further com-
ments on how to improve EPCRS. For
information about how to submit com-
ments, see section 7 of this revenue pro-
cedure.
SECTION 3. DESCRIPTION OF
MODIFICATIONS TO EPCRS
.01Effect on programs. This revenue
procedure modifies, but does not super-
sede, Rev. Proc. 2013–12.
.02Description of special safe harbor
methods to correct failures related to au-
tomatic contribution features in a § 401(k)
plan or § 403(b) Plan. This revenue pro-
cedure modifies the safe harbor correction
methods and examples in Appendices A
and B to Rev. Proc. 2013–12 to provide
alternative correction methods for Em-
ployee Elective Deferral Failures (as de-
fined in section 3.04 of this revenue pro-
cedure) associated with missed elective
deferrals for eligible employees who are
subject to automatic contribution features
under § 401(k) plans or § 403(b) Plans
(including employees who made affirma-
tive elections in lieu of automatic contri-
butions but whose elections were not im-
plemented correctly).
(1)Modified safe harbor correction
method for Employee Elective Deferral
Failures to implement an automatic con-
tribution feature. If the failure to imple-
ment an automatic contribution feature for
an affected eligible employee or the fail-
ure to implement an affirmative election
of an eligible employee who is otherwise
subject to an automatic contribution fea-
ture does not extend beyond the end of the
9½ month period after the end of the plan
year of the failure (which is generally the
filing deadline of the Form 5500 series
return, including automatic extensions),
no qualified nonelective contribution
(“QNEC”) (as defined in § 1.401(k)–6 of
the Income Tax Regulations) for the
missed elective deferrals is required, pro-
vided that the following conditions are
satisfied:
(a) correct deferrals begin no later than
the earlier of (i) the first payment of com-
pensation made on or after the last day of
the 9½ month period after the end of the
Bulletin No. 2015–16April 20, 2015
921

plan year in which the failure first oc-
curred for the affected eligible employee
or (ii) if the Plan Sponsor was notified of
the failure by the affected eligible em-
ployee, the first payment of compensation
made on or after the last day of the month
after the month of notification;
(b) notice of the failure that satisfies
specified requirements in new section
.05(8)(c) of Appendix A of Rev. Proc.
2013–12 is given to the affected eligible
employee not later than 45 days after the
date on which correct deferrals begin; and
(c) corrective contributions to make up
for any missed matching contributions are
made in accordance with timing require-
ments under SCP for significant opera-
tional failures (described in section 9.02
of Rev. Proc. 2013–12) and are adjusted
for Earnings. See section 9.04 of Rev.
Proc. 2013–12.
(2)Calculation of Earnings for certain
failures to implement automatic contribu-
tion features. This revenue procedure pro-
vides an alternative safe harbor method
for calculating Earnings for Employee
Elective Deferral Failures under § 401(k)
plans or § 403(b) Plans that have auto-
matic contribution features and that are
corrected in accordance with the proce-
dures in section 3.02(1) or 3.03 of this
revenue procedure. If an affected eligible
employee has not affirmatively designated
an investment alternative, missed Earn-
ings may be calculated based on the plan’s
default investment alternative, provided
that, with respect to a correction made in
accordance with the procedures in section
3.02(1) of this revenue procedure, any cu-
mulative losses reflected in the Earnings
calculation will not result in a reduction in
the required corrective contributions relat-
ing to any matching contributions.
(3)Availability of safe harbor correc-
tion method. The safe harbor correction
method under section 3.02(1) of this rev-
enue procedure is available only for plans
with respect to failures that begin on or
before December 31, 2020. At a later date,
the Service will consider whether to ex-
tend the safe harbor correction method for
failures that begin in later years. In decid-
ing whether to extend the safe harbor cor-
rection method, the Service will take into
account, among other relevant factors, the
extent to which there is an increase in the
number of plans implemented with auto-
matic contribution features.
.03Description of modifications to en-
courage the early correction of Employee
Elective Deferral Failures.
(1)Safe harbor correction method for
Employee Elective Deferral Failures that
do not exceed three months. This safe
harbor correction method creates a rolling
correction period for Employee Elective
Deferral Failures that do not exceed three
months. Under this safe harbor, no QNEC
for the missed elective deferrals is re-
quired provided that the following condi-
tions are satisfied:
(a) correct deferrals begin no later than
the earlier of (i) the first payment of com-
pensation made on or after the three-
month period that begins when the failure
first occurred for the affected eligible em-
ployee or (ii) if the Plan Sponsor was
notified of the failure by the affected eli-
gible employee, the first payment of com-
pensation made on or after the last day of
the month after the month of notification;
(b) notice of the failure that satisfies
specified requirements in new section
.05(9)(c) of Appendix A of Rev. Proc.
2013–12 is given to the affected eligible
employee not later than 45 days after the
date on which correct deferrals begin; and
(c) corrective contributions to make up
for any missed matching contributions are
made in accordance with timing require-
ments under SCP for significant opera-
tional failures (described in section 9.02
of Rev. Proc. 2013–12) and are adjusted
for Earnings. See section 9.04 of Rev.
Proc. 2013–12.
(2)Safe harbor correction method for
Employee Elective Deferral Failures that
extend beyond three months but do not
extend beyond the SCP correction period
for significant failures. This revenue pro-
cedure creates a safe harbor correction
method for Employee Elective Deferral
Failures if the period of failure exceeds
three months (or the conditions for the
safe harbor correction method described
in section 3.02 or 3.03(1) are not met by
the Plan Sponsor). This safe harbor cor-
rection would permit the Plan Sponsor to
make a corrective contribution equal to
25% of the missed deferrals (25% QNEC)
in lieu of the higher QNEC required in
sections .05(2)(b) and .05(5)(a) of Appen-
dix A and section .02(1)(B) of Appendix
B to Rev. Proc. 2013–12. In order to use
this safe harbor correction, the Plan Spon-
sor must satisfy the following conditions:
(a) correct deferrals begin no later than
the earlier of (i) the first payment of com-
pensation made on or after the last day of
the second plan year following the plan
year in which the failure occurred or (ii) if
the Plan Sponsor was notified of the fail-
ure by the affected eligible employee, the
first payment of compensation made on or
after the last day of the month after the
month of notification;
(b) notice of the failure that satisfies
specified requirements in new section
.05(9)(c) of Appendix A of Rev. Proc.
2013–12 is given to the affected eligible
employee not later than 45 days after the
date on which correct deferrals begin; and
(c) corrective contributions (including
the 25% QNEC and employer contribu-
tions to make up for any missed matching
contributions) are made in accordance
with timing requirements under SCP for
significant operational failures (described
in section 9.02 of Rev. Proc. 2013–12)
and are adjusted for Earnings. See section
9.04 of Rev. Proc. 2013–12.
.04Employee Elective Deferral Fail-
ure.For purposes of this revenue proce-
dure, an Employee Elective Deferral Fail-
ure is a failure to correctly implement
elective deferrals in a § 401(k) plan or
§ 403(b) Plan including elective deferrals
pursuant to an affirmative election or pur-
suant to an automatic contribution feature
(including an automatic escalation fea-
ture) and a failure to afford an employee
the opportunity to make an affirmative
election because the employee was im-
properly excluded from the plan.
SECTION 4. MODIFICATIONS TO
REV. PROC. 2013–12
.01 Appendix A of Rev. Proc. 2013–12
is revised to add the following new sec-
tion .05(8) to Appendix A. As revised,
section .05(8) of Appendix A reads as
follows:
(8)Special safe harbor correc-
tion method for failures related to
automatic contribution features in a
§ 401(k) plan or a 403(b) Plan. (a)
Eligibility to use safe harbor cor-
rection method. This safe harbor
correction method is available for
certain Employee Elective Deferral
April 20, 2015Bulletin No. 2015–16
922

Failures (as defined in section
.05(10) of this Appendix A) associ-
ated with missed elective deferrals
for eligible employees who are sub-
ject to an automatic contribution
feature in a § 401(k) plan or 403(b)
Plan (including employees who
made affirmative elections in lieu of
automatic contributions but whose
elections were not implemented cor-
rectly). If the failure to implement
an automatic contribution feature
for an affected eligible employee or
the failure to implement an affirma-
tive election of an eligible employee
who is otherwise subject to an au-
tomatic contribution feature does
not extend beyond the end of the 9½
month period after the end of the
plan year of the failure (which is
generally the filing deadline of the
Form 5500 series return, including
automatic extensions), no QNEC
for the missed elective deferrals is
required, provided that the follow-
ing conditions are satisfied:
(i) Correct deferrals begin no
later than the earlier of the first pay-
ment of compensation made on or
after the last day of the 9½ month
period after the end of the plan year
in which the failure first occurred
for the affected eligible employee
or, if the Plan Sponsor was notified
of the failure by the affected eligible
employee, the first payment of com-
pensation made on or after the end
of the month after the month of no-
tification;
(ii) Notice of the failure that sat-
isfies the content requirements of
section .05(8)(c) of this Appendix A
is given to the affected eligible em-
ployee not later than 45 days after
the date on which correct deferrals
begin; and
(iii) If the eligible employee
would have been entitled to addi-
tional matching contributions had
the missed deferrals been made, the
Plan Sponsor makes a corrective
contribution (adjusted for Earnings)
on behalf of the employee equal to
the matching contributions that
would have been required under the
terms of the plan as if the missed
deferrals had been contributed to the
plan in accordance with timing re-
quirements under SCP for signifi-
cant operational failures (described
in section 9.02 of this revenue pro-
cedure).
(b)Calculation of Earnings for
certain failures to implement auto-
matic contribution features. This
correction method provides an alter-
native safe harbor method for calcu-
lating Earnings for Employee Elec-
tive Deferral Failures under
§ 401(k) plans or 403(b) Plans that
have automatic contribution fea-
tures and that are corrected in accor-
dance with the procedures in this
section .05(8). If an affected eligible
employee has not affirmatively des-
ignated an investment alternative,
missed Earnings may be calculated
based on the plan’s default invest-
ment alternative, provided that, with
respect to a correction made in ac-
cordance with the procedures in this
section .05(8), any cumulative
losses reflected in the Earnings cal-
culation will not result in a reduc-
tion in the required corrective con-
tributions relating to any matching
contributions. The Plan sponsor
may also use the Earnings adjust-
ment methods set forth in section 3
of Appendix B of this revenue pro-
cedure.
(c)Content of notice require-
ment. The notice required under
section .05(8)(a)(ii) of this Appen-
dix A must include the following
information:
(i) General information relating
to the failure, such as the percentage
of eligible compensation that should
have been deferred and the approx-
imate date that the compensation
should have begun to be deferred.
The general information need not
include a statement of the dollar
amounts that should have been de-
ferred.
(ii) A statement that appropriate
amounts have begun to be deducted
from compensation and contributed
to the plan (or that appropriate de-
ductions and contributions will be-
gin shortly).
(iii) A statement that corrective
contributions relating to missed
matching contributions have been
made (or that corrective contribu-
tions will be made). Information re-
lating to the date and the amount of
corrective contributions need not be
provided.
(iv) An explanation that the af-
fected participant may increase his
or her deferral percentage in order
to make up for the missed deferral
opportunity, subject to applicable
limits under section 402(g).
(v) The name of the plan and
plan contact information (including
name, street address, e-mail ad-
dress, and telephone number of a
plan contact).
(d)Sunset of safe harbor correc-
tion method. The safe harbor correc-
tion method described in this sec-
tion .05(8) of this Appendix A is
available for plans only with respect
to failures that begin on or before
December 31, 2020.
.02 Appendix A of Rev. Proc. 2013–12
is revised to add the following new sec-
tion .05(9) to Appendix A. As revised,
section .05(9) of Appendix A reads as
follows:
(9)Safe harbor correction meth-
ods for Employee Elective Deferral
Failures in § 401(k) plans or 403(b)
Plans. (a)Safe harbor correction
method for Employee Elective De-
ferral Failures that do not exceed
three months. Under this safe harbor
correction method, an Employee
Elective Deferral Failure (as defined
in section .05(10) of this Appendix
A) can be corrected without a
QNEC for missed elective deferrals
if the following conditions are sat-
isfied:
(i) Correct deferrals begin no
later than the earlier of the first pay-
ment of compensation made on or
after the last day of the three-month
period that begins when the failure
first occurred for the affected eligi-
ble employee or, if the Plan Sponsor
was notified of the failure by the
affected eligible employee, the first
payment of compensation made on
or after the end of the month after
the month of notification;
(ii) Notice of the failure that sat-
isfies the content requirements of
section .05(9)(c) of this Appendix A
is given to the affected eligible em-
ployee not later than 45 days after
the date on which correct deferrals
begin; and
(iii) If the eligible employee
would have been entitled to addi-
tional matching contributions had
the missed deferrals been made, the
Plan Sponsor makes a corrective
contribution (adjusted for Earnings,
which may be calculated as de-
scribed in section .05(8)(b) of this
Appendix A) on behalf of the em-
Bulletin No. 2015–16April 20, 2015
923

ployee equal to the matching contri-
butions that would have been re-
quired under the terms of the plan as
if the missed deferrals had been
contributed to the plan in accor-
dance with timing requirements un-
der SCP for significant operational
failures (described in section 9.02 of
this revenue procedure).
(b)Safeharborcorrection
method for Employee Elective De-
ferral Failures that extend beyond
three months but do not extend be-
yond the SCP correction period for
significant failures. This safe harbor
correction is for failures that exceed
three months (or the conditions for
the safe harbor correction method
described in section .05(8) or
.05(9)(a) of Appendix A of this rev-
enue procedure are not met by the
Plan Sponsor). Under this safe har-
bor correction, the required correc-
tive employer contribution is equal
to 25% of the missed deferrals (25%
QNEC) in lieu of the higher QNEC
required in sections .05(2)(b) and
.05(5)(a) of Appendix A of this rev-
enue procedure. In order to use this
safe harbor correction method, the
Plan Sponsor must satisfy the fol-
lowing conditions:
(i) Correct deferrals begin no
later than the earlier of the first pay-
ment of compensation made on or
after the last day of the second plan
year following the plan year in
which the failure occurred or, if the
Plan Sponsor was notified of the
failure by the affected eligible em-
ployee, the first payment of com-
pensation made on or after the end
of the month after the month of no-
tification;
(ii) Notice of the failure that sat-
isfies the content requirements of
section .05(9)(c) of this Appendix A
is given to an affected participant
not later than 45 days after the date
on which correct deferrals begin;
and
(iii) Corrective contributions (in-
cluding the 25% QNEC and em-
ployer contributions to make up for
any missed matching contributions)
are made in accordance with timing
requirements under SCP for signif-
icant operational failures (described
in section 9.02 of this revenue pro-
cedure), including adjustments for
Earnings, which may be calculated
as described in section .05(8)(b) of
this Appendix A.
(c)Content of notice require-
ment. The notice required under
section .05(9)(a)(ii) and section
.05(9)(b)(ii) of this Appendix A
must include the following informa-
tion:
(i) General information relating
to the failure, such as the percentage
of eligible compensation that should
have been deferred and the approx-
imate date that the compensation
should have begun to be deferred.
The general information need not
include a statement of the dollar
amounts that should have been de-
ferred.
(ii) A statement that appropriate
amounts have begun to be deducted
from compensation and contributed
to the plan (or that appropriate de-
ductions and contributions will be-
gin shortly).
(iii) A statement that corrective
contributions have been made (or
that corrective contributions will be
made). Information relating to the
date and the amount of corrective
contributions need not be provided.
(iv) An explanation that the af-
fected participant may increase his
or her deferral percentage in order
to make up for the missed deferral
opportunity, subject to applicable
limits under section 402(g).
(v) The name of the plan and
plan contact information (including
name, street address, e-mail ad-
dress, and telephone number of a
plan contact).
.03 Appendix A of Rev. Proc. 2013–12
is revised to add the following new sec-
tion .05(10). As revised, section .05(10) of
Appendix A reads as follows:
(10)Employee Elective Deferral
Failure.For purposes of sections
.05(8) and .05(9) of this Appendix
A, an “Employee Elective Deferral
Failure” is a failure to implement
elective deferrals correctly in a
§ 401(k) plan or 403(b) Plan, in-
cluding elective deferrals pursuant
to an affirmative election or pursu-
ant to an automatic contribution fea-
ture under a § 401(k) plan or 403(b)
Plan, and a failure to afford an em-
ployee the opportunity to make an
affirmative election because the em-
ployee was improperly excluded
from the plan. Automatic contribu-
tion features include automatic en-
rollment and automatic escalation
features (including automatic esca-
lation features that were affirma-
tively elected).
SECTION 5. EFFECT ON OTHER
DOCUMENTS
Rev. Proc. 2013–12 is modified by this
revenue procedure.
SECTION 6. EFFECTIVE DATE
This revenue procedure is effective
April 2, 2015.
SECTION 7. PUBLIC COMMENTS
The Treasury Department and the Ser-
vice invite comments on this revenue pro-
cedure. Send submissions to CC:PA:LPD:
PR, (Rev. Proc. 2015–28), Room 5203,
Internal Revenue Service, PO Box 7604,
Ben Franklin Station, Washington, D.C.
20044. Comments may also be hand de-
livered Monday through Friday between
the hours of 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. to: Internal
Revenue Service, CC:PA:LPD:PR, (Rev.
Proc. 2015–28), Courier’s Desk, Internal
Revenue Service,1111 Constitution Ave-
nue, N.W., Washington DC. Alternatively,
comments may be submitted via the Internet
atnotice.comments@irscounsel.treas.gov
(Rev. Proc. 2015–28). All comments will
be available for public inspection.
SECTION 8. PAPERWORK
REDUCTION ACT
The collection of information con-
tained in this revenue procedure has been
reviewed and approved by the Office of
Management and Budget in accordance
with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44
U.S.C. 3507) under control number 1545-
1673.
An agency may not conduct or spon-
sor, and a person is not required to re-
spond to, a collection of information un-
less the collection of information displays
a valid OMB control number.
The collection of information in this
revenue procedure is in sections 4.01 and
4.02. This information is required to en-
able the Commissioner, Tax Exempt and
Government Entities Division of the In-
ternal Revenue Service to consider the
issuance of various types of closing agree-
ments and compliance statements. This
April 20, 2015Bulletin No. 2015–16
924

information will be used to issue closing
agreements and compliance statements to
allow individual plans to continue to
maintain their tax favored status. As a
result, favorable tax treatment of the ben-
efits of the eligible employees is retained.
The likely respondents are individuals,
state or local governments, businesses or
other for-profit institutions, nonprofit in-
stitutions, and small businesses or organi-
zations.
The estimated total annual reporting or
recordkeeping burden is 5,643 hours.
The estimated annual burden per re-
spondent/recordkeeper varies from .5 to
10 hours, depending on individual cir-
cumstances, with an estimated average
of 5.25 hours. The estimated number of
respondents or recordkeepers is 1,075.
The estimated frequency of responses
is occasional.
Books orrecords relating to a collec-
tion of information must be retained as
long as their contents may become ma-
terial in the administration of any inter-
nal revenue law. Generally tax returns
and tax return information are confiden-
tial, as required by 26 U.S.C. § 6103.
SECTION 9. DRAFTING
INFORMATION
The principal author of this revenue
procedure is Kathleen Herrmann of the
Office of the Division Counsel/Associate
Chief Counsel (Tax Exempt and Govern-
ment Entities). For further information re-
garding this revenue procedure, contact
Kathleen Herrmann or Vernon Carter at
(202) 317-6799 (not a toll-free number).
Bulletin No. 2015–16April 20, 2015
925

Part IV. Items of General Interest
Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking
Allocation of Controlled
Group Research Credit
REG–133489–13
AGENCY: Internal Revenue Service
(IRS), Treasury.
ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking
by cross-reference to temporary regula-
tions and notice of public hearing.
SUMMARY: Thisdocument contains
proposed regulations relating to the al-
location of the group credit. The pro-
posed regulations will affect certain tax-
payers claiming the credit. In the Rules
and Regulations section of this issue of
theBulletin, the IRS is issuing tempo-
rary regulations providing guidance re-
lating to the allocation of the credit for
increasing research activities (research
credit) to corporations and trades or
businesses under common control (con-
trolled groups). The temporary regula-
tions also contain rules relating to the
allocation of the railroad track mainte-
nance credit (RTMC) and the election
for a reduced research credit. The text of
the temporary regulations also serves as
the text of these proposed regulations.
DATES: Comments and requests for a
public hearing must be received by July 2,
2015.
ADDRESSES:Send submissions to: CC:
PA:LPD:PR (REG–133489–13), room
5203, Internal Revenue Service, P.O.
Box 7604, Ben Franklin Station,
Washington, DC 20044. Submissions
may be hand delivered Monday through
Friday between the hours of 8 a.m. and
4 p.m. to: CC:PA:LPD:PR (REG–
133489–13), Courier’s Desk, Internal
Revenue Service, 1111 Constitution Av-
enue, NW., Washington, DC. Submis-
sions may also be sent electronically via
the Federal eRulemaking Portal atwww.
regulations.gov(IRS REG–133489–13).
The public hearing will be held in the
IRS Auditorium, Internal Revenue
Building, 1111 Constitution Avenue,
NW., Washington, DC.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT: Concerning the regulations,
James A. Holmes, (202) 317-4137; con-
cerning submission of comments, the
hearing, and/or to be placed on the
building access list to attend the hear-
ing, Oluwafunmilayo (Funmi) Taylor at
(202) 317-6901 (not a toll-free number).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Temporary regulations in the Rules
and Regulations section of this issue of
theBulletinamend the Income Tax Reg-
ulations (26 CFR Part 1) relating to sec-
tion 41. The temporary regulations amend
§§ 1.41–6, 1.45G–1, and 1.280C–4. The
regulations are being prescribed to up-
date the regulations in a manner that is
consistent with the amendments made to
sections 41(f)(1)(A)(ii) and 41(f)(1)(B)(ii)
in Section 301(c) of the Act. The text of
the temporary regulations also serves as
the text of these proposed regulations. The
preamble to those regulations explains the
amendments.
Special Analyses
It has been determined that this notice
of proposed rulemaking is not a signifi-
cant regulatory action as defined in Exec-
utive Order 12866. Therefore, a regula-
tory assessment is not required. It also has
been determined that section 553(b) of the
Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C.
chapter 5) does not apply to these regula-
tions, and because the regulations do not
impose a collection of information on
small entities, the Regulatory Flexibility
Act (5 U.S.C. chapter 6) does not apply.
Pursuant to section 7805(f) of the Internal
Revenue Code, this notice of proposed
rulemaking will be submitted to the Chief
Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Busi-
ness Administration for comment on their
impact on small business.
Comments and Public Hearing
Before these proposed regulations are
adopted as final regulations, consideration
will be given to any comments that are
submitted timely to the IRS. The Treasury
Department and the IRS request com-
ments on all aspects of the proposed rules.
All comments will be available at www.
regulations.gov or upon request.
A public hearing will be scheduled if
requested in writing by any person that
timely submits written comments. If a
public hearing is scheduled, notice of
the date, time, and place for the public
hearing will be published in theFederal
Register.
Drafting Information
The principal author of these regula-
tions is James A. Holmes, Office of As-
sociate Chief Counsel (Passthroughs and
Special Industries), IRS. However, other
personnel from the IRS and Treasury De-
partment participated in their develop-
ment.
*****
Proposed Amendments to the
Regulations
Accordingly, 26 CFR part 1 is pro-
posed to be amended as follows:
PART 1—INCOME TAXES
Paragraph 1. The authority citation for
part 1 continues to read, in part as follows:
Authority: 26 U.S.C. 7805***
Section 1.41–6 also issued under 26
U.S.C. 41(f)(1)***
Section 1.45G–1 also issued under 26
U.S.C. 45G(e)(2)***
Section 1.280C–4 also issued under 26
U.S.C. 280C(c)(4)***
Par. 2. Section 1.41–6 is amended to
read as follows:
§ 1.41– 6. Aggregation of expenditures.
[The text of the amendments to this
proposed section is the same as the text of
§1.41–6T published elsewhere in this is-
sue of theBulletin].
Par. 3. Section 1.45G–1 is amended to
read as follows:
April 20, 2015Bulletin No. 2015–16
926

§ 1.45G–1. Railroad track maintenance
credit.
[The text of the amendments to this
proposed section is the same as the text of
§ 1.45G–1T published elsewhere in this
issue of theBulletin].
Par. 4. Section 1.280C–4 is amended
to read as follows.
§ 1.280C– 4. Credit for increasing
research activities.
[The text of the amendments to this
proposed section is the same as the text of
§ 1.280C–4T published elsewhere in this
issue of theBulletin].
John M. Dalrymple,
Deputy Commissioner for
Services and Enforcement
(Filed by the Office of the Federal Register on April 2, 2015,
8:45 a.m., and published in the issue of the Federal Register
for April 3, 2015, 80 F.R. 18171)
Bulletin No. 2015–16April 20, 2015
927

Definition of Terms
Revenue rulings and revenue procedures
(hereinafter referred to as “rulings”) that
have an effect on previous rulings use the
following defined terms to describe the
effect:
Amplifieddescribes a situation where
no change is being made in a prior pub-
lished position, but the prior position is
being extended to apply to a variation of
the fact situation set forth therein. Thus, if
an earlier ruling held that a principle ap-
plied to A, and the new ruling holds that
the same principle also applies to B, the
earlier ruling is amplified. (Compare with
modified, below).
Clarifiedis used in those instances
where the language in a prior ruling is
being made clear because the language
has caused, or may cause, some confu-
sion. It is not used where a position in a
prior ruling is being changed.
Distinguisheddescribes a situation
where a ruling mentions a previously pub-
lished ruling and points out an essential
difference between them.
Modifiedis used where the substance
of a previously published position is being
changed. Thus, if a prior ruling held that a
principle applied to A but not to B, and the
new ruling holds that it applies to both A
and B, the prior ruling is modified because
it corrects a published position. (Compare
with amplified andclarified, above).
Obsoleteddescribes a previously pub-
lished ruling that is not considered deter-
minative with respect to future transac-
tions. This term is most commonly used in
a ruling that lists previously published rul-
ings that are obsoleted because of changes
in laws or regulations. A ruling may also
be obsoleted because the substance has
been included in regulations subsequently
adopted.
Revokeddescribes situations where the
position in the previously published ruling
is not correct and the correct position is
being stated in a new ruling.
Supersededdescribes a situation where
the new ruling does nothing more than
restate the substance and situation of a
previously published ruling (or rulings).
Thus, the term is used to republish under
the 1986 Code and regulations the same
position published under the 1939 Code
and regulations. The term is also used
when it is desired to republish in a single
ruling a series of situations, names, etc.,
that were previously published over a pe-
riod of time in separate rulings. If the new
ruling does more than restate the sub-
stance of a prior ruling, a combination of
terms is used. For example, modified and
supersededdescribes a situation where the
substance of a previously published ruling
is being changed in part and is continued
without change in part and it is desired to
restate the valid portion of the previously
published ruling in a new ruling that is
self contained. In this case, the previously
published ruling is first modified and then,
as modified, is superseded.
Supplementedis used in situations in
which a list, such as a list of the names of
countries, is published in a ruling and that
list is expanded by adding further names
in subsequent rulings. After the original
ruling has been supplemented several
times, a new ruling may be published that
includes the list in the original ruling and
the additions, and supersedes all prior rul-
ings in the series.
Suspendedis used in rare situations to
show that the previous published rulings
will not be applied pending some future
action such as the issuance of new or
amended regulations, the outcome of
cases in litigation, or the outcome of a
Service study.
Abbreviations
The following abbreviations in current
use and formerly used will appear in ma-
terial published in the Bulletin.
A—Individual.
Acq.—Acquiescence.
B—Individual.
BE—Beneficiary.
BK—Bank.
B.T.A.—Board of Tax Appeals.
C—Individual.
C.B.—Cumulative Bulletin.
CFR—Code of Federal Regulations.
CI—City.
COOP—Cooperative.
Ct.D.—Court Decision.
CY—County.
D—Decedent.
DC—Dummy Corporation.
DE—Donee.
Del. Order—Delegation Order.
DISC—Domestic International Sales Corporation.
DR—Donor.
E—Estate.
EE—Employee.
E.O.—Executive Order.
ER—Employer.
ERISA—Employee Retirement Income Security Act.
EX—Executor.
F—Fiduciary.
FC—Foreign Country.
FICA—Federal Insurance Contributions Act.
FISC—Foreign International Sales Company.
FPH—Foreign Personal Holding Company.
F.R.—Federal Register.
FUTA—Federal Unemployment Tax Act.
FX—Foreign corporation.
G.C.M.—Chief Counsel’s Memorandum.
GE—Grantee.
GP—General Partner.
GR—Grantor.
IC—Insurance Company.
I.R.B.—Internal Revenue Bulletin.
LE—Lessee.
LP—Limited Partner.
LR—Lessor.
M—Minor.
Nonacq.—Nonacquiescence.
O—Organization.
P—Parent Corporation.
PHC—Personal Holding Company.
PO—Possession of the U.S.
PR—Partner.
PRS—Partnership.
PTE
—Prohibited Transaction Exemption.
Pub. L.—Public Law.
REIT—Real Estate Investment Trust.
Rev. Proc.—Revenue Procedure.
Rev. Rul.—Revenue Ruling.
S—Subsidiary.
S.P.R.—Statement of Procedural Rules.
Stat.—Statutes at Large.
T—Target Corporation.
T.C.—Tax Court.
T.D.—Treasury Decision.
TFE—Transferee.
TFR—Transferor.
T.I.R.—Technical Information Release.
TP—Taxpayer.
TR—Trust.
TT—Trustee.
U.S.C.—United States Code.
X—Corporation.
Y—Corporation.
Z—Corporation.
Bulletin No. 2015–16April 20, 2015
i

Numerical Finding List
1
Bulletin 2015–1 through 2015–16
Announcements:
2015-1, 2015-11 I.R.B.758
2015-2, 2015-3 I.R.B.324
2015-3, 2015-3 I.R.B.328
2015-4, 2015-5 I.R.B.565
2015-5, 2015-7 I.R.B.602
2015-6, 2015-8 I.R.B.685
2015-7, 2015-13 I.R.B.823
2015-8, 2015-9 I.R.B.698
2015-10, 2015-11 I.R.B.758
2015-11, 2015-15 I.R.B.883
2015-12, 2015-12 I.R.B.770
2015-13, 2015-15 I.R.B.908
Proposed Regulations:
REG-109187-11, 2015-2 I.R.B.277
REG-132751-14, 2015-2 I.R.B.279
REG-145878-14, 2015-2 I.R.B.290
REG-153656-3, 2015-5 I.R.B.566
REG-102648-15, 2015-10 I.R.B.745
REG-136018-13, 2015-11 I.R.B.759
REG-143416-14, 2015-11 I.R.B.757
REG-100400-14, 2015-12 I.R.B.779
REG-132253-11, 2015-12 I.R.B.771
REG-143040-11, 2015-13 I.R.B.827
REG-133489-13, 2015-16 I.R.B.926
Notices:
2015-1, 2015-2 I.R.B.249
2015-2, 2015-4 I.R.B.334
2015-3, 2015-6 I.R.B.583
2015-4, 2015-5 I.R.B.407
2015-5, 2015-5 I.R.B.408
2015-6, 2015-5 I.R.B.412
2015-7, 2015-6 I.R.B.585
2015-8, 2015-6 I.R.B.589
2015-9, 2015-6 I.R.B.590
2015-11, 2015-8 I.R.B.618
2015-15, 2015-9 I.R.B.687
2015-12, 2015-8 I.R.B.700
2015-13, 2015-10 I.R.B.722
2015-14, 2015-10 I.R.B.722
2015-16, 2015-10 I.R.B.732
2015-17, 2015-14 I.R.B.845
2015-19, 2015-9 I.R.B.690
2015-20, 2015-11 I.R.B.754
2015-18, 2015-12 I.R.B.765
2015-21, 2015-12 I.R.B.765
2015-22, 2015-12 I.R.B.768
2015-23, 2015-12 I.R.B.769
2015-24, 2015-13 I.R.B.811
2015-25, 2015-13 I.R.B.814
2015-26, 2015-13 I.R.B.814
2015-27, 2015-13 I.R.B.816
Notices:—Continued
2015-28, 2015-14 I.R.B.848
2015-29, 2015-15 I.R.B.873
Revenue Procedures:
2015-1, 2015-1 I.R.B.1
2015-2, 2015-1 I.R.B.105
2015-3, 2015-1 I.R.B.129
2015-4, 2015-1 I.R.B.144
2015-5, 2015-1 I.R.B.186
2015-6, 2015-1 I.R.B.194
2015-7, 2015-1 I.R.B.231
2015-8, 2015-1 I.R.B.235
2015-9, 2015-2 I.R.B.249
2015-10, 2015-2 I.R.B.261
2015-12, 2015-2 I.R.B.265
2015-13, 2015-5 I.R.B.419
2015-14, 2015-5 I.R.B.450
2015-15, 2015-5 I.R.B.564
2015-16, 2015-7 I.R.B.596
2015-17, 2015-7 I.R.B.599
2015-18, 2015-8 I.R.B.642
2015-19, 2015-8 I.R.B.678
2015-20, 2015-9 I.R.B.694
2015-21, 2015-13 I.R.B.817
2015-22, 2015-11 I.R.B.754
2015-23, 2015-13 I.R.B.820
2015-24, 2015-13 I.R.B.822
2015-25, 2015-14 I.R.B.848
2015-26, 2015-15 I.R.B.875
2015-27, 2015-16 I.R.B.914
2015-28, 2015-16 I.R.B.920
2015-29, 2015-15 I.R.B.882
Revenue Rulings:
2015-1, 2015-4 I.R.B.331
2015-2, 2015-3 I.R.B.321
2015-3, 2015-6 I.R.B.580
2015-4, 2015-10 I.R.B.743
2015-5, 2015-13 I.R.B.788
2015-6, 2015-13 I.R.B.801
2015-7, 2015-14 I.R.B.849
Treasury Decisions:
9707, 2015-2 I.R.B.247
9708, 2015-5 I.R.B.337
9709, 2015-7 I.R.B.593
9710, 2015-8 I.R.B.603
9711, 2015-11 I.R.B.748
9712, 2015-11 I.R.B.750
9713, 2015-13 I.R.B.802
9714, 2015-14 I.R.B.831
9715, 2015-15 I.R.B.851
9716, 2015-15 I.R.B.863
9717, 2015-16 I.R.B.910
9718, 2015-15 I.R.B.866
1
A cumulative list of all revenue rulings, revenue procedures, Treasury decisions, etc., published in Internal Revenue Bulletins 2014–27 through 2014–52 is in Internal Revenue Bulletin
2014–52, dated December 28, 2014.
April 20, 2015Bulletin No. 2015–16
ii

Finding List of Current Actions on
Previously Published Items
1
Bulletin 2015–1 through 2015–16
Announcements:
2010-3
Amplified by
Ann. 2015-3, 2015-3 I.R.B.328
Revenue Procedures:
2014-01
Superseded by
Rev. Proc. 2015-01, 2015-01 I.R.B.1
2014-02
Superseded by
Rev. Proc. 2015-02, 2015-01 I.R.B.105
2014-03
Superseded by
Rev. Proc. 2015-03, 2015-01 I.R.B.129
2014-04
Superseded by
Rev. Proc. 2015-04, 2015-01 I.R.B.144
2014-05
Superseded by
Rev. Proc. 2015-05, 2015-01 I.R.B.186
2014-06
Superseded by
Rev. Proc. 2015-06, 2015-01 I.R.B.194
2014-07
Superseded by
Rev. Proc. 2015-07, 2015-01 I.R.B.231
2014-08
Superseded by
Rev. Proc. 2015-08, 2015-01 I.R.B.235
2014-10
Superseded by
Rev. Proc. 2015-10, 2015-2 I.R.B.261
2003-63
Superseded by
Rev. Proc. 2015-12, 2015-2 I.R.B.265
2011-14
Modified by
Rev. Proc. 2015-12, 2015-2 I.R.B.265
2011-14
Modified by
Rev. Proc. 2015-13, 2015-5 I.R.B.419
Revenue Procedures:—Continued
2011-14
Amplified by
Rev. Proc. 2015-13, 2015-5 I.R.B.419
2011-14
Clarified by
Rev. Proc. 2015-13, 2015-5 I.R.B.419
1997-27
Clarified by
Rev. Proc. 2015-13, 2015-5 I.R.B.419
1997-27
Modified by
Rev. Proc. 2015-13, 2015-5 I.R.B.419
2012-11
Superseded by
Rev. Proc. 2015-17, 2015-7 I.R.B.599
2015-9
Modified by
Rev. Proc. 2015-17, 2015-7 I.R.B.599
2015-14
Modified by
Rev. Proc. 2015-20, 2015-9 I.R.B.694
2013-22
Modified by
Rev. Proc. 2015-22, 2015-11 I.R.B.754
2015-8
Modified by
Rev. Proc. 2015-22, 2015-11 I.R.B.754
2014-59
Modified by
Rev. Proc. 2015-24, 2015-13 I.R.B.822
2002-43
Modified by
Rev. Proc. 2015-26, 2015-15 I.R.B.875
2002-43
Obsoleted by
Rev. Proc. 2015-26, 2015-15 I.R.B.875
Revenue Rulings:
92-19
Supplemented by
Rev. Rul. 2015-02, 2015-3 I.R.B.321
Notices:
2013-01
Modified by
Notice 2015-20, 2015-11 I.R.B.754
Notices:—Continued
2013-01
Superseded by
Notice 2015-20, 2015-11 I.R.B.754
2014-24
Obsoleted by
Notice 2015-29, 2015-15 I.R.B.882
1
A cumulative list of current actions on previously published items in Internal Revenue Bulletins 2014–27 through 2014–52 is in Internal Revenue Bulletin 2014–52, dated December 28,
2014.
Bulletin No. 2015–16April 20, 2015
iii

INTERNAL REVENUE BULLETIN
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