| Instructions for Form 5310 |
2003 Tax Year |
General Instructions
This is archived information that pertains only to the 2003 Tax Year. If you
are looking for information for the current tax year, go to the Tax Prep Help Area.
Use Form 5310 to request an IRS determination as to the qualified status (under section 401(a) or section 403(a)) of a pension,
profit-sharing, or
other deferred compensation plan upon plan termination.
This form can no longer be used to determine whether an employer is a member of an Affiliated Service Group status (ASG).
- Determination Letter - issued to a specific employer.
- Sponsor Letter:
- Advisory - issued to a sponsor of a volume submitter plan.
- Opinion - issued to a sponsor of a prototype plan approved by the Washington, D.C. office.
- A Defined Contribution Plan (DCP) is a plan that provides an individual account for each participant and for benefits based
only on:
- The amount contributed to the participant's account and
- Any income, expenses, gains and losses, and any forfeitures of accounts of other participants that may be allocated to the
participant's
account.
- A Defined Benefit Plan (DBP) is any plan that is not a DCP.
Note.
A qualified plan must satisfy section 401(a) including, but not limited to, participation, vesting, nondiscriminatory contributions
or benefits,
distributions, and contribution and benefit limitations.
Any plan sponsor or administrator of any pension, profit-sharing, or other deferred compensation plan (other than a multi-employer
plan covered
under PBGC insurance) may file this form to ask the IRS to make a determination on the plan's qualification status at the
time of the plan's
termination.
Use Form 5300, Application for Determination for Employee Benefit Plan, instead of Form 5310 if the plan sponsor or administrator is
filing for a determination but will continue to maintain the trust after termination.
This form may not be filed for:
- A multi-employer plan covered by PBGC insurance.
- A request on a determination on the plan's qualification status for a partial termination.
- A plan sponsor who is not certain if they are a member of an ASG.
In these cases, use Form 5300 instead of Form 5310.
All applications must contain an original signature and must be accompanied by the following applicable items:
Note.
See Guidelines for Demonstrations on page 6 regarding the content of the demonstrations that may be required by these instructions. The
numbers assigned to the demonstrations that may be required by these instructions are the numbers of the corresponding demonstrations
under Schedule Q
(Form 5300) and, therefore, are not consecutive.
- The appropriate user fee and Form 8717, User Fee for Employee Plan Determination Letter Request. Please submit a separate check
for each application. For multiple employer plans, the fee is based on the number of participating employers.
- A copy of the plan document.
- A copy of all amendments made since the last determination letter.
- A statement explaining how the amendments affect or change this plan or any other plan maintained by the employer.
- All applications for plans that have, at any time in the past, received a favorable determination letter must include a copy
of the plan's
latest determination letter. See Specific Instructions for line 3c.
- A copy of the latest opinion letter for a standardized master or prototype plan, if any.
- A copy of the latest opinion or advisory letter for a master or prototype plan or volume submitter plan on which the employer
is entitled to
rely, if applicable.
- Copies of all records of all actions taken to terminate the plan.
- Schedule Q (Form 5300) if an elective determination is being requested, and any additional schedules or demonstrations required
by these
instructions or the instructions for Schedule Q.
- A copy of all required attachments and statements.
- Form 6088, Distributable Benefits from Employee Pension Benefit Plans, for all defined benefit or underfunded defined
contribution plans.
Note.
A multiple-employer plan must submit a Form 6088 for each employer who has adopted the plan.
File Form 5310 at the address indicated below:
Requests shipped by Express Mail or a delivery service should be sent to:
201 West Rivercenter Blvd.
Attn: Extracting Stop 312
Private Delivery Services.
You can use certain private delivery services designated by the IRS to meet the “ timely mailing as timely filing/paying” rule for tax returns
and payments. The most recent list of designated private delivery services was published by the IRS in September 2002 and
includes only the following:
- Airborne Express (Airborne): Overnight Air Express Service, Next Afternoon Service, Second Day Service.
- DHL Worldwide Express (DHL): DHL “Same Day” Service, DHL USA Overnight.
- Federal Express (FedEx): FedEx Priority Overnight, FedEx Standard Overnight, FedEx 2Day, FedEx International Priority, and
FedEx
International First.
- United Parcel Service (UPS): UPS Next Day Air, UPS Next Day Air Saver, UPS 2nd Day Air, UPS 2nd Day Air A.M., UPS Worldwide
Express Plus,
and UPS Worldwide Express.
The private delivery service can tell you how to get written proof of the mailing date.
How To Complete the Application
Applications are screened for completeness. The application must be signed by the employer, plan administrator or authorized
representative. Incomplete applications may be returned to the applicant. For this reason, it is important that an appropriate response be
entered for each line item (unless instructed otherwise). In completing the application, pay careful attention to the following:
- N/A (not applicable) is accepted as a response only if an N/A block is provided.
- If a number is requested, a number must be entered.
- If an item provides a choice of boxes to check, check only one box unless instructed otherwise.
- If an item provides a box to check, written responses are not acceptable.
- The IRS may, at its discretion, require additional information any time it is deemed necessary.
Note.
Rev. Proc. 2002-6, 2002-1 I.R.B. 203 publishes the guidance under which the determination letter program is administered.
It is updated annually
and can be found in the Internal Revenue Bulletin (I.R.B.).
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