Internal Revenue Bulletin 2004-18 (PDF rendition): IRS Revenue Rulings

Preserve advance releases and the authoritative Internal Revenue Bulletin rendition; directory timestamps are file-publication metadata, not legal effective dates. HTML bulletins begin June 2003; earlier available issues require full PDF parsing. Whole bulletin rendition: numbered items are identified below; other legal material and publisher context remain included. This is not a new standalone advance release.

Bulletin No. 200
4-18
May 3, 2004
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
Rev. Rul. 2004–43, page 842.
Partnership mergers.This ruling describes the application
of sections 704(c)(1)(B) and 737 of the Code to assets-over
partnership mergers. The ruling holds that section 704(c)(1)(B)
applies to newly created section 704(c) gain or loss in prop-
erty contributed by the transferor partnership to the continuing
partnership in an assets-over partnership merger, but does not
apply to newly created reverse section 704(c) gain or loss re-
sulting from a revaluation of property in the continuing partner-
ship. The ruling also holds that for purposes of section 737(b),
net precontribution gain includes newly created section 704(c)
gain or loss in property contributed by the transferor partner-
ship to the continuing partnership in an assets-over partnership
merger, but does not include newly created reverse section
704(c) gain or loss resulting from a revaluation of property in
the continuing partnership.
REG–106
681–02, page 852.
Propose
d regulations under section 856 of the Code clarify
that an
entity that is disregarded as separate from its owner, a
qualif
ied REIT subsidiary, or a qualified subchapter S subsidiary
is trea
ted as an entity separate from its owner if the entity is
liable
for federal taxes. A public hearing is scheduled for July
22, 200
4.
EMPLOYEE PLANS
Notice 2004–32, page 847.
Weighted average interest rate update.The weighted av-
erage interest rate for April 2004 and the resulting permissible
range of interest rates used to calculate current liability and to
determine the required contribution are set forth.
Notice 2004–34, page 848.
Minimum funding standards; interest rates; section 101
of Pension Funding Equity Act.This notice describes the
method for determining the permissible range of interest rates
for current liability under section 412 of the Code as amended
by section 101 of the Pension Funding Equity Act of 2004. In
addition, comments are requested on this notice.
Announcement 2004–32, page 860.
Employee Plans determinationletter program; individu-
ally designed plans.This announcement describes the Ser-
vice’s decisions resulting from its review of comments following
the issuance of two white papers on the future of the Employee
Plans determination letter program.
Announcement 2004–33, page 862.
Pre-approved employee plans; proposed revenue proce-
dure; request for comments.This announcement describes
and contains a draft proposed revenue procedure pertaining to
those employee plans (master and prototype (M&P) and volume
submitter (VS)) that are pre-approved by the Service. Portions
of the draft procedure are reserved pending comments.
Announcement 2004–38, page 878.
Minimum funding standards; alternative deficit reduc-
tion election.This announcement describes how an election
to make an alternative deficit reduction contribution under sec-
tion 412(l) of the Code may be made and describes some of
the background to that election.
(Continued on the next page)
Fi
nding Lists begin on page ii.

EXEMPT ORGANIZATIONS
Announcement 2004–31, page 854.
A list is provided of organizations now classified as private foun-
dations.
Announcement 2
004–41, page 879.
Kids Voting SD o
f Rapid City, SD, no longer qualifies as an or-
ganization to
which contributions are deductible under section
170 of the Code
.
ADMINISTRATIVE
Rev. Rul. 2004–41, page 845.
Limited Liability Company. This ruling discusses the issue
of whether the IRS can collect employment taxes owed by a
multi-member domestic Limited Liability Company (LLC) from
the members.
REG–106681–
02, page 852.
Proposed reg
ulations under section 856 of the Code clarify
that an entit
y that is disregarded as separate from its owner, a
qualified RE
IT subsidiary, or a qualified subchapter S subsidiary
is treated a
s an entity separate from its owner if the entity is
liable for f
ederal taxes. A public hearing is scheduled for July
22, 2004.
Notice 2004–33, page 847.
Credit for sales of fuel produced from a nonconventional
source, inflation adjustment factor, and reference price.
This notice publishes the nonconventional source fuel credit,
the inflation adjustment factor, and the reference price under
section 29 of the Code for calendar year 2003. This data is
used to determine the credit allowable on sales of fuel pro-
duced from a nonconventional source.
May 3, 20042004-18 I.R.B.

The IRS Mission
Provide America’s taxpayers top quality service by helping
them understand and meet their tax responsibilities and by
applying the tax 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 and may be obtained from the
Superintendent of Documents on a subscription basis. Bulletin
contents are compiled semiannually into Cumulative Bulletins,
which are sold on a single-copy basis.
It is the policy of the Service to publish in the Bulletin all sub-
stantive rulings necessary to promote a uniform application of
the tax laws, including all rulings that supersede, revoke, mod-
ify, or amend any of those previously published in the Bulletin.
All published rulings apply retroactively unless otherwise indi-
cated. Procedures relating solely to matters of internal man-
agement are not published; however, statements of internal
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, identifying 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.—19
86 Code.
This part i
ncludes rulings and decisions based on provisions of
the Intern
al 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, Leg-
islation 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 par
t includes notices of proposed rulemakings, disbar-
ment an
d 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 c
ontents of this publication are not copyrighted and may be reprinted freely. A citation of the Internal Revenue Bulletin as the source would be appropriate.
For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S.Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402.
2004-18 I.R.B.May 3, 2004

Part I. Rulings and Decisions Under the Internal Revenue Code
of 1986
Section 704.—Partner’s
Distributive Share
26 CFR 1.704–3: Contributed property.
(Also: §§ 708, 737, 1.704–1, 1.704–3, 1.704–4,
1.708–1, 1.737–1, 1.737–2, 1.737–3.)
Partnership mergers.This ruling
describes the application of secti
ons
704(c)(1)(B) and 737 of the Code to a
s-
sets-over partnership mergers. Th
eruling
holds that section 704(c)(1)(B) a
pplies to
newly created section 704(c) gai
norloss
in property contributed by the tr
ansferor
partnership to the continuing pa
rtnership
in an assets-over partnership me
rger, but
does not apply to newly created re
verse
section 704(c) gain or loss resul
ting from
a revaluation of property in the
continuing
partnership. The ruling also ho
lds that
for purposes of section 737(b)
, net pre-
contribution gain includes ne
wly created
section 704(c) gain or loss in p
roperty con-
tributed by the transferor par
tnership to the
continuing partnership in an a
ssets-over
partnership merger, but does
not include
newly created reverse sectio
n 704(c) gain
or loss resulting from a reva
luation of
property in the continuing p
artnership.
Rev. Rul. 2004–43
ISSUES
1) Does § 704(c)(1)(B) of the Internal
Revenue Code apply to § 704(c) gain or
loss that is created in an assets-over part-
nership merger?
2) For purposes of § 737(b), does net
precontribution gain include § 704(c) gain
or loss that is created in an assets-over part-
nership merger?
FACTS
Situation 1. On January 1, 2004,Acon-
tributes Asset 1, with a basis of $200xand
a fair market value of $300xto partnership
ABin exchange for a 50 percent interest.
On the same date,Bcontributes $300xof
cash toABin exchange for a 50 percent
interest. Also on January 1, 2004,Ccon-
tributes Asset 2, with a basis of $100xand
a fair market value of $200xto partnership
CDin exchange for a 50 percent interest.
Dcontributes $200xof cash toCDin ex-
change for a 50 percent interest.
On January 1, 2006,ABandCDunder-
take an assets-over partnership merger in
whichABis the continuing partnership and
CDis the terminating partnership. At the
time of the merger,AB’s only assets are
Asset 1, with a fair market value of $900x,
and $300xin cash, andCD’s only assets
are Asset 2, with a fair market value of
$600xand $200xin cash. After the merger,
the partners have capital and profits inter-
ests inABas follows:A, 30 percent;B,30
percent;C, 20 percent; andD, 20 percent.
The partnership agreements forABand
CDprovide that the partners’ capital ac-
counts will be determined and maintained
in accordance with § 1.704–1(b)(2)(iv)
of the Income Tax Regulations, distri-
butions in liquidation of the partnership
(or any partner’s interest) will be made
in accordance with the partners’ positive
capital account balances, and any part-
ner with a deficit balance in the partner’s
capital account following the liquidation
of the partner’s interest must restore that
deficit to the partnership (as set forth in
§ 1.704–1(b)(2)(ii)(b)(2)and(3)).ABand
CDboth have provisions in their partner-
ship agreements requiring the revaluation
of partnership property upon the entry of
a new partner.ABwould not be treated
as an investment company (within the
meaning of § 351) if it were incorporated.
Neither partnership holds any unrealized
receivables or inventory for purposes of
§ 751.ABandCDdo not have a § 754
election in place. Asset 1 and Asset 2 are
nondepreciable capital assets.
On January 1, 2012,ABhas the same
assets that it had after the merger. Each as-
set has the same value that it had at the time
of the merger. On this date,ABdistributes
Asset 2 toAin liquidation ofA’s interest
inAB.
Situation 2. The facts are the same as
inSituation 1, except that on January 1,
2012, Asset 1 has a value of $275x,and
ABdistributes Asset 1 toCin liquidation
ofC’s interest inAB.
LAW
Under § 704(b) and the regulations
thereunder, allocations of a partnership’s
items of income, gain, loss, deduction,
or credit provided for in the partnership
agreement will be respected if the allo-
cations have substantial economic effect.
Allocations that fail to have substantial
economic effect will be reallocated ac-
cording to the partners’ interests in the
partnership.
Section 1.704–1(b)(2)(iv)(f) provides
that a partnership may, upon the occur-
rence of certain events (including the
contribution of money to the partnership
by a new or existing partner), increase
or decrease the partners’ capital accounts
to reflect a revaluation of the partnership
property.
Section 1.704–1(b)(2)(iv)(g) provides
that, to the extent a partnership’s property
is reflected on the books of the partnership
at a book value that differs from the ad-
justed tax basis, the substantial economic
effect requirements apply to the alloca-
tions of book items. Section 704(c) and
§ 1.704–1(b)(4)(i) govern the partners’
distributive shares of tax items.
Section 1.704–1(b)(4)(i) provides
that if partnership property is, under
§ 1.704–1(b)(2)(iv)(f), properly reflected
in the capital accounts of the partners and
on the books of the partnership at a book
value that differs from the adjusted tax ba-
sis of the property, then depreciation, de-
pletion, amortization, and gain or loss, as
computed for book purposes, with respect
to the property will be greater or less than
the depreciation, depletion, amortization,
and gain or loss, as computed for federal
tax purposes, with respect to the property.
In these cases the capital accounts of the
partners are required to be adjusted solely
for allocations of the book items to the
partners (see § 1.704–1(b)(2)(iv)(g)), and
the partners’ shares of the corresponding
tax items are not independently reflected
by further adjustments to the partners’ cap-
ital accounts. Thus, separate allocations
of these tax items cannot have economic
effect under § 1.704–1(b)(2)(ii)(b)(1), and
the partners’ distributive shares of tax
items must (unless governed by § 704(c))
2004-18 I.R.B.842May 3, 2004

be determined in accordance with the part-
ners’ interests in the partnership. These
tax items must be shared among the part-
ners in a manner that takes account of the
variation between the adjusted tax basis of
the property and its book value in the same
manner as variations between the adjusted
tax basis and fair market value of property
contributed to the partnership are taken
into account in determining the partners’
shares of tax items under § 704(c).
Section 704(c)(1)(A)provides that in-
come, gain, loss, and deduction with re-
spect to property contributed to the part-
nership by a partner shall be shared among
the partners so as to take account of the
variation between the basis of the property
to the partnership and its fair market value
at the time of contribution.
Section 1.704–3(a)(2) provides that,
except as provided in § 1.704–3(e)(2) and
(3),§704(c)and§1.704–3applyona
property-by-property basis.
Section 1.704–3(a)(3)(i) provides that
property contributed to a partnership is
§704(c)propertyifatthetimeofcontri-
bution its book value differs from the con-
tributing partner’s adjusted tax basis. For
purposes of § 1.704–3, book value is de-
termined as contemplated by § 1.704–1(b).
Therefore, book value is equal to fair mar-
ket value at the time of contribution and
is subsequently adjusted for cost recovery
and other events that affect the basis of the
property.
Section 1.704–3(a)(3)(ii) provides that
the built-in gain on § 704(c) property is the
excess of the property’s book value over
the contributing partner’s adjusted tax ba-
sis upon contribution. The built-in gain is
thereafter reduced by decreases in the dif-
ference between the property’s book value
andadjustedtaxbasis.
Section 1.704–3(a)(6) provides that the
principles of § 1.704–3 also apply to “re-
verse § 704(c) allocations” which result
from revaluations of partnership property
pursuant to § 1.704–1(b)(2)(iv)(f).
Section 1.704–3(a)(7) provides that, if a
contributing partner transfers a partnership
interest, built-in gain or loss must be allo-
cated to the transferee partner as it would
have been allocated to the transferor part-
ner. If the contributing partner transfers
a portion of the partnership interest, the
share of built-in gain or loss proportionate
to the interest transferred must be allocated
to the transferee partner.
Section 704(c)(1)(B) provides that if
any property contributed to the partnership
by a partner is distributed (directly or indi-
rectly) by the partnership (other than to the
contributing partner) within seven years
of being contributed: (i) the contributing
partner shall be treated as recognizing gain
or loss (as the case may be) from the sale
of the property in an amount equal to the
gain or loss which would have been allo-
cated to the partner under § 704(c)(1)(A)
by reason of the variation described in
§ 704(c)(1)(A) if the property had been
sold at its fair market value at the time of
the distribution; (ii) the character of the
gain or loss shall be determined by refer-
ence to the character of the gain or loss
which would have resulted if the property
had been sold by the partnership to the dis-
tributee; and (iii) appropriate adjustments
shall be made to the adjusted basis of the
contributing partner’s interest in the part-
nership and to the adjusted basis of the
property distributed to reflect any gain or
loss recognized under § 704(c)(1)(B).
Section 1.704–4(c)(4) provides that
§ 704(c)(1)(B) and § 1.704–4 do not apply
to a transfer by a partnership (transferor
partnership) of all of its assets and liabil-
ities to a second partnership (transferee
partnership) in an exchange described in
§ 721, followed by a distribution of the
interest in the transferee partnership in
liquidation of the transferor partnership
as part of the same plan or arrangement.
Section 1.704–4(c)(4) also provides that a
subsequent distribution of § 704(c) prop-
erty by the transferee partnership to a
partner of the transferee partnership is
subject to § 704(c)(1)(B) to the same ex-
tent that a distribution by the transferor
partnership would have been subject to
§ 704(c)(1)(B).
Section 1.704–4(d)(2) provides that the
transferee of all or a portion of the part-
nership interest of a contributing partner is
treated as the contributing partner for pur-
poses of § 704(c)(1)(B) and § 1.704–4 to
the extent of the share of built-in gain or
loss allocated to the transferee partner.
Section 708(a) provides that, for pur-
poses of subchapter K, an existing partner-
ship shall be considered as continuing if it
is not terminated.
Section 708(b)(2)(A) provides that in
the case of the merger or consolidation
of two or more partnerships, the resulting
partnership shall, for purposes of § 708, be
considered the continuation of any merg-
ing or consolidating partnership whose
members own an interest of more than 50
percent in the capital and profits of the
resulting partnership.
Section 1.708–1(c)(3)(i) provides that
when two or more partnerships merge or
consolidate into one partnership under the
applicable jurisdictional law without un-
dertaking a form for the merger or consol-
idation, or undertake a form for the merger
or consolidation that is not described in
§ 1.708–1(c)(3)(ii), any merged or consol-
idated partnership that is considered ter-
minated under § 1.708–1(c)(1) is treated
as undertaking the assets-over form for
federal income tax purposes. Under the
assets-over form, the merged or consoli-
dated partnership thatis considered termi-
nated under § 1.708–1(c)(1) contributes all
of its assets and liabilities to the resulting
partnership in exchange for an interest in
the resulting partnership, and immediately
thereafter, the terminated partnership dis-
tributes interests in the resulting partner-
ship to its partners in liquidation of the ter-
minated partnership.
Section 737(a) provides that, in the case
of any distribution by a partnership to a
partner, the partner shall be treated as rec-
ognizing gain in an amount equal to the
lesser of (1) the excess (if any) of (A) the
fair market value of property (other than
money) received in the distribution over
(B) the adjusted basis of the partner’s in-
terest in the partnership immediately be-
fore the distribution reduced (but not be-
low zero) by the amount of money re-
ceived in the distribution, or (2) the net pre-
contribution gain of the partner. Gain rec-
ognized under the preceding sentence shall
be in addition to any gain recognized un-
der § 731. The character of the gain shall
be determined by reference to the propor-
tionate character of the net precontribution
gain.
Section 737(b) provides that for pur-
poses of § 737, the term “net precontri-
bution gain” means the net gain (if any)
which would have been recognized by the
distributee partner under § 704(c)(1)(B)
if all property which (1) had been con-
tributed to the partnership by the distribu-
tee partner within seven years of the dis-
tribution, and (2) is held by the partner-
ship immediately before the distribution,
had been distributed by the partnership to
another partner.
May 3, 20048432004-18 I.R.B.

Section 1.737–1(c)(1) provides that the
distributee partner’s net precontribution
gain is the net gain (if any) that would have
been recognized by the distributee partner
under § 704(c)(1)(B) and § 1.704–4 if
all property that had been contributed to
the partnership by the distributee partner
within seven years of the distribution and
is held by the partnership immediately be-
fore the distribution had been distributed
by the partnership to another partner other
than a partner who owns, directly or indi-
rectly, more than 50 percent of the capital
or profits interest in the partnership.
Section 1.737–1(c)(2)(iii) provides that
the transferee of all or a portion of a con-
tributing partner’s partnership interest suc-
ceeds to the transferor’s net precontribu-
tion gain, if any, in an amount proportion-
ate to the interest transferred.
Section 1.737–2(b)(1) provides that
§ 737 and § 1.737–2 do not apply to a
transfer by a partnership (transferor part-
nership) of all of its assets and liabilities to
a second partnership (transferee partner-
ship) in an exchange described in § 721,
followed by a distribution of the interest
in the transferee partnership in liquidation
of the transferor partnership as part of the
same plan or arrangement.
Section 1.737–2(b)(3) provides that a
subsequent distribution of property by the
transferee partnership to a partner of the
transferee partnership that was formerly a
partner of the transferor partnership is sub-
ject to § 737 to the same extent that a
distribution from the transferor partnership
would have been subject to § 737.
ANALYSIS
Section 1.704–4(c)(4) describes the ef-
fect of an assets-over partnership merger
on pre-existing § 704(c) gain or loss
for purposes of § 704(c)(1)(B). Un-
der § 1.704–4(c)(4), if the transferor
partnershipinanassets-overmerger
holds contributed property with § 704(c)
gain or loss, the seven year period in
§ 704(c)(1)(B) does not restart with re-
spect to that gain or loss as a result of the
merger. Section 1.704–4(c)(4) does not
prevent the creation of new § 704(c) gain
or loss when assets are contributed by one
partnership to another partnership in an
assets-over merger. Section 704(c)(1)(B)
applies to this newly created § 704(c)
gain or loss if the assets contributed in the
merger are distributed to a partner other
than the contributing partner (or its suc-
cessor) within seven years of the merger.
Section 1.737–2(b)(1) and (3) describes
the effect of an assets-over partnership
merger on net precontribution gain that
includes pre-existing § 704(c) gain or loss.
Under § 1.737–2(b)(3), if the transferor
partnership in an assets-over merger holds
contributed property with § 704(c) gain
or loss, the seven year period in § 737(b)
does not restart with respect to that gain
or loss as a result of the merger. Section
1.737–2(b)(3) does not prevent the cre-
ation of new § 704(c) gain or loss when
assets are contributed by one partnership
to another partnership in an assets-over
merger. This gain or loss must be con-
sidered in determining the amount of net
precontribution gain for purposes of § 737
if the continuing partnership distributes
other property to the contributing partner
(or its successor) within seven years of the
merger.
Section 1.704–3(a)(6)(i) provides that
the principles of § 1.704–3 apply to reverse
§ 704(c) allocations. In contrast, the reg-
ulations under § 704(c)(1)(B) and § 737
contain no similar rule requiring that the
principles of § 704(c)(1)(B) and § 737 ap-
plytoreverse§704(c)allocations. Un-
der those regulations, § 704(c)(1)(B) and
§ 737 do not apply to reverse § 704(c) al-
locations.
In both of the situations described
above, on the date of the partnership
merger,CDcontributes cash and Asset 2
toABin exchange for an interest inAB.
Immediately thereafter,CDdistributes, in
liquidation, interests inABtoCandD.As-
set 2 has a basis of $100xand a fair market
value of $600xupon contribution. Of the
$500xof built in gain in Asset 2, $100x
is pre-existing § 704(c) gain attributable
toC’s contribution of Asset 2 toCD,and
$400xis additional § 704(c) gain created
as a result of the merger. As the transferees
ofCD’s partnership interest inAB,Cand
Deach succeed to one-half ofCD’s $400x
of § 704(c) gain in Asset 2 (each $200x).
Section 1.704–3(a)(7). Thus,C’s share of
§ 704(c) gain is $300x,andD’s share of
§ 704(c) gain is $200x.
The entry ofCDas a new partner ofAB
causes partnershipABto revalue its prop-
erty. WhenCDenters as a new partner of
AB, Asset 1 has a basis of $200xand a fair
market value of $900x. Of the $700xof
built-ingaininAsset1,$100xis pre-exist-
ing § 704(c) gain attributable to the con-
tribution of Asset 1 byA. The revaluation
results in the creation of $600xof reverse
§ 704(c) gain in Asset 1. This layer of re-
verse § 704(c) gain is shared equally byA
andB($300xeach). Thus,A’s share of
§ 704(c) gain is $400x,andB’s share of
§ 704(c) gain is $300x. The calculation of
§ 704(c) gain in each asset is summarized
in the following table.
Adjusted
Tax Basis
Value on
Date of
Contribution
§ 704(c)
Gain on
Date of
Contribution
Value on
Date of
Merger
§704(c)
Gain
Created
by
Merger
Total
§ 704(c)
Gain
After
Merger
Asset 1
$200x$300x$100x$900x$600x$700x
Asset 2
$100x$200x$100x$600x$400x$500x
Cash
$500x$500x$0x$500x$0x$0x
Total
$800x$1,000x$200x$2,000x$1,000x$1,200x
2004-18 I.R.B.844May 3, 2004

The partners’ share of § 704(c) gain in
each ofAB’s assets after the merger is sum-
marized in the following table.
A’s Share of
§ 704(c)
Gain
B’s Share of
§ 704(c)
Gain
C’s Share of
§ 704(c)
Gain
D’s Share of
§ 704(c)
Gain
Total
§ 704(c)
Gain
Asset 1
$400x$300x$0x$0x$700x
Asset 2
$0x$0x$300x$200x$500x
Cash
$0x$0x$0x$0x$0x
Total
$400x$300x$300x$200x$1,200x
InSituation 1, the distribution of As-
set 2 toAoccurs more than seven years
after the contribution of Asset 2 toCD.
Therefore, § 704(c)(1)(B) does not apply
to the $100xof pre-existing § 704(c) gain
attributable to that contribution. How-
ever, the distribution of Asset 2 toAoc-
curs within seven years of the contribu-
tion of Asset 2 byCDtoAB.Thecon-
tribution of Asset 2 byCDtoABcreates
§704(c)gainof$400x. As the transferees
ofCD’s partnership interest inAB,Cand
Deach succeed to one-half of the $400xof
§ 704(c) gain created by the merger. Sec-
tion 1.704–3(a)(7). Section 704(c)(1)(B)
applies to that § 704(c) gain, causingCand
Deach to recognize $200xof gain.
The distribution of Asset 2 toAoccurs
more than seven years after the contribu-
tion of Asset 1 toAB,andAmade no subse-
quent contributions toAB. Therefore,A’s
net precontribution gain for purposes of
§ 737(b) at the time of the distribution is
zero.AB’s $600xof reverse § 704(c) gain
in Asset 1, resulting from a revaluation of
AB’s partnership property at the time of
the merger, is not net precontribution gain.
Accordingly,Awill not recognize gain un-
der § 737 as a result of the distribution of
Asset 2.
InSituation 2, § 704(c)(1)(B) does not
apply to the distribution by the continuing
partnership of Asset 1 toCon January 1,
2012. The distribution of Asset 1 toCoc-
curs more than seven years after the contri-
bution of Asset 1 toAB, and § 704(c)(1)(B)
does not apply to the reverse § 704(c) gain
in Asset 1 resulting from a revaluation of
AB’s partnership property at the time of the
merger. Accordingly, neitherAnorBwill
recognize gain under § 704(c)(1)(B) as a
result of the distribution of Asset 1 toC.
The distribution of Asset 1 toCoccurs
more than seven years after the contribu-
tion of Asset 2 toCD. Therefore,C’s net
precontribution gain at the time of the dis-
tribution does not includeC’s $100xof
pre-existing § 704(c) gain attributable to
that contribution. However, the distribu-
tion of Asset 1 toCoccurs within seven
years of the contribution of Asset 2 by
CDtoAB. The contribution of Asset 2
byCDtoABcreates net precontribution
gain of $400x. As the transferees ofCD’s
partnership interest inAB,CandDeach
succeed to one-half ofCD’s $400xof net
precontribution gain in Asset 2. Section
1.737–1(c)(2)(iii). Thus,C’s portion of
CD’s net precontribution gain created by
the merger is $200x. The excess of Asset
1’s fair market value, $275x,overthead-
justed tax basis ofC’s interest inABim-
mediately before the distribution, $100x,
is $175x, which is less thanC’s $200x
of net precontribution gain. Therefore,C
will recognize $175xof capital gain un-
der § 737 as a result of the distribution.
Because no property is distributed toD
and none of the property treated as con-
tributed byDis distributed to another part-
ner,Drecognizes no gain under § 737 or
§ 704(c)(1)(B).
HOLDINGS
1) Section 704(c)(1)(B) applies to
newly created § 704(c) gain or loss in
property contributed by the transferor
partnership to the continuing partnership
in an assets-over partnership merger, but
does not apply to newly created reverse
§ 704(c) gain or loss resulting from a
revaluation of property in the continuing
partnership.
2) For purposes of § 737(b), net pre-
contribution gain includes newly created
§704(c)gainorlossinpropertycon-
tributed by the transferor partnership to the
continuing partnership in an assets-over
partnership merger, but does not include
newly created reverse § 704(c) gain or loss
resulting from a revaluation of property in
the continuing partnership.
DRAFTING INFORMATION
The principal author of this revenue
ruling is Heather Faught of the Associate
Chief Counsel (Passthroughs and Spe-
cial Industries). For further information
regarding this revenue ruling, contact
Heather Faught at (202) 622–3060 (not a
toll-free call).
Section 708.—Continuation
of Partnership
A revenue ruling describes the application of sec-
tion 704(c)(1)(B) and section 737 to assets-over part-
nership mergers. See Rev. Rul. 2004-43, page 842.
Section 737.—Recognition
of Precontribution Gain
in Case of Certain
Distributions to Contributing
Partner
A revenue ruling describes the application of sec-
tion 704(c)(1)(B) and section 737 to assets-over part-
nership mergers. See Rev. Rul. 2004-43, page 842.
Section 6331.—Levy
and Distraint
26 CFR 301.6331–1: Levy and distraint.
Limited Liability Company.Thisrul-
ing discusses the issue of whether the IRS
May 3, 20048452004-18 I.R.B.

can collect employment taxes owed by a
multi-member domestic Limited Liability
Company (LLC) from the members.
Rev. Rul. 2004–41
ISSUE
When a multi-member domestic Lim-
ited Liability Company (“LLC”) incurs
federal employment tax liabilities, can the
IRS collect the employment taxes owed by
the LLC from the members, including by
levy on the members’ property and rights
to property?
BACKGROUND
A multi-member domestic LLC is an el-
igible entity that may be, and by default
is, classified as a partnership for federal
tax purposes under Section 301.7701–1et.
seq. of the Procedure and Administration
Regulations. For states that permit LLCs,
state law generally provides that the mem-
bers of an LLC are not liable for the debts
of the LLC in their capacity as members of
the LLC, subject to certain limited excep-
tions. Questions have arisen as to whether
classification of an LLC as a partnership
for federal tax law purposes permits the
IRS to collect federal employment tax lia-
bilities of the LLC from the LLC members
as if they were general partners of a part-
nership.
FACTS
X, Y, and Z are the members of a do-
mestic LLC (“XYZ”) formed in state A.
XYZ is an employer for federal tax pur-
poses and has incurred a federal employ-
ment tax liability that remains unpaid. X,
Y, and Z have assets that would be suffi-
cient to satisfy all or a portion of the em-
ployment tax liability. Under the laws of
state A, the members of an LLC generally
are not liable for the debts of the LLC.
LAW AND ANALYSIS
State law generally provides that the
general partners of a partnership are jointly
and severally liable for the partnership’s
obligations. With respect to federal tax li-
abilities incurred by a partnership, such as
federal employment taxes, the Service may
seek to collect those federal tax liabilities
from the general partners of the partner-
ship.See United States v. Papandon,331
F.3d 52, 55–56 (2d Cir. 2003) (state law
determines a partner’s liability for partner-
ship obligations, including federal tax lia-
bilities);Remington v. United States,210
F.3d 281, 283 (5th Cir. 2000) (“Accord-
ingly, under Texas law, the IRS is entitled
to collect the trust fund tax liability, indis-
putably a partnership debt, from any one of
the general partners ....”);see also United
States v. Galletti, 72 U.S.L.W. 4252 (U.S.
March 23, 2004). In contrast, an LLC
member generally is not liable under state
law for the LLC’s debts.E.g.,N.Y.Ltd.
Liab. Co. Law § 609(a) (McKinney Supp.
2003). Thus, the Service, as a general
matter, cannot collect the LLC’s employ-
ment tax liability from the LLC members.
Therefore, because the members, X, Y, and
Z, are not liable under the law of state A for
the debts of XYZ, the IRS may not levy
on the property and rights to property of
the members, in their capacity as members,
to collect the employment taxes owed by
XYZ.
There, however, may be special cir-
cumstances such as a fraudulent transfer
of assets from the LLC to its members
which might expose the members to liabil-
ity.See generally Scott v. Commissioner,
236 F.3d 1239 (10th Cir. 2001) (impos-
ing transferee liability under I.R.C. § 6901
on person receiving fraudulent transfer of
assets from taxpayer-corporation);Stanko
v. Commissioner, 209 F.3d 1082 (8th Cir.
2000) (same). Also, depending on the facts
of a particular case, a member may be li-
able for the trust fund recovery penalty un-
der I.R.C. § 6672.
HOLDING
If under state law the members of the
LLC are not liable for the debts of the
LLC, then absent fraudulent transfers or
other special circumstances, the IRS may
not collect the LLC’s employment tax lia-
bility from the members, including by levy
on the property and rights to property of
the members.
DRAFTING INFORMATION
The principal author of this revenue
ruling is Walter Ryan of the Office of the
Associate Chief Counsel, Procedure and
Administration (Collection, Bankruptcy
& Summonses Division). For further in-
formation regarding this revenue ruling,
contact Branch 1 of the Collection, Bank-
ruptcy & Summonses Division at (202)
622–3610 (not a toll-free call).
2004-18 I.R.B.846May 3, 2004

Part III. Administrative, Procedural, and Miscellaneous
Weighted Average Interest
Rate Update
Notice 2004–32
Sections 412(b)(5)(B) and 412(l)(7)
(C)(i) of the Internal Revenue Code pro-
vide that the interest rates used to calculate
current liability and to determine the re-
quired contribution under § 412(l) must
be within a permissible range around the
weighted average of the rates of interest
on 30-year Treasury securities during the
four-year period ending on the last day
before the beginning of the plan year.
Notice 88–73, 1988–2 C.B. 383, pro-
vides guidelines for determining the
weighted average interest rate and the
resulting permissible range of interest
rates used to calculate current liability.
Section 417(e)(3)(A)(ii)(II) of the Code
defines the applicable interest rate, which
must be used for purposes of determining
the minimum present value of a partici-
pant’s benefit under § 417(e)(1) and (2),
as the annual rate of interest on 30-year
Treasury securities for the month before
the date of distribution or such other time
as the Secretary may by regulations pre-
scribe. Section 1.417(e)–1(d)(3) of the In-
come Tax Regulations provides that the ap-
plicable interest rate for a month is the an-
nual interest rate on 30-year Treasury se-
curities as specified by the Commissioner
for that month in revenue rulings, notices
or other guidance published in the Internal
Revenue Bulletin.
The rate of interest on 30-year Treasury
Securities for March 2004 is 4.74 percent.
Pursuant to Notice 2002–26, 2002–1 C.B.
743, the Service has determined this rate
as the monthly average of the daily deter-
mination of yield on the 30-year Treasury
bond maturing in February 2031.
The following rates were determined
for the plan years beginning in the month
shown below.
MonthYear
Weighted
Average
90% to 105%
Permissible
Range
90% to 110%
Permissible
Range
April20045.184.67 to 5.444.67 to 5.70
Drafting Information
The principal authors of this notice
are Paul Stern and Tony Montanaro of
the Employee Plans, Tax Exempt and
Government Entities Division. For fur-
ther information regarding this notice,
please contact the Employee Plans’ tax-
payer assistance telephone service at
1–877–829–5500 (a toll-free number),
between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and
6:30 p.m. Eastern time, Monday through
Friday. Mr. Stern may be reached at
1–202–283–9703. Mr. Montanaro may
be reached at 1–202–283–9714. The tele-
phone numbers in the preceding sentences
are not toll-free.
Nonconventional Source Fuel
Credit, Section 29 Inflation
Adjustment Factor, and
Section 29 Reference Price
Notice 2004–33
This notice publishes the nonconven-
tional source fuel credit, inflation adjust-
ment factor, and reference price under § 29
of the Internal Revenue Code for calen-
dar year 2003. These are used to deter-
mine the credit allowable on fuel produced
from a nonconventional source under § 29.
The calendar year 2003 inflation-adjusted
credit applies to the sales of barrel-of-oil
equivalent of qualified fuels sold by a tax-
payer to an unrelated person during the
2003 calendar year, the domestic produc-
tion of which is attributable to the taxpayer.
BACKGROUND
Section 29(a) provides for a credit for
producing fuel from a nonconventional
source, measured in barrel-of-oil equiva-
lent of qualified fuels, the production of
which is attributable to the taxpayer and
sold by the taxpayer to an unrelated person
during the tax year. The credit is equal to
the product of $3.00 and the appropriate
inflation adjustment factor.
Section 29(b)(1) and (2) provides for
a phaseout of the credit. The credit al-
lowable under § 29(a) must be reduced by
an amount which bears the same ratio to
the amount of the credit (determined with-
out regard to § 29(b)(1)) as the amount
by which the reference price for the cal-
endar year in which the sale occurs ex-
ceeds $23.50 bears to $6.00. The $3.00 in
§ 29(a) and the $23.50 and $6.00 must each
be adjusted by multiplying these amounts
by the 2003 inflation adjustment factor. In
the case of gas from a tight formation, the
$3.00 amount in § 29(a) must not be ad-
justed.
Section 29(c)(1) defines the term “qual-
ified fuels” to include oil produced from
shale and tar sands; gas produced from
geopressurized brine,Devonian shale, coal
seams, or a tight formation, or biomass;
and liquid, gaseous, or solid synthetic fu-
els produced from coal (including lignite),
including such fuels when used as feed-
stocks.
Section 29(d)(1) provides that the credit
is to be applied only for sale of qualified
fuels the production of which is within
the United States (within the meaning of
§ 638(1)) or a possession of the United
States (within the meaning of § 638(2)).
Section 29(d)(2)(A) requires that the
Secretary, not later than April 1 of each cal-
endar year, determine and publish in the
Federal Register the inflation adjustment
factor and the reference price for the pre-
ceding calendar year.
Section 29(d)(2)(B) defines “inflation
adjustment factor” for a calendar year as
the fraction the numerator of which is the
GNP implicit price deflator for the calen-
dar year and the denominator of which is
the GNP implicit price deflator for calen-
dar year 1979. The term “GNP implicit
price deflator” means the first revision of
the implicit price deflator for the gross na-
May 3, 20048472004-18 I.R.B.

tional product as computed and published
by the Department of Commerce.
Section 29(d)(2)(C) defines “reference
price” to mean with respect to a calendar
year the Secretary’s estimate of the annual
average wellhead price per barrel for all
domestic crude oil the price of which is not
subject to regulation by the United States.
Section 29(d)(3) provides that in the
case of a property or facility in which more
than one person has an interest, except
to the extent provided in regulations pre-
scribed by the Secretary, production from
the property or facility (as the case may
be) must be allocated among the persons
in proportion to their respective interests in
the gross sales from the property or facil-
ity.
Section 29(d)(5) provides that the term
“barrel-of-oil equivalent” with respect to
any fuel generally means that amount of
the fuel which has a Btu content of 5.8
million.
INFLATION ADJUSTMENT FACTOR
AND REFERENCE PRICE
The inflation adjustment factor for cal-
endar year 2003 is 2.1336. The reference
price for calendar year 2003 is $27.56.
These amounts will be published in the
Federal Register on April 7, 2004.
PHASEOUT CALCULATION
Because the calendar year 2003 refer-
ence price does not exceed $23.50 mul-
tiplied by the inflation adjustment factor,
the phaseout of the credit provided for in
§ 29(b)(1) does not occur for any qualified
fuel sold in calendar year 2003.
CREDIT AMOUNT
The nonconventionalsource fuel credit
under § 29(a) is $6.40 per barrel-of-oil
equivalent of qualified fuels ($3.00 x
2.1336). This amount will be published in
the Federal Register on April 7, 2004.
DRAFTING INFORMATION
CONTACT
The principal author of this notice is
Jaime Park of the Office of Associate Chief
Counsel (Passthroughs and Special Indus-
tries). For further information regarding
this notice, contact Ms. Park at (202)
622–3120 (not a toll-free call).
Weighted Average Interest
Rate Modification
Notice 2004–34
This notice provides guidance as to
the determination of the weighted average
interest rate and the resulting permissible
range of interest rates used to calculate
current liability for the purpose of the
additional funding requirements under
§ 412(l) of the Internal Revenue Code
and the minimum full funding limitation
of § 412(c)(7)(E) of the Code, the cor-
responding requirements and limitation
under §§ 302(c)(7)(E) and 302(d) of the
Employee Retirement Income Security
Act of 1974 (ERISA). In addition, this
notice sets forth the interest rate under
§ 4006(a)(3)(E)(iii)(V) of ERISA, which
is needed in the determination of unfunded
vested benefits for purposes of determin-
ing premiums payable to the Pension
Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC).
This notice implements changes to the
rules regarding those interest rates that
were enacted in section 101 of the Pension
Funding Equity Act of 2004, P.L. 108-218.
BACKGROUND AND PRIOR LAW
Under § 412(b)(5)(A) of the Code,
the funding standard account (and items
therein) must be charged or credited with
interest at the appropriate rate consistent
with the rate or rates of interest used under
the plan to determine costs.
Section 412(b)(5)(B) provides special
rules for the interest rate that is used to
determine a plan’s current liability for
purposes of § 412(l) and for purposes of
the minimum full funding limitation under
§ 412(c)(7)(E). In general, that interest
rate must fall within a specified corridor
based on the weighted average of the rates
of interest on 30-year Treasury constant
maturities during the 4-year period ending
on the last day before the beginning of
the plan year, as published monthly in the
Internal Revenue Bulletin. See Notice
88–73, 1988–2 C.B. 383. Under Notice
2002–26, 2002–1 C.B. 743, the interest
rate used in determining the weighted av-
erage interest rate currently is based on
the yield on the 30-year Treasury bonds
maturing in February 2031.
In general, § 412(l)(7)(C)(i)(II) speci-
fies that, for years after 1998, the interest
rate used to determine the deficit reduction
contribution must be not more than 105%
of the weighted average interest rate. A
special rule for 2002 and 2003 was enacted
in the Job Creation and Worker Assistance
Act of 2002 (Pub. L. No. 107–147, 116
Stat. 21) to provide for the deficit reduc-
tion contribution under § 412(l) to be cal-
culated using a corridor capped at 120%
of the weighted average interest rate rather
than 105% of the weighted average inter-
est rate.
PENSION FUNDING EQUITY ACT OF
2004
The Pension Funding Equity Act was
enacted on April 10, 2004. Section
412(b)(5)(B)(ii)(II) of the Code, which
was added by section 101 of the Pension
Funding Equity Act, provides that, for
plan years beginning in 2004 and 2005,
the interest rate used to determine current
liability must not be above and must not be
more than 10 percent below the weighted
average of the rates of interest on amounts
invested conservatively in long-term in-
vestment-grade corporate bonds during
the 4-year period ending on the last day
before the beginning of the plan year. Un-
der § 412(b)(5)(B)(ii)(II), the Treasury
Department must prescribe a method for
periodically determining the rates. These
rates must be based on the use of two
or more indices thatare in the top three
quality levels available. The Treasury
Department must make the permissible
range, and the indices and methodology
used to determine the average rate, pub-
licly available.
Section 412(l)(7)(C)(i)(IV), which was
also added by the Pension Funding Equity
Act, provides that, for plan years begin-
ning in 2004 and 2005, the interest rate
used to determine current liability for pur-
poses of determining the deficit reduction
contribution must be the same as the rate
used under § 412(b)(5).
INTERIM GUIDANCE
This notice provides interim guid-
ance on the determination of the
weighted average interest rate under
§ 412(b)(5)(B)(ii)(II) of the Code and
§ 302(b)(5)(B)(ii)(II) of ERISA. In
addition, this notice provides interim
guidance as to the interest rate under
§ 4006(a)(3)(E)(iii)(V) of ERISA, which
2004-18 I.R.B.848May 3, 2004

is needed in the determination of unfunded
vested benefits for purposes of determin-
ing premiums payable to the PBGC. Tax-
payers can rely on this interim guidance
until the publication of further guidance.
Any further guidance will not apply to plan
years beginning before the publication of
further guidance. The determination of
the weighted average involves: a speci-
fication of the indices; the determination
of the rate of interest on amounts invested
conservatively in investment-grade corpo-
rate bonds (the “composite corporate bond
rate”); and the determination of a 4-year
weighted moving average of the compos-
ite corporate bond rate (the “corporate
weighted average interest rate”).
Specification of Indices
The following indices are designated
for use in determining composite corporate
bond rates beginning with January 1997
and ending August 2000.
1. Citigroup High Grade Corporate In-
dex (AAA/AA, 10+ Years)
2. Merrill Lynch US Corporates
AA-AAA Rated 10+ Years
3. Merrill Lynch US Corporates A
Rated 15+ Years
The following indices are designated
for use in determining the composite cor-
porate bond rates beginning with Septem-
ber 2000 and continuing until further guid-
ance is issued:
1. Citigroup High Grade Credit Index
1
(AAA/AA, 10+ Years)
2. Merrill Lynch US Corporates
AA-AAA Rated 10+ Years
3. Lehman Brothers US A Long Credit
All of these indices reflect interest rates on
long-term corporate bonds that are in the
top three quality levels.
Composite Corporate Bond Rate
The composite corporate bond rate for
a month is determined using the indices
designated in this notice. For each in-
dexdesignatedforinclusionindetermin-
ing the composite corporate bond rate for a
month, a monthly rate is determined based
on the average of the daily values for the
yield to maturity for the bonds that are in-
cluded in the index, as determined by the
financial service firm maintaining the in-
dex. The composite corporate bond rate
for the month is determined by computing
the average of these monthly rates. Table 1
lists the composite corporate bond rates for
the months January 2000 through March
2004.
Corporate Weighted Average Interest
Rate and Section 412(b)(5)(B)(ii)(II)
Permissible Range
The corporate weighted average in-
terest rate under § 412(b)(5)(B)(ii)(II)
for a month is determined by applying
the weighting methodology set forth in
Notice 88–73 to the composite corporate
bond rates for the 48 months preced-
ing that month. Thus, in determining
the 48-month weighted average of the
composite corporate bond rate, the com-
posite corporate bond rate for each of the
months within the immediately preceding
12 months receives a weight of 4, those
that are 13–24 months in the past receive
a weight of 3, those that are 25–36 months
in the past receive a weight of 2 and those
that are 37 or more months before the
determination receive a weight of 1. The
§ 412(b)(5)(B)(ii)(II) permissible range is
90% to 100% of the corporate weighted
average interest rate. Table 2 lists the
corporate weighted average interest rates
and the permissible range for plan years
beginning in the months January 2001
through April 2004.
Lookback Rules
Under section 101(d)(2) of the Pension
Funding Equity Act of 2004, for purposes
of applying section 412(l)(9)(B)(ii) and
section 412(m)(1) of the Code (and section
302(d)(9)(B)(ii) and section 302(m)(1) of
ERISA) to plan years beginning after De-
cember 31, 2003, the amendments made
by section 101 of the Pension Funding
Equity Act of 2004 may be applied as if
such amendments have been in effect for
all prior years. Thus, for example, for
the plan year beginning January 1, 2004,
in determining whether the plan’s funded
current liability percentage was at least
90 percent for two consecutive years of
the previous three years under section
412(l)(9)(B)(ii), thefunded current liabil-
ity percentage may be recalculated using
the corporate weighted average interest
rate applicable for plan years beginning in
January 2001, 2002, and 2003. Similarly,
in determining whether a plan is subject
to quarterly contributions under section
412(m)(1) for the plan year beginning Jan-
uary 1, 2004, the funded current liability
percentage for 2003 may be recalculated
using the corporate weighted average in-
terest rate.
However, for purposes of computing
the required installment under section
412(m)(4) for plan years beginning in
2004, the required amount for plan years
beginning in 2003 may not be recalculated
using the corporate weighted average in-
terest rate. Instead, the required amount
for 2003 will continue to be determined
based upon an interest rate which is within
the range of 90 to 120 percent of the
weighted average of the rate of interest on
30-year Treasury securities.
Monthly Publication of Rates
The IRS will publish by notice each
month the composite corporate bond rate,
the corporate weighted average interest
rate, and the § 412(b)(5)(B)(ii)(II) permis-
sible range. The same notice will specify
a change in the group of indices that are
taken into account in determining the
component corporate bond rate, and the
manner they are taken into account, if any
such change takes place.
Request for Comments
Comments are requested regarding
the determination of the composite cor-
porate bond rate set forth in this notice.
Specifically, comments are requested re-
garding the appropriateness of the indices
that are used in the determination of this
rate, whether other indices would be more
appropriate for this purpose, and the ap-
propriateness of the weight given to each
index.
Comments should be submitted by Au-
gust 2, 2004, to CC:PA:LPD:RU (Notice
2004–34), Room 5203, Internal Rev-
enue Service, POB 7604, Ben Franklin
Station, Washington, D.C. 20044. Com-
ments may be hand delivered between
the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., Mon-
day through Friday to CC:PA:LPD:RU
(Notice 2004–34), Courier’s Desk, Inter-
nal Revenue Service, 1111 Constitution
1
The name of the Citigroup High Grade Corporate Index was changed to the Citigroup High Grade Credit Index in April 2001, when a new Citigroup High Grade Corporate Index was created.
May 3, 20048492004-18 I.R.B.

Ave., NW, Washington D.C. Alternatively,
comments may be submitted electroni-
cally via e-mail to the following address:
Notice.Comments@irscounsel.treas.gov,
with “Notice 2004–34” in the subject line.
All comments will be available for public
inspection.
Drafting Information
The principal author of this notice is
Tony Montanaro of the Employee Plans,
Tax Exempt and Government Entities Di-
vision. For further information regarding
this notice, please contact the Employee
Plans’ taxpayer assistance telephone ser-
vice at 1–877–829–5500 (a toll-free num-
ber), between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and
6:30 p.m. Eastern time, Monday through
Friday. Mr. Montanaro may be reached at
1–202–283–9714 (not a toll-free number).
Table 1
Composite Corporate Bond Rates
Composite Rates for:
Month20002001200220032004
January7.947.346.926.075.68
February7.847.216.865.905.63
March7.877.087.105.895.44
April7.847.287.035.91
May8.277.286.995.42
June8.057.176.765.24
July7.937.136.745.77
August7.826.956.576.19
September7.877.056.275.95
October7.856.916.475.91
November7.826.826.305.86
December7.517.076.185.81
Table 2
Corporate Bond Weighted Average Interest Rates
Corporate
Bond
For Plan Years Beginning in:WeightedPermissible Range
YearMonthAverage90%100%
2001January7.446.697.44
2001February7.446.697.44
2001March7.446.697.44
2001April7.436.687.43
2001May7.426.687.42
2001June7.426.687.42
2001July7.416.677.41
2001August7.406.667.40
2001September7.396.657.39
2001October7.376.647.37
2001November7.366.627.36
2001December7.346.617.34
2002January7.346.607.34
2002February7.336.607.33
2002March7.326.597.32
2002April7.326.587.32
2002May7.316.587.31
2002June7.306.577.30
2004-18 I.R.B.850May 3, 2004

Table 2
Corporate Bond Weighted Average Interest Rates—Continued
Corporate
Bond
For Plan Years Beginning in:WeightedPermissible Range
YearMonthAverage90%100%
2002July7.286.557.28
2002August7.266.537.26
2002September7.236.517.23
2002October7.206.487.20
2002November7.176.467.17
2002December7.146.437.14
2003January7.116.407.11
2003February7.076.367.07
2003March7.036.337.03
2003April6.986.296.98
2003May6.946.256.94
2003June6.876.196.87
2003July6.806.126.80
2003August6.756.086.75
2003September6.726.056.72
2003October6.686.016.68
2003November6.635.976.63
2003December6.595.936.59
2004January6.555.896.55
2004February6.505.856.50
2004March6.455.816.45
2004April6.405.766.40
May 3, 20048512004-18 I.R.B.

Part IV. Items of General Interest
Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking and Notice of
Public Hearing
Modification of Check the Box
REG–106681–02
AGENCY: Internal Revenue Service
(IRS), Treasury.
ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking
and notice of public hearing.
SUMMARY: This document contains p
ro-
posed regulations that clarify t
hat qualified
REIT subsidiaries, qualified su
bchapter S
subsidiaries, and single owner e
ligible en-
tities that are disregarded as en
tities sepa-
rate from their owners are treate
d as sepa-
rate entities for purposes of an
y Federal tax
liability for which the entity i
s liable. This
document also provides notice
of a public
hearing.
DATES: Written or electronic comments
must be received by June 30, 2004. Out-
lines of topics to be discussed at the pub-
lic hearing scheduled for July 22, 2004, at
10:00 a.m., must be received by July 1,
2004.
ADDRESSES: Send submissions to:
CC:PA:LPD:PR (REG–106681–02), room
5203, Internal Revenue Service, POB
7604, Ben Franklin Station, Washing-
ton, 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–106681–02),
Courier’s Desk, Internal Revenue Ser-
vice, 1111 Constitution Avenue, NW,
Washington, DC. Alternatively, tax-
payers may submit electronic com-
ments directly to the IRS internet site
athttp://www.irs.gov/regs. The public
hearing will be held in the Auditorium,
Internal Revenue Building, 1111 Constitu-
tion Avenue, NW, Washington, DC.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT: Concerning the proposed
regulations, James M. Gergurich, (202)
622–3070; concerning submissions
and the hearing, Treena Garrett, (202)
622–7180 (not toll-free numbers).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Under the Internal Revenue Code and
its regulations, three types of entities may
be disregarded as entities separate from
their owners: qualified REIT subsidiaries
(within the meaning of section 856(i)(2)),
qualified subchapter S subsidiaries (within
the meaning of section 1361(b)(3)(B)), and
single owner eligible entities (within the
meaning of §301.7701–3(a)) (each, a dis-
regarded entity).
Section 856(i)(1) provides that a qual-
ified REIT subsidiary (QRS) shall not be
treated as a separate corporation. Under
section 856(i)(2), a QRS is defined as any
corporation 100 percent of the stock of
which is held by a real estate investment
trust (REIT), unless the REIT and the cor-
poration jointly electunder section 856(l)
that the corporation shall be treated as a
taxable REIT subsidiary. Such election
may be revoked at any time with the con-
sent of both the corporation and the REIT.
Section 1361(b)(3)(A) similarly pro-
vides that a qualified subchapter S cor-
poration (QSub) shall not be treated as
a separate corporation. Under section
1361(b)(3)(B), a QSub is defined as any el-
igible domestic corporation that is wholly
owned by an S corporation and that the S
corporation elects to treat as a QSub.
In addition, under §301.7701–3(b)(1)
and (2), an eligible entity with a sin-
gle owner may be disregarded as an
entity separate from its owner. Sec-
tion 301.7701–3(b)(1)(ii) provides that
a domestic eligible entity with a sin-
gle owner is disregarded unless the en-
tity makes an election to be classified
as an association (and thus a corpora-
tion under §301.7701–2(b)(2)). Section
301.7701–3(b)(2)(C) provides that a for-
eign eligible entity with a single owner
that does not have limited liability is
disregarded unless the entity elects to
be classified as a corporation. Under
§301.7701–3(c), a single owner eligible
entity that has elected to be treated as a cor-
poration and a foreign eligible entity with
a single owner that has limited liability
(that would otherwise be treated as a cor-
poration under §301.7701–3(b)(2)(i)(B))
may elect, subject to certain limitations, to
be disregarded.
Explanation of Provisions
As described above, a taxable entity
may become disregarded in a variety of cir-
cumstances. For example, if a REIT ac-
quires all of the stock of a corporation, the
corporation will become a QRS that is not
treated as a separate corporation. Like-
wise, an S corporation may elect to treat
a wholly owned eligible domestic corpo-
ration as a QSub that is not treated as a
separate corporation. It is also possible for
a disregarded entity to be the survivor of
a merger of a taxable entity (for example,
a corporation) and the disregarded entity.
Although a disregarded entity generally is
not liable for Federal tax liabilities of its
owner with respect to taxable periods dur-
ing which it is disregarded, the disregarded
entity may be liable for Federal taxes with
respect to taxable periods during which it
was not disregarded or because it is the
successor or transferee of a taxable entity.
The proposed regulations do not ad-
dress the question of whether the disre-
garded entity is, in fact, either liable for
Federal taxes or entitled to a refund or
credit of Federal tax. Rather, the regu-
lations clarify that if a disregarded entity
is liable for Federal taxes, the disregarded
entity will be treated as an entity separate
from its owner for purposes of those lia-
bilities, such that assessment may be made
against the disregarded entity, the assets of
the disregarded entity may be subject to
lien and levy, and thedisregarded entity
may consent to extend the period of limita-
tions on assessment. In addition, the regu-
lations clarify that if a disregarded entity is
entitled to a refund or credit of Federal tax,
the disregarded entity will be treated as an
entity separate from its owner for purposes
of that refund or credit.
Proposed Effective Date
These regulations are proposed to apply
on or after April 1, 2004.
Special Analyses
It has been determined that this notice
of proposed rulemaking is not a significant
regulatory action as defined in Executive
2004-18 I.R.B.852May 3, 2004

Order 12866. Therefore, a regulatory as-
sessment is not required. It also has been
determined that section 553(b) of the Ad-
ministrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. chap-
ter 5) does not apply to these regulations
and, because the regulations do not im-
pose a collection of information on small
entities, the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5
U.S.C. chapter 6) does not apply. There-
fore, a Regulatory Flexibility Analysis is
not required. Pursuant to section 7805(f)
of the Code, these regulations will be sub-
mitted to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy
of the Small BusinessAdministration for
comment on its impact on small business.
Comments and Public Hearing
Before this proposed regulation is
adopted as a final regulation, considera-
tion will be given to any written (a signed
original and (8) copies) or electronic com-
ments that are submitted timely to the IRS.
The IRS and Treasury Department request
comments on the clarity of the proposed
rules and how they can be made easier to
understand. All comments will be avail-
able for public inspection and copying.
A public hearing has been scheduled
for July 22, 2004, at 10:00 a.m., in the Au-
ditorium, Internal Revenue Building, 1111
Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington,
DC. Due to building security procedures,
visitors must enter at the Constitution Av-
enue entrance. In addition, all visitors
must present photo identification to enter
the building. Because of access restric-
tions, visitors will not be admitted beyond
the immediate entrance area more than 30
minutes before the hearing starts. For in-
formation about having your name on the
building access list to attend the hearing,
see the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT portion of this preamble. The
rules of 26 CFR 601.601(a)(3) apply to
the hearing. Persons who wish to present
oral comments must submit written or
electronic comments by June 30, 2004,
and an outline of the topics to be discussed
and the time to be devoted to each topic
(a signed original and eight (8) copies) by
July 1, 2004. A period of 10 minutes will
be allotted to each person for making com-
ments. An agenda showing the scheduling
of the speakers will be prepared after the
deadline for receiving outlines has passed.
Copies of the agenda will be available free
of charge at the hearing.
Drafting Information
The principal author of these regu-
lations is James M. Gergurich of the
Office of the Associate Chief Counsel
(Passthroughs & Special Industries), IRS.
However, other personnel from the IRS
and Treasury participated in their devel-
opment.
*****
Proposed Amendments to the
Regulations
Accordingly, 26 CFR parts 1 and 301
are proposed to be amended as follows:
PART 1—INCOME TAX
Paragraph 1. The authority citation for
part 1 continues to read in part as follows:
Authority: 26 U.S.C. 7805 * * *
Par. 2. Section 1.856–9 is added to read
as follows:
§1.856–9 Treatment of certain qualified
REIT subsidiaries.
(a)In general. A qualified REIT sub-
sidiary, even though it is otherwise not
treated as a corporation separate from the
REIT, is treated as a separate corporation
for purposes of:
(1) Federal tax liabilities of the quali-
fied REIT subsidiary with respect to any
taxable period for which the qualified
REIT subsidiary was treated as a separate
corporation.
(2) Federal tax liabilities of any other
entity for which the qualified REIT sub-
sidiary is liable.
(3) Refunds or credits of Federal tax.
(b)Examples. The following examples
illustrate the application of paragraph (a)
of this section:
Example 1. X, a calendar year taxpayer, is a do-
mestic corporation 100 percent of the stock of which
is acquired by Y, a real estate investment trust, in
2002. X was not a member of a consolidated group at
any time during its taxable year ending in December
2001. Consequently, X is treated as a qualified REIT
subsidiary under the provisions of section 856(i). In
2004, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) seeks to
extend the period of limitations on assessment for X’s
2001 taxable year. Because X was treated as a sep-
arate corporation for its 2001 taxable year, X is the
proper party to sign the consent to extend the period
of limitations.
Example 2. The facts are the same as inExam-
ple 1, except that upon Y’s acquisition of X, Y and X
jointly elect under section 856(l) to treat X as a tax-
able REIT subsidiary of Y. In 2003, Y and X jointly
revoke that election. Consequently, X is treated as
a qualified REIT subsidiary under the provisions of
section 856(i). In 2004, the IRS determines that X
miscalculated and underreported its income tax lia-
bility for 2001. Because X was treated as a separate
corporation for its 2001 taxable year, the deficiency
may be assessed against X and, in the event that X
fails to pay the liability after notice and demand, a
general tax lien will arise against all of X’s property
and rights to property.
Example 3. X is a qualified REIT subsidiary of Y
under the provisions of section 856(i). In 2001, Z, a
domestic corporation that reports its taxes on a calen-
dar year basis, merges into X in a state law merger. Z
was not a member of a consolidated group at any time
during its taxable year ending in December 2000. Un-
der the applicable state law, X is the successor to Z
and is liable for all of Z’s debts. In 2004, the IRS
seeks to extend the period of limitations on assess-
ment for Z’s 2000 taxable year. Because X is the
successor to Z and is liable for Z’s 2000 taxes that
remain unpaid, X is the proper party to sign the con-
sent to extend the period of limitations.
(c)Effective date. This section applies
on or after April 1, 2004.
Par. 3. Section 1.1361–4 is amended as
follows:
1. In paragraph (a)(1), the first sen-
tence is amended by adding the language
“and (a)(6)” immediately following the
language “Except as otherwise provided
in paragraph (a)(3)”.
2. Paragraph (a)(6) is added.
The addition reads as follows:
§1.1361–4 Effect of Qsub election.
(a)***(1)***
(6)Treatment of certain QSubs—(i)In
general. A QSub, even though it is gen-
erally not treated as a corporation separate
from the S corporation, is treated as a sep-
arate corporation for purposes of:
(A) Federal tax liabilities of the QSub
with respect to any taxable period for
which the QSub was treated as a separate
corporation.
(B) Federal tax liabilities of any other
entity for which the QSub is liable.
(C) Refunds or credits of Federal tax.
(ii)Examples. The following exam-
ples illustrate the application of paragraph
(a)(6)(i) of this section:
Example 1. X has owned all of the outstanding
stock of Y, a domestic corporation that reports its
taxes on a calendar year basis, since 2001. X and
Y do not report their taxes on a consolidated basis.
For 2003, X makes a timely S election and simulta-
neously makes a QSub election for Y. In 2004, the
Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) seeks to extend the
period of limitations on assessment for Y’s 2001 tax-
able year. Because Y was treated as a separate corpo-
ration for its 2001 taxable year, Y is the proper party
to sign the consent to extend the period of limitations.
May 3, 20048532004-18 I.R.B.

Example 2. The facts are the same as inExample
1, except that in 2004, the IRS determines that Y mis-
calculated and underreported its income tax liability
for 2001. Because Y was treated as a separate corpo-
ration for its 2001 taxable year, the deficiency for Y’s
2001 taxable year may be assessed against Y and, in
the event that Y fails to pay the liability after notice
and demand, a general tax lien will arise against all
of Y’s property and rights to property.
Example 3. XisaQSubofY.In2001,Z,ado-
mestic corporation that reports its taxes on a calendar
year basis, merges into X in a state law merger. Z was
not a member of a consolidated group at any time dur-
ing its taxable year ending in December 2000. Under
the applicable state law, X is the successor to Z and
is liable for all of Z’s debts. In 2003, the IRS seeks
to extend the period of limitations on assessment for
Z’s 2000 taxable year. Because X is the successor to
Z and is liable for Z’s 2000 taxes that remain unpaid,
X is the proper party to execute the consent to extend
the period of limitations on assessment.
(iii)Effective date. This paragraph
(a)(6) applies on or after April 1, 2004.
PART 301—PROCEDURE AND
ADMINISTRATION
Par. 4. The authority citation for part
301 continues to read in part as follows:
Authority: 26 U.S.C. 7805 * * *
Par. 5. Section 301.7701–2 is amended
as follows:
1. Paragraph (c)(2)(iii) is added.
2. Paragraph (e) is revised.
The addition and revision read as fol-
lows:
§301.7701–2 Business entities;
definitions.
*****
(c) * * *
(2)***(i)***
(iii)Tax liabilities of certain disre-
garded entities—(A)In general.Anentity
that is otherwise disregarded as separate
from its owner is treated as an entity sepa-
rate from its owner for purposes of:
(1) Federal tax liabilities of the entity
with respect to any taxable period for
which the entity was not disregarded.
(2) Federal tax liabilities of any other
entity for which the entity is liable.
(3) Refunds or credits of Federal tax.
(B)Examples. The following exam-
ples illustrate the application of paragraph
(c)(2)(iii)(A) of this section:
Example 1. In 2001, X, a domestic corporation
that reports its taxes on a calendar year basis, merges
into Z, a domestic LLC wholly owned by Y that is
disregarded as an entity separate from Y, in a state
law merger. X was not a member of a consolidated
group at any time during its taxable year ending in
December 2000. Under the applicable state law, Z is
the successor to X and is liable for all of X’s debts.
In 2004, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) seeks
to extend the period of limitations on assessment for
X’s 2000 taxable year. Because Z is the successor to
X and is liable for X’s 2000 taxes that remain unpaid,
Z is the proper party to sign the consent to extend the
period of limitations.
Example 2. The facts are the same as inExample
1, except that in 2002, the IRS determines that X mis-
calculated and underreported its income tax liability
for 2000. Because Z is the successor to X and is liable
for X’s 2000 taxes that remain unpaid, the deficiency
may be assessed against Z and, in the event that Z
fails to pay the liability after notice and demand, a
general tax lien will arise against all of Z’s property
and rights to property.
*****
(e)Effective date. (1) Except as oth-
erwise provided in this paragraph (e), the
rules of this section apply as of January
1, 1997, except that paragraph (b)(6) of
this section applies on or after January 14,
2002, to a business entity wholly owned
by a foreign government regardless of any
prior entity classification, and paragraph
(c)(2)(ii) of this section applies to taxable
years beginning after January 12, 2001.
The reference to the Finnish, Maltese, and
Norwegian entities in paragraph (b)(8)(i)
of this section is applicable on November
29, 1999. The reference to the Trinidadian
entity in paragraph (b)(8)(i) of this sec-
tion applies to entities formed on or after
November 29, 1999. Any Maltese or Nor-
wegian entity that becomes an eligible en-
tity as a result of paragraph (b)(8)(i) of this
section in effect on November 29, 1999,
may elect by February 14, 2000, to be clas-
sified for Federal tax purposes as an entity
other than a corporation retroactive to any
period from and including January 1, 1997.
Any Finnish entity that becomes an eligi-
ble entity as a result of paragraph (b)(8)(i)
of this section in effect on November 29,
1999, may elect by February 14, 2000, to
be classified for Federal tax purposes as an
entity other than a corporation retroactive
to any period from and including Septem-
ber 1, 1997.
(2) Paragraph (c)(2)(iii) of this section
applies on or after April 1, 2004.
Mark E. Matthews,
Deputy Commissioner for
Services and Enforcement.
(Filed by the Office of the Federal Register on March 31,
2004, 8:45 a.m., and published in the issue of the Federal
Register for April 1, 2004, 69 F.R. 17117)
Foundations Status of Certain
Organizations
Announcement 2004-31
The following organizations have failed
to establish or have been unable to main-
tain their status as public charities or as op-
erating foundations. Accordingly, grantors
and contributors maynot, after this date,
rely on previous rulings or designations
in the Cumulative List of Organizations
(Publication 78), or on the presumption
arising from the filing of notices under sec-
tion 508(b) of the Code. This listing does
notindicate that the organizations have lost
their status as organizations described in
section 501(c)(3), eligible to receive de-
ductible contributions.
Former Public Charities.The follow-
ing organizations (which have been treated
as organizations that are not private foun-
dations described in section 509(a) of the
Code) are now classified as private foun-
dations:
24 Straight, Denver, CO
Academic Services, Inc., Tucson, AZ
Advanced Leadership Institute, Inc.,
Denver, CO
African American Online Writers Guild,
Houston, TX
African Resources Forum, Riverton, UT
Agape N Ministries, Houston, TX
Aggressive Aids Prevention, Inc.,
San Francisco, CA
Akademlink, Inc., Sacramento, CA
Albuquerque Medical Education
Association, Albuquerque, NM
All About Style, Puyallup, WA
All African Peoples Organization,
Omaha, NE
All Nations Preschool and Daycare,
Tacoma, WA
Alliance for Workers Rights, Reno, NV
Alliance of Black Telcommunications
Professionals, Bellevue, WA
Alliance of Orthodox Churches,
Santa Fe, NM
Alresool Education Center, Inc.,
Phoenix, AZ
Alternative Choices Intervention
Programs, Houston, TX
American Resource Center for African
Culture, Houston, TX
Angel Foundation, Inc., Arvada, CO
Angelitas Amigos, Phoenix, AZ
2004-18 I.R.B.854May 3, 2004

Angelos Choral Mission Group,
Salinas, CA
Animal Assistance and Education League
an International, Aurora, CO
Arena of Hope, Blackfoot, ID
Arizona Abstinence Alliance, Inc.,
Chandler, AZ
Arizona Childrens Alliance of Southern
Apache County, Springville, AZ
Arizona Employer Support of the Guard
and Reserve, Tucson, AZ
Arizona Hate Crime Advisory Board,
Inc., Phoenix, AZ
Arizona Peak Performance Volleyball
Club, Scottsdale, AZ
Arizona Traffic Investigators Association,
Chandler, AZ
Arrive Alive, Inc., Las Vegas, NV
Asian Pacific American Police
Association, Las Vegas, NV
Athletics Instead of Depression and
Sickness, Inc., Santa Barbara, CA
Autonomy House, Incorporated,
Salt Lake City, UT
Azores Relief Fund, San Jose, CA
Aztec Wrestling Club, Tucson, AZ
B & C Ranch School, Inc.,
Koosharem, UT
Baby Steps Developmental Series, Inc.,
Lake Havasu City, AZ
Bakersfield Aid Project, Bakersfield, CA
Balkan Humanitarian Society,
Las Vegas, NV
Ballet Contempo, Inc., Santa Barbara, CA
Bango, Carnation, WA
Basketball Academy of Texas, Inc.,
Alexandria, VA
Bay Area Circus Center,
Mountain View, CA
Because Education Matters, Houston, TX
Bellaire High School JROTC Parents
Club, Bellaire, TX
Bethesda House, Inc., Bacliff, TX
Better a Millstone, Inc., A Nevada Corp.,
Monterey, CA
Bibles for Jails Project, Lakewood, CO
Big River Soccer Club, E. Wenatchee, WA
Bill Crowles Sr. Supportive Services,
Bakersfield, CA
Black & Whaley Enterprises,
Los Angeles, CA
Blaine County Search & Rescue, Inc.,
Chinook, MT
Bonner County EMS Advisory Board,
Ponderay, ID
Books for Belize, Inc., St. Petersburg, FL
Border Collie Rescue Texas, Inc.,
Houston, TX
Boulder Valley Wrestling Club,
Boulder, CO
Bourland Trestle Partnership,
Groveland, CA
Boys & Girls Club of Tri-County, Inc.,
Helena, MT
Boys and Girls Club of Cottonwood,
Cottonwood, AZ
Bradams, Inc., Gallup, NM
Bright Wings, Inc., Durango, CO
Brighton Bombers Baseball,
Ft. Lupton, CO
Building Families Foundation, Ogden, UT
Butte Youth Traveling Basketball
Association, Butte, MT
Bypac, Inc., Breckenridge, CO
Caddie Foundation of Arizona,
Glendale, AZ
California Space, Incorporated,
Santa Maria, CA
California Taekwondo Junior Olympic
Team, San Jose, CA
Cardoza Foundation, Modesto, CA
Carson City Urban Indian Consortium,
Inc., Carson City, NV
Cascade Assistance Dogs Educational
Training Center, Inc., Bow, WA
Cascade Community Childrens Fund,
Eugene, OR
Cascade Rowing, Seattle, WA
Cass Kids Farm Safety, Kindred, ND
Cat Hoop Club, Carmel, CA
Center for Mission Education, Denver, CO
Center for Nanospace Technologies,
League City, TX
Center for the Arts in Telluride, Ophir, CO
Center for the Study of Biodiversity and
Ecosystems, Las Vegas, NV
Center for Transformational Healing,
Tucson, AZ
Central Valley Group Home and Family
Services, Inc., Modesto, CA
CFHS Touchdown Club, Tucson, AZ
Charter, Inc., Denver, CO
Chatham-Meier Foundation,
Claremont, CA
Cheyenne Childrens Museum,
Cheyenne, WY
Childrens Brain Tumor Research
& Family Relief Foundation,
Redmond, WA
Childrens Charities International,
Walnut Creek, CA
Childrens Field, Tijeras, NM
Childrens Place Child Care &
Early Learning Foundation, Inc.,
Sugar City, ID
Chimayo Youth Center, Chimayo, NM
Choteau Baseball Commission, Inc.,
Choteau, MT
ChristianDrugEducationCenter,
Westminster, CO
Citizens Institute for Voter Information in
Colorado, Vermillion, SD
Clarence Project, Bellevue, WA
Clothesminded, Inc., Tempe, AZ
Coeur Dalene Area Swim Team, Inc.,
Post Falls, ID
Collegiate Broadcast Network,
Denver, CO
Colorado Arts and Crafts Society,
Golden, CO
Colorado Christian Community Fund,
Wheat Ridge, CO
Colorado Clinical Guidelines
Collaborative, Denver, CO
Colorado Girls Awesome Softball
Association CGASA, Denver, CO
Colorado Mule Deer Association,
Grand Junction, CO
Colorado Organization Development
Network, Englewood, CO
Colorado Prairie Preserve, Inc.,
Boulder, CO
Colorado Springs Racquet Club Swim
Team, Inc., Colorado Springs, CO
Colorado Springs Youth Cycling,
Colorado Springs, CO
Colorado Youth Center for Alternative
Sports, Inc., Fort Collins, CO
Columbia Public Interest Policy Institute,
Bellevue, WA
Communities United for Sustainable
Progress, Atascadero, CA
Community for the Advancement of
Family Education, Wenatchee, WA
Community Group Homes, Fresno, CA
Community Prevention Services,
Salt Lake City, UT
Community Technical Services, Inc.,
Las Vegas, NV
Community Wellness Alliance,
Palo Alto, CA
Computer Literacy Resources, Inc.,
Prescott, AZ
Confluence Art Center, Winthrop, WA
Conifer High School Instrumental Music
Boosters, Inc., Conifer, CO
Creating New Life Ministries, Inc.,
Houston, TX
Creative Alternatives for Resolution Ent.,
Fresno, CA
Credo International, Monroe, WA
Cripple Creek-Victor and Canon
City Railroad Museum, Inc.,
Cripple Creek, CO
May 3, 20048552004-18 I.R.B.

Cross Streets, Tucson, AZ
CTD Resource Network, Inc.,
Los Banos, CA
CUPIG Acres, Inc., Sedona, AZ
Damas Dog Foundation, Inc., Rigby, ID
Dancevision, Fort Collins, CO
Danssa Brasil, Thousand Oaks, CA
Dasira Narada Human Energy Studies
Foundation, Milpitas, CA
Dateland Historical and Military Museum,
Sun City, AZ
David Nathan Blanco Foundation,
Carson, CA
De Colores Foundation, Chula Vista, CA
Deer Park Enterprise, Lyons, CO
Denver Athletic Club Scholarship Fund,
Denver, CO
Denver Latino International Film Festival,
Denver, CO
Deron A. Dickman Legacy Foundation,
Salt Lake City, UT
Dirtworks, Livingston, MT
Dome of Hope Organization, Inc.,
Stockton, CA
Don Carlos Communities, Inc.,
Concord, CA
Dreamskate, Kirkland, WA
Dubrovnik Inter University
Centre Educational Foundation,
Santa Barbara, CA
Eagle Rock Transport, Idaho Falls, ID
Earth-People Foundation, Inc.,
Sedona, AZ
Eastside Rays, Brier, WA
Ecoforestry Services for Farmers,
Arcata, CA
Education for Excellence,
Redondo Beach, CA
EFA Private Funding, Inc., Payette, ID
El Bienestar De Familias,
Tira Amarilla, NM
El Pueblo, Palo Alto, CA
Elder Heart Foundation, Inc., Phoenix, AZ
Elite Health Care Systems, Inc.,
San Jose, CA
Elko Emergency Services Chaplains,
Elko, NV
Eloha Foundation, Kalaheo, HI
Emergence the American Indian Credit
Association, Inc., E. Glacier, MT
Emergency Management Foundation of
Spokane, Spokane, WA
Equity First Credit Foundation,
Salt Lake City, UT
Esther Korson Ministries, Inc.,
Phoenix, AZ
Eud-Ktv Productions, Houston, TX
Evergreen Search Dogs, Vancouver, WA
Excel Foundation for the Advancement of
Societal Causes, Camarillo, CA
Eye Heritage Organization, Inc.,
Houston, TX
Fairfield Emergency Medical Services
Association,Fairfield, MT
Faith Alive Christian Center, Inc.,
Las Vegas, NV
Family Support Services, Vancouver, WA
Fathers House of Victory Threw the Holy
Family, Inc., Santa Maria, CA
Feline Lovers Lodge, Tucson, AZ
Fia Kay House, Spokane, WA
F I G L E A F Educational Festivals,
Fresno, CA
Financial Health and Fitness Foundation,
Inc., Evanston, WY
First Judicial District Bar Association
Legal Assistance Program,
Lakewood, CO
First National Fire Service Incident
Management System Consortium,
Deer Park, TX
Fish Forever, Gwynn Oak, MD
Flames of Glory, Colorado Springs, CO
Flathead Watershed Residents for
Responsible Development, Polson, MT
Foothills Childrens Foundation,
Cave Creek, AZ
For Fun and for Free, Flagstaff, AZ
Foundation for Fair Campaign Reporting,
Kirkland, WA
Foundation for Handicapped
Entrepreneurs, Westminster, CO
Free Spirit Community Services Program,
Inc., Modesto, CA
Fresh Start Childrens Services,
Aurora, CO
Friends of Bear Creek Redwoods Region
Preserve, Los Gators, CA
Friends of Feral Felines, Searchlight, NV
Friends of Kiel Ranch Historic Site,
North Las Vegas, NV
Friends of Meadowdale High School,
Edmonds, WA
Friends of River Oaks Park, Houston, TX
Friends of the Children, Bakersfield, CA
Friends of the Ogden Eccles Conference
Center, Ogden, UT
Friends of Wasatch State Park, Inc.,
Midway, UT
Fuente Ballet of New Mexico, Inc.,
Albuquerque, NM
Function 1 Foundation, Inc.,
Las Cruces, NM
Fund Raiser, Inc., Las Vegas, NV
Fusion Dance Troupe, Seattle, WA
Future Leaders, Inc., Visalia, CA
Galveston Mainland Dmat, Inc.,
La Marque, TX
Garnered Grain, Elk Ridge, UT
Gate City Volleyball Club, Pocatello, ID
Gathering of the Governors, Seattle, WA
Girls on the Go Foundation, Boulder, CO
Global Cultural & Arts, Inc.,
San Mateo, CA
Global Interactive Educational
Adventures, Boulder, CO
Global Learning & Observations to
Benefits the Environment New Mexico,
Sante Fe, NM
Gloriana, Inc., of Colorado, Tacoma, WA
God Help Rebuilding Broken Lives, Inc.,
Beverly Hills, CA
Gods G I F T Ministries, Scottsdale, AZ
Golden Empire Football League,
Bakersfield, CA
Golf Academy of the Southwest,
Rio Rancho, NM
Good Shepherd Learning Center,
Phoenix, AZ
Good Soil Ministry, Everett, WA
Goodhope Community Clinic,
Houston, TX
Gospel Power Ministries, Inc.,
Lancaster, CA
Great Commission Broadcasting
Company, Inc., Meeker, CO
Great Falls Elks Lodge Charitable Corp.,
Great Falls, MT
Greensong, Inc., Santa Fe, NM
Gregory Sidon Foundation, Sparks, NV
Greyhounds First, Inc., La Veta, CO
Grief Education & Support Services, Inc.,
Houston, TX
Ground Water Cleanup Center, Inc.,
Sacramento, CA
Guadalupe Yaqui Cultural Organization,
Inc., Guadalupe, AZ
Guest House Associates, Inc., Peoria, AZ
GuglielmoPrisonMinistries,Inc.,
Modesto, CA
Guild of Santa Clara Valley, San Jose, CA
Hands-on-Horses, Flagstaff, AZ
Harmonious Homes, Hollywood, CA
Harmony, Inc., Albuquerque, NM
Haven of Hope, Inc., Westminster, CO
Hayuchee Native American Art
Foundation, Houston, TX
Hearts and Hands of Merced County,
Merced, CA
HEP C Hope, Inc., Houston, TX
Heterochat, Thatcher, AZ
Hispanic Museum of Nevada,
Las Vegas, NV
2004-18 I.R.B.856May 3, 2004

HIV Aids Education and Prevention
Council of Ravalli County,
Stevensville, MT
Hoa Tu Bi, Milpitas, CA
Home Town Hospice, Inc., Pinedale, WY
Hoops of Hope Basketball Ministry, Inc.,
Colorado Springs, CO
Hospice Artists Guild, Albuquerque, NM
Hospice Memorial Foundation of
Northern New Mexico, Inc.,
Santa Fe, NM
HouseofCorinth,Houston,TX
Houston Area Mental Health Advocates,
Inc., Houston, TX
Houston Hispanic Architects & Engineers
Society, Inc., Houston, TX
HRT Riding and Training,
Las Cruces, NM
Hugh Douglas Foundation, Inc.,
Missouri City, TX
Humanity International, Seattle, WA
Idaho Association of Complimentary and
Alternative Therapies, Inc., Boise, ID
Idaho Issues, Inc., Lewiston, ID
IGA Nephropathy Foundation,
Palo Alto, CA
Ika Progressive Organization,
Houston, TX
Immanuel Caring Ministries, Inc.,
Peoria, AZ
Immigration Reform Network of Silicon
Valley, Los Gatos, CA
In Step Ministries, Puyallup, WA
Inland Empire Parents Helping Parents,
Inc., Bonners Ferry, ID
Inspired Arts & Media Foundation,
Irvine, CA
Institute for Interactive Learning,
Downey, CA
Institute for Science,
Manhattan Beach, CA
Institute for Veteran Transition,
Fresno, CA
Institute of Puppetology, Corrales, NM
Integrity Debt Management, Inc.,
Santa Barbara, CA
International Bridge of Hope Foundation,
Conroe, TX
International Hemodynamic Society,
Irvine, CA
International Youth Soccer Foundation,
Inc., Phoenix, AZ
Island Park Library Friends, Macks Inn, ID
Jacobs Ladder International, Inc.,
Longmont, CO
Jefferson Co. Correctional Complex
Visitors Center, Inc., Beaumont, TX
Jehovah Provides Ministries, Tacoma, WA
Jerusalem Historical Society,
Nassau Bay, TX
Jester Hairston Music Association, Inc.,
Las Vegas, NV
JesusontheWaytoGalileeCorporation,
Scottsdale, AZ
Jewish Community Center of Greater
Albuquerque, Inc., Albuquerque, NM
Joe Rincon Golf Scholarship Foundation,
Inc., Houston, TX
John Giannoni Scholarship Foundation,
Lodi, CA
Joint Commission for Pharmacist Care
Accreditation, Boulder, CO
Jordanian Orphan Relief Agency, Inc.,
Houston, TX
K & M Communication, Inc.,
Las Vegas, NV
Kairos Evangelistic Ministries,
Houston, TX
Kam Family Educational Assistance, Inc.,
Houston, TX
Keeper of the Park Foundation,
Tooele, UT
Kids Corral, Incorporated, Clancy, MT
Kids in Need-the-Vic Thomas Memorial,
Scottsdale, AZ
Kidsinit, Santa Clara, CA
Kingman Interfaith Caregivers Coalition,
Kingman, AZ
Knights of St. George and St. John, Inc.,
Las Vegas, NV
Knockouts, Tucson, AZ
Kofa Band Boosters, Yuma, AZ
Korean Community Center of Houston
Inc., of Texas, Bellaire, TX
L Humanite Pour Haiti for Haiti, Inc.,
Albuquerque, NM
Lacey Olympia Tumwater Area Dogs
Off-LeashGroup,Olympia,WA
Law Enforcement Supporters, Inc.,
Boise, ID
Lea County Womens Network,
Hobbs, NM
Lee Street Community Development
Corporation, Inc., Tucson, AZ
Libby Dam Cooperative Assn., Inc.,
Libby, MT
Life and Miraculous Beginnings,
Genessee, ID
Lifenet Care Management, Lompoc, CA
Living Farmacy, Soquel, CA
Living Legacy Farm, Spanish Fork, UT
Living Room, Fresno, CA
Living Waters Foundation, Anaheim, CA
Lompoc Police Activities Leaque,
Lompoc, CA
Los Alamos Community Foundation,
Los Alamos, NM
Lost in the 50s, Inc., Sandpoint, ID
Lovinac Outreach Ministries,
Fort Worth, TX
Lydia Lodge, Walla Walla, WA
Mana, Inc., Scottsdale, AZ
Mark Kenoly International Ministries,
Inc., Santa Clara, CA
Marlow & Vella Woodward Foundation,
Inc., N. Salt Lake, UT
Masternet Foundation, Saint George, UT
Meadow Rangers-Educators, Inc.,
Phoenix, AZ
Medhelp Foundation, Phoenix, AZ
Medical Ministries International,
Tivy Valley, CA
MenFellowshipNorthwest,
Sedro Wooley, WA
Mens Self Advocacy Council of Durango,
Inc., Durango, CO
Merced Association, Merced, CA
Mile High Rollers Care and Bike Club,
Littleton, CO
Ministerios Asociados Hispanos
De Houston-Associated Hispanic,
Houston, TX
Ministry in Night Time, Inc., Tempe, AZ
Miracles Rein, Oroville, CA
Mission Recovery, Inc., San Jose, CA
Mission to the Children, Inc., Tucson, AZ
Missions Empowerment Movement, Inc.,
Sugar Land, TX
Modesto Titans Youth Football
Organization, Modesto, CA
Montana Big Sky Sapphires, Helena, MT
Montana Council on Problem Gambling,
Billings, MT
Montana Highlanders Association,
Kalispell, MT
Monterey Police Citizens Academy
Alumni Associations, Monterey, CA
Motorcyle Association for Special
Services, Auburn, WA
Mount Diablo Regional Mayors
Committee for the Employment of
People, Livermore, CA
Mountain Air Community Radio,
Flagstaff, AZ
Mountain One Volleyball Club,
Bozeman, MT
Mourning Tree Services, Merced, CA
Multiple Sclerosis Alliance, Inc.,
Denver, CO
Museum Educators of Puget Sound,
Seattle, WA
Mustang Soccer Club, Woodlands, TX
M Y E Theatre Company, El Segundo, CA
May 3, 20048572004-18 I.R.B.

Nampa Youth Golf, Inc., Nampa, ID
Napavine High School Scholarship
Foundation, Napavine, WA
National Association for Beginning
Teachers, Henderson, NV
National CentenarianAwareness Project,
Inc., Phoenix, AZ
National Child Finders, Inc., Reno, NV
National Conference of Black Mayors
Annual Conference Denver Host
Committee, Denver, CO
National Encephalitis Foundation, Inc.,
San Jose, CA
National Korean War Museum,
W. Valley City, UT
Native American 2002 Foundation,
Salt Lake City, UT
Native Americans Corporation, Ely, NV
Native Winds Environmental Corporation,
Idaho Falls, ID
Natura Educational Programs,
Boulder, CO
Natural History Exhibit Hall,
Livingston, MT
Naturals, Houston, TX
Near Westside Los Angeles Community
Coalition, Los Angeles, CA
Nestings, Seattle, WA
Nevada Employees for the Right to Work,
Las Vegas, NV
Nevada Native American Cultural
Society, Inc., Pahrump, NV
New Beginnings, Inc., Clemmons, NC
New Haven New Earth, Sedona, AZ
New Horizon Ministries, Inc.,
Chandler, AZ
New Horizon of Angkor, San Jose, CA
New Mexico Chapter of the Order of
Ahepa 501, Inc., Albuquerque, NM
New Mexico Urban League,
Albuquerque, NM
New Mount Calvary Ministries C D C,
Inc., Houston, TX
Newman Foundation at Arizona State
University, Tempe, AZ
Niche Ministries, Incorporated,
Sonora, CA
Nisei Baseball Research Project,
Fresno, CA
North American Foundation, Littleton, CO
North Central VolunteerFirefighters, Inc.,
Kerman, CA
Northern Arizona Soccer League,
Flagstaff, AZ
Northshore Marching Band,
Redmond, WA
One Accord, Inc., N. Hollywood, CA
Operation Outreach, San Jose, CA
Operation Santas Helper, Phoenix, AZ
Operation Warmheart,
Mountain Home AFB, ID
Our Kids Inc., an Arizona Non-Profit
Corporation, Scottsdale, AZ
Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
Denver, CO
Oversea Vietnamese Catholic Community
of Northern California, Campbell, CA
Pacific Northwest Tae Kwon Do
Association, Spanaway, WA
Pacific Trail K-9 Search and Rescue, Inc.,
La Center, WA
Padres De America, Tucson, AZ
Pakistan Relief Fund, Lynnwood, WA
Paraclete International, Mill Creek, WA
Paradigm Development and Consulting,
Inc., Fort Collins, CO
Parent Awareness Network, Inc.,
Humble, TX
Park County Emergency Services Council,
Inc., Bailey, CO
Paso Robles Vintners and Growers
Foundation, Paso Robles, CA
Patricia Kabbah Memorial Scholarship
Fund, Greeley, CO
Payson Fine Art Guild, Inc., Payson, AZ
Peaceproject Images, Incorporated,
Reno, NV
Philanthropy Group, Boulder, CO
Phoenix Holistic Healing Foundation,
Las Vegas, NV
Pilar Community Association,
Embudo, NM
Port Arthur Track Club, Port Arthur, TX
Positive Access, Inc., Las Vegas, NV
Positive Friends of Washington,
Olympia, WA
Positive Steps, Inc., Missouri City, TX
Powerhouse Community Youth Center,
Glendale, AZ
Prison Evangelists Ministry, Inc.,
Las Vegas, NV
Pro Camps Foundation, Puyallup, WA
Project Row Houses Foundation,
Houston, TX
Project Sunrise, League City, TX
Pronghorn Power Booster Club,
Farson, WY
Propane Education & Research Council
of Colorado, Scottsdale, AZ
Public School Apparel Foundation,
Phoenix, AZ
Qacba, Inc., Seattle, WA
Quay County Community Foundation,
Inc., Tucumcari, NM
Quest for Excellence, Inc.,
American Fork, UT
Quest for Gold Foundation,
San Luis Obispo, CA
Radar, Inc., Reno, NV
Radio Daze, Houston, TX
Raices Grupo Folklorico, Sacramento, CA
Rands Training Center, Buckeye, AZ
Reach for Greatness, Bakersfield, CA
Reaching the World With Hammer
and Sword Mitchell Ministries, Inc.,
Tulsa, OK
Ready to Work, Inc., Denver, CO
Reasons to Believe-Houston, Houston, TX
Reclamation of the Sacred Sites of the
Lower Chehalis Indians, Satsop, WA
Red Card Productions, Seattle, WA
Reno Heart Foundation, Reno, NV
Restoration Seminars of Northern
California, Inc., San Jose, CA
River Nile Corporation, Milpitas, CA
Roaring Fork Training Officers
Association, Snowmass Village, CO
Rocky Mountain Golf Charities,
Salt Lake City, UT
Rose Petal Education Foundation, Inc.,
Tucson, AZ
R S & V P Property One, Inc.,
Albuquerque, NM
Rudy C. Burrola Memorial Foundation,
Phoenix, AZ
Rural Youth Center Council of Fresno
County, Fresno, CA
S W Washington Development
Association, Castle Rock, WA
Safenight, San Francisco, CA
Safety Zone Community Development
Corporation, Houston, TX
Saint Charbel Medical Foundation,
Fargo, ND
Sakya Foundation, Everett, WA
San Francisco Tres Dias, Saratoga, CA
San Luis Obispo County Access Media,
Los Osos, CA
Santa Barbara Search for Christian
Maturity, Goleta, CA
Santa Fe Public Radio Association,
Santa Fe, NM
Saratoga Community Playground Project,
Saratoga, WY
Save Franceschi House,
Santa Barbara, CA
Schraderville Community Council, Inc.,
Maricopa, AZ
Scottsdale Youth Foundation,
Scottsdale, AZ
Second Chance Project, Santa Cruz, NM
Sequim Schools Athletic Booster Club,
Sequim, WA
Servants of Divine Mercy, Phoenix, AZ
2004-18 I.R.B.858May 3, 2004

Shamrocks Youth Sports Association,
Aurora, CO
Share Nepal, Inc., Aurora, CO
Share the Future Clt, Heber, UT
Shareef Abdur Rahim Foundation,
Atlanta, GA
Show Low Fire Fighters Association,
Show Low, AZ
S L A P Diving School, Salt Lake City, UT
Sluggers Select Baseball, Inc.,
Kingwood, TX
Smile, Inc., Boise, ID
Snake River Valley Building Contractors
Foundation, Inc., Nampa, ID
Soaring Dragon Health Aid Association,
Mountain View, CA
Social Phobia-Social Anxiety Foundation,
Phoenix, AZ
Solar Motions, Fremont, CA
Soledad Education Foundation,
Soledad, CA
Sought Out and Not Forsaken Ministries,
Inc., Huntsville, TX
S O U L Foundation, Las Vegas, NV
South Boise Village Foundation, Inc.,
Boise, ID
Southeast Family Community Center,
Inc., Houston, TX
Southeast Restoration Community
Development Program, League City, TX
Southeast Texas Community Development
Financial Institution, Beaumont, TX
Southern High Plains Grassland
Agricultural Education & Experiment
Station, Springfield, CO
Southland Community Housing Renewal,
Los Angeles, CA
Southwest Contract Connection, Inc.,
Tucson, AZ
Southwest German Society,
Fountain Hills, AZ
Southwest Stone Carving Symposium,
Jemez Springs, NM
Springwood Resident Council, Kent, WA
St. Brigid Foundation, Seattle, WA
Star Station One Institute, Incorporated,
Houston, TX
Sterling Cornerstone Foundation, Inc.,
Wray, CO
Steven Brooks International,
Newport Beach, CA
Strait and Narrow House, Inc.,
Kingwood, TX
Strategic Communications Group,
Simi Valley, CA
Success Scholarship Center, Houston, TX
Sudanese Christian Association of Utah,
Portland, ME
Suicide Prevention Posse, Inc.,
West Jordan, UT
Summation, Inc., Lakewood, CO
T4C, Ojai, CA
Talking Leaves Ranch, Inc., Prescott, AZ
Tarrant County Young at Heart 1351 E
Bardin Rd Tdprs, Fort Worth, TX
Task for Christian Employers, Inc.,
Bellaire, TX
Tennis Against Gangs, Inc., Oxnard, CA
Terminal Illness Support, Ltd.,
Las Vegas, NV
Terrell Davis Migraine Foundation, Inc.,
Aurora, CO
Tesseract Tuition Organization,
Phoenix, AZ
That You May Know Ministries,
Tacoma, WA
Theta Pi Lambda Foundation Aka TPL
Foundation, Las Vegas, NV
Thunderbolt Sanctuary, Santa Fe, NM
Thupden Chokorling Temple, Tucson, AZ
Tiny Tims Foundation for Kids, Provo, UT
TLC Childrens Center, Inc., Oakhurst, CA
Tongans Outreach Project, Inc.,
Salt Lake City, UT
Total Focus Sports, Kirkland, WA
Tracer Productions, Denver, CO
Trail Riders for Youth, Castle Rock, CO
Trees for Cayucos, Cayucos, CA
Triple Diamond Warehouse, Inc.,
Eagle, ID
T R O O Gamerz, Fresno, CA
Tucson Quarter Midget Association,
Tucson, AZ
Turlock Junior High School Renaissance
Foundation, Turlock, CA
Umbro Elite, Inc., Albuquerque, NM
Uncle Eddiys TheatreCompany, Inc.,
Santa Fe, NM
United Service Alliance, Fallbrook, CA
Utah Ballroom Dance Sport Company,
Orem, UT
UVURU Community Library Fund,
Seattle, WA
Van Diest Ministries, Incorporated,
Mercer Island, WA
Ventura Police Dog Foundation, Inc.,
Ventura, CA
Veterans in Community Advocacy,
Modesto, CA
Vietnam Center, Inc., Houston, TX
Vietnamese American Community of
Northern CA, San Jose, CA
Vietnamese Interest Protection Group,
Ballaire, TX
Vintage Panthers, Inc., Englewood, CO
Violence Immunization Program
Professional Center, Madera, CA
Vision Heir, Puyallup, WA
Visions of Hope, Inc., Phoenix, AZ
Walk In Time Theater, Inc., Moorpark, CA
Wallaces Saddle Up, Inc., Tyler, TX
Warren Senior Citizens, Blair, OK
Wasatch County Habitat for Humanity,
Inc., Heber City, UT
Wasatch Dance Collective,
Salt Lake City, UT
Washington Biodiversity Trust,
Bainbridge Island, WA
Washoe County Bar Foundation,
Reno, NV
Waters of Grace Foundation, Houston, TX
Waxahachie Help East Action Team,
Waxahachie, TX
Webster Community Center, Magna, UT
West Clean Elections Institute, Inc.,
Phoenix, AZ
West County Theatre Arts Guild,
Los Angeles, CA
West Valley Sonoran Land Trust, Inc.,
Glendale, AZ
Western Oklahoma Historical Center,
Inc., Weatherford, OK
Westside Daycare, Inc., Dumas, AR
Whatever It Takes Ministries, Inc.,
Oklahoma City, OK
Where Are They, Inc., Reno, NV
White Buffalo Research Development and
Training, Tucson, AZ
White Dove Ministries, Inc.,
Channelview, TX
White Eagle of the Rockies Foundation,
Sheridan, WY
Wildcat Creek Stables, Richmond, VA
Willis Saddler Foundation, Tulsa, OK
Willow Brook Childrens Center,
Pflugerville, TX
Win International Dallas, Inc., Dallas, TX
Windsong Ministries, Monroe, LA
Wiseman Ministries, Bellevue, WA
Wishes Are Forever Foundation,
Sandy, UT
Worldwide Assembly of Yhwh, Inc.,
Houston, TX
Wren Foundation, Inc., Las Vegas, NV
WuWeiTao,Hope,ID
Yardley Health Services, Inc.,
Pittsfield, MA
Yavapai County School to Work
Partnership, Inc., Prescott, AZ
Yellowstone Valley Railway Club,
Billings, MT
Yes & Know, San Francisco, CA
May 3, 20048592004-18 I.R.B.

Young Adult Services of Washington,
Bellevue, WA
Young Parents Foundation, Inc.,
Pittsburgh, PA
Young Skandia Dansers, Clinton, WA
Youth Development Center, Ceres, CA
Youth Network, Atascadero, CA
Youth Sports, Greeley, CO
Youth Sports Authority, Littleton, CO
Zia Athletic Club, Peoria, AZ
If an organization listed above submits
information that warrants the renewal of
its classification as a public charity or as
a private operating foundation, the Inter-
nal Revenue Service will issue a ruling or
determination letter with the revised clas-
sification as to foundation status. Grantors
and contributors maythereafter rely upon
such ruling or determination letter as pro-
vided in section 1.509(a)–7 of the Income
Tax Regulations. It is not the practice of
the Service to announce such revised clas-
sification of foundation status in the Inter-
nal Revenue Bulletin.
Update on Future of the EP
Determination Letter Program
Announcement 2004–32
This announcement provides an update
on the status of the Service’s continuing
review of the Employee Plans determi-
nation letter program. The Service has
considered the public comments on the
second white paper on the future of the
program that was published last year and
has decided to implement a system of
staggered remedial amendment periods
under § 401(b) of the Internal Revenue
Code for individually designed plans.
This system will be implemented initially
to stagger the expiration of individually
designed plans’ remedial amendment pe-
riods for the Economic Growth and Tax
Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001, Pub.
L. 107–16 (EGTRRA). The Service will
closely monitor the implementation of this
system so that any appropriate adjustments
or changes to the system can be promptly
made. The Service is also contemplating
implementation of a system of six-year
amendment/approval cycles for pre-ap-
proved plans (that is, master and prototype
(M&P) and volume submitter plans), be-
ginning with the submission of these plans
for EGTRRA opinion and advisory letters.
Background
The Service has maintained an Em-
ployee Plans determination letter program
for many years, essentially in its present
form. Under this program, the Employee
Plans (EP) component of Tax Exempt
and Government Entities (TE/GE) issues
letters of determination regarding the
qualified status of retirement plans under
§ 401(a) and the status of related trusts
under § 501(a). Determination letters
provide assurance to plan sponsors, partic-
ipants and other interested parties that the
terms of employer-sponsored retirement
plans satisfy the qualification require-
ments of the Code. Qualified plans offer
significant tax advantages to employers
and participants.
In recent years, the Service has under-
taken a comprehensive review of its poli-
cies and procedures for issuing determina-
tion letters on the qualified status of retire-
ment plans. The impetus for this review
wasaneedfortheServicetostrikeamore
effective balance in the application of its
limited resources among the EP determi-
nations, examinations, voluntary compli-
ance and customer education and outreach
programs. The current determination let-
ter program has been subject to periodic
fluctuations (that is, peaks and valleys) in
workload as a result of legislative changes.
These fluctuations make resource planning
and allocation difficult and may have an
overall negative effect on the administra-
tion of the various EP programs. Thus,
a goal of the program review has been to
identify program improvements that will
result in a more level determination letter
workflow. While this review is still ongo-
ing, the Service has already made a number
of significant improvements to the deter-
mination letter program. See, for example,
Announcement 2001–77, 2001–2 C.B. 83.
As part of the program review, the
Service has published on its web site
two white papers on the future of the EP
determination letter program. The first
white paper, published in August 2001,
described a number of options for change
as the Service looks to the future. The sec-
ond white paper, published in May 2003,
provided a more detailed explanation of
a proposed system of staggered remedial
amendment periods under § 401(b) that
was one of the original options.
The staggered remedial amendment pe-
riod system would establish regular five-
year cycles for plan amendment and de-
termination letter renewal. The cycles,
which would be based on taxpayer iden-
tification numbers, would ensure that em-
ployers would not have to request determi-
nation letter applications more frequently
than every five years.
The white paper proposed that the stag-
gered remedial amendment period system
could be implemented beginning with the
remedial amendment period for EGTTRA.
Notice 2001–42, 2001–2 C.B. 70, provides
that the remedial amendment period for
EGTRRA will not end before the end of
the first plan year beginning on or after
January 1, 2005.
Commentators on the second white pa-
per were asked to express their preference
between a staggered system and the status
quo with respect to the remedial amend-
ment period rules under § 401(b). The
commentators were also asked to respond
to specific questions about other options
described in the second white paper. The
commentators’ responses to these ques-
tions, and the Service’s conclusions, are
summarized in general terms below.
Comments and Conclusions
1. Staggered versus status quo.
On the question that asked commen-
tators to indicate a preference between a
staggered remedial amendment period sys-
tem and the status quo, comments were di-
vided. More commentators recommended
the status quo than the staggered system,
but several made a strong argument that the
staggered system would make the amend-
ment and determination letter process con-
siderably more manageable for employ-
ers and practitioners and would also im-
prove compliance. Even among those who
expressed reservations with the staggered
system, several described changes to the
system outlined in the white paper that
would improve the system and perhaps tilt
the balance in its favor.
The Service has continued to examine
the effect of the fluctuations in determi-
nation letter workload on its resources
and other programs. Despite significant
changes that have already been made to
2004-18 I.R.B.860May 3, 2004

the determination letter program, and the
resource savings that the changes have
generated, the Service has concluded that
the limitations on its resources and the
interests of sound tax administration re-
quire consideration of a more fundamental
change. Accordingly, the Service has de-
cided to implement a staggered remedial
amendment period system for individually
designed plans. The system will be imple-
mented initially to stagger the expiration
of individually designed plans’ remedial
amendment periods for EGTRRA. The
system will generally be designed along
the lines of the white paper proposal, so
that, for example, plans may use their
EGTRRA remedial amendment periods
to adopt retroactive remedial amendments
for guidance changes. The Service rec-
ognizes that the system described in the
white paper may have to be adjusted or
changed based on actual experience. The
Service will closely monitor the initial
implementation of the system and, on the
basis of its experience and the experience
of parties affected by the system, will
make appropriate changes as quickly as
possible.
2. Annual Plan Updates
The second white paper discussed the
possibility of requiring plans to be updated
annually. An annual plan update require-
ment could be established either without
making other changes to the current de-
termination letter program or in combina-
tion with a system of staggered remedial
amendment periods. In the latter case, plan
sponsors would not need to request deter-
mination letters more frequently than ev-
ery five years to have reliance even though
plan amendments could be required every
year.
Although a few commentators recom-
mended a requirement for annual plan
updates as the surest way to keep plans
in compliance and safeguard participant
rights, most commentators expressed the
opinion that such a requirement would
be so costly and burdensome as to be an
impediment to plan formation and preser-
vation. While annual plan updates are
desirable, the Service will not consider
this option further at this time. The Ser-
vice may revisit this option in the future.
The Service will, when appropriate,
require plan sponsors to adopt good faith
plan amendments sooner than the end of
the plans’ remedial amendment periods.
In this case, plan sponsors will have the
full remedial amendment period in which
to perfect any good faith amendments
adopted earlier within the period. The
Service will endeavor to publish model or
sample amendments to assist plan spon-
sors in the adoption of required amend-
ments and will design the amendments to
permit their adoption by sponsors of M&P
and volume submitter plans on behalf of
adopting employers whenever practicable.
3. Pre-approved Plans
The second white paper proposed alter-
native special remedial amendment period
rules for pre-approved plans (M&P and
volume submitter (VS) plans). One alter-
native would require pre-approved plans to
be amended every year so that the plans
would always be up-to-date for employ-
ers whose five-year cycle ended in any
given year. The other alternative would
establish five-year cycles for updating the
pre-approved document. This alternative
would ensure that the pre-approved doc-
ument would not have to be re-approved
more than once every five years, based on
the TIN of the document sponsor. Under
this alternative, adopting employers’ cy-
cles would be the same as the cycle of their
pre-approved document (rather than being
based on the employers’ TINs).
Persons who commented on these alter-
native rules generally expressed the opin-
ion that the annual amendment alternative
would be too burdensome. Many also
noted that the other alternative would re-
sult in some pre-approved plans being sig-
nificantly more up-to-date than others at
any given time, a result also considered un-
desirable. As a result of these comments,
the Service is considering a new approach
with respect to pre-approved plans.
The new approach now being proposed
would establish regular six-year amend-
ment/approval cycles for all pre-approved
plans, beginning with the submission of
these plans for EGTRRA opinion and
advisory letters. This system would gen-
erally work as follows: In year one, all
pre-approved defined contribution plans
would be required to be updated and sub-
mitted for approval based on the law in
effect at that time. The Service would
process these applications in years two
and three. Adopting employers would
then have a fixed date by which to adopt
the approved plans (for example, by the
end of year five). Meanwhile, in year
three, all pre-approved defined benefit
plans would be required to be updated and
submitted for approval based on the law
in effect at that time. The Service would
process these applications in years four
and five and adopting employers would
have to adopt the approved plans by the
end of year seven. The cycle would be-
gin again in year seven; that is, in year
seven, all pre-approved defined contribu-
tion plans would again be required to be
updated and submitted for approval based
on the law in effect at that time. As noted
above, good faith plan amendments will
be required to be adopted sooner than the
end of plans’ cycles, when appropriate.
While the general approach describes a
fixed cycle repeating itself every six years
that would not be interrupted or changed
due to changes in law, the Service rec-
ognizes that the system would need to be
flexible to allow the cycle to be modi-
fied when appropriate, particularly in re-
sponse to the changing needs of plan spon-
sors. (For example, if it became clear
that needed plan changes were more com-
plex and time-consuming than anticipated,
an appropriate delaycould be provided.)
Nevertheless, it is hoped that this system
would introduce more predictability into
the current process and allow for better
planning.
This system would also eliminate the
so-called 12-month rule on which the
determination of adopting employers’ re-
medial amendment period was formerly
based. It would substitute a fixed, eas-
ily communicated and understood date
that would apply to all adopting employ-
ers. It is also anticipated that this system
would allow sponsors and VS practition-
ers to amend their plans and apply for
new letters in years when they would not
otherwise be required to file, provided that
the plans are again amended, as necessary,
and resubmitted in the next cycle year. Of
course, applications filed in cycle years
(that is, required applications) would be
accorded higher priority and would there-
fore be reviewed before applications filed
in “off-cycle” years.
Under this system, employers who are
not adopters of a pre-approved plan, but
who certify, before the end of their plan’s
May 3, 20048612004-18 I.R.B.

remedial amendment period, their intent to
adopt a pre-approved plan, will be granted
the appropriate extension of the remedial
amendment period. For example, assume
the remedial amendment period for an em-
ployer’s individually designed plan ends
on December 31, 2010, and on that date the
employer certifies its intent to adopt M&P
planAwhich was updated and submitted
for a new opinion letter in 2010. In this
case, the plan’s remedial amendment pe-
riod will be extended to the end of the fixed
period for “timely” adopting planAafter
the new opinion letter is issued.
The Service is also considering whether
there may be appropriate, limited circum-
stances in which the remedial amendment
period for a plan that is not a pre-approved
plan, but is substantially similar to a pre-
approved plan and submitted by the pre-
approved plan’s sponsor, should be ex-
tended to the end of the period for “timely”
adopting the pre-approved plan. The Ser-
vice believes that providing such an exten-
sion generally to all “substantially similar”
plans could undermine the pre-approved
plan programs and invite abuse. However,
the Service welcomes comments identify-
ing limited circumstances where such an
extension would be appropriate and would
not pose such risks, and also welcomes
suggestions for criteria to be used in deter-
mining that a plan is substantially similar
to a pre-approved plan.
Next Steps
The Service intends to proceed with
the development of guidance necessary to
implement a staggered remedial amend-
ment period system, essentially along the
lines of the white paper. In developing
this guidance, the Service will carefully
consider those suggestions that have been
made to improve the system outlined in the
white paper. In addition, interested per-
sons will be given opportunity for further
input as the appropriate guidance is devel-
oped. The Service will initially implement
the staggered remedial amendment period
system in conjunction with the opening
of the determination letter program for
EGTRRA.
In Announcement 2004–33, page 862,
this bulletin, the Service has asked for pub-
lic comments on a draft revenue procedure
for pre-approved plans. Persons submit-
ting comments in response to Announce-
ment 2004–33 are also invited to com-
ment on the six-year amendment cycle for
pre-approved plans described in this an-
nouncement.
Drafting Information
The principal author of this announce-
ment is James Flannery of the Employee
Plans, Tax Exempt and Government Enti-
ties Division. For further information re-
garding this announcement, please contact
the Employee Plans’ taxpayer assistance
telephone service at 1–877–829–5500 be-
tween the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 6:30
p.m. Eastern time, Monday through Fri-
day (a toll-free number). Mr. Flannery
may be reached at 1–202–283–9888 (not
a toll-free number).
Request for Comments on
Revenue Procedure for
Pre-Approved Plans
Announcement 2004–33
This announcement includes a draft
revenue procedure that contains the Ser-
vice’s procedures for issuing opinion and
advisory letters as to the acceptability un-
der § 401(a) of the Code of the form of
pre-approved plans (that is, master and
prototype (M&P) plans and volume sub-
mitter (VS) plans). The Service seeks
public input before finalizing these pro-
cedures and invites interested persons to
submit comments.
Background
The Service has maintained an Em-
ployee Plans determination letter program
for many years, essentially in its present
form. Under this program, the Employee
Plans (EP) component of Tax Exempt
and Government Entities (TE/GE) is-
sues letters of determination regarding
the qualified status of retirement plans
under § 401(a) of the Internal Revenue
Code and the status of related trusts under
§ 501(a). Determination letters provide
assurance to plan sponsors, participants
and other interested parties that the terms
of employer-sponsored retirement plans
satisfy the qualification requirements of
the Code. Qualified plans offer significant
tax advantages to employers and partici-
pants.
In recent years, the Service has under-
taken a comprehensive review of its poli-
cies and procedures for issuing determina-
tion letters on the qualified status of re-
tirement plans. As part of that review, the
Service has published on its web site two
white papers on the future of the EP de-
termination letter program. While this re-
view is still ongoing, the Service has al-
ready made a number of significant im-
provements to the determination letter pro-
gram. See, for example, Announcement
2001–77, 2001–2 C.B. 83.
Key components of the EP determi-
nation letter program are the Service’s
programs for pre-approving the form of
retirement plans. The Service has for
many years maintained two programs for
the “pre-approval” of plans qualified un-
der § 401(a) — the M&P program and the
VS program. These programs allow em-
ployee benefits practitioners and financial
organizations, such as banks and insurance
companies, to obtain advance approval of
the form of “prototype” and “specimen”
plans. Employers who adopt these pre-ap-
proved plans generally have assurance,
without having to request a determination
letter, that the form of their plan is qual-
ified. In those cases where the employer
still needs to obtain a determination letter,
the use of a pre-approved plan greatly sim-
plifies and reduces the time and expense
of applying for a determination letter. The
pre-approval process is beneficial not only
to employers but also to the Service and
practitioners and financial organizations
because of the efficiencies it produces.
The M&P and VS programs originated
to serve different purposes and each has
had its own set of rules. Until now, those
rules were contained in different revenue
procedures. Several of the changes that
have been introduced in recent years have
eliminated some of the distinctions be-
tween the two programs. For example,
recent changes regarding employer re-
liance on opinion letters for M&P plans
and advisory letters for VS plans have
diminished the disparities between the two
types of plans. Also, an extended reme-
dial amendment period under § 401(b) has
been provided for both types of plans.
While the Service will continue to
maintain two programs separately, the
narrowing of the differences between the
M&P and VS programs makes it appropri-
ate to set forth the rules for both programs
2004-18 I.R.B.862May 3, 2004

in a single revenue procedure. The draft
revenue procedure does that.
Program Changes
Although the draft revenue procedure
makes additional changes to the M&P and
VS programs that continue the trend of
making the programs more alike, the rev-
enue procedure leaves unchanged the most
fundamental distinctions between the two
types of plans. That is, M&P plans will
continue to consist of a basic plan docu-
ment and adoption agreement that may not
beamendedbyadoptingemployers,ex-
cept by choosing among permitted options
under the adoption agreement, without the
loss of M&P status. Likewise, VS plans
will continue to be allowed in either adop-
tion agreement or “individually designed”
format and employer amendments will not
cause the loss of VS status provided the ex-
tent and complexity of the amendments are
not inconsistent with the purposes of the
VS program.
It has been suggested that the program
changes that have been made so far and
the changes introduced in the draft revenue
procedure might eliminate the need for a
separate M&P program altogether, with a
modified VS program left as the only pro-
gram for plan pre-approval. The draft rev-
enue procedure does not go so far. The Ser-
vice believes it is important to retain the
M&P program because of the long history
and familiarity of the program to M&P
sponsors and employers. Equally impor-
tant is the desirability of keeping a pro-
gram that limits the extent to which em-
ployers, who may lack expertise or advice,
can modify the pre-approved document.
The draft revenue procedure does, how-
ever, make significant changes. The prin-
cipal changes are as follows:
(1) The revenue procedure allows
adopting employers of nonstandardized
defined contribution M&P plans to adopt
an allocation formula that is designed
to be cross-tested for nondiscrimination
on the basis of equivalent benefits under
§ 1.401(a)(4)–8.
(2) The revenue procedure permits, but
does not require, VS plans to include a pro-
vision that allows the VS practitioner to
amend the plan on behalf of adopting em-
ployers for changes in the Code, etc. The
Service will evaluate this new feature over
time to determine whether to preserve it as
a permanent feature of the VS program.
The revenue procedure also makes
changes to simplify and streamline the
two programs. For example, under the
procedure, nonstandardized safe harbor
plans and paired standardized plans are
discontinued as separate categories of
M&P plan. This change has been made
because recent changes in the deduction
limitations and the procedures for em-
ployer reliance have diminished the utility
of these types of plans.
Under the procedure, sponsors and
practitioners that sponsor both M&P plans
and VS plans will submit both types of
plans to the same office of the Service for
review and approval. However, the draft
revenue procedure does not otherwise
specify where opinion and advisory letter
applications are to be filed. A decision is
reserved at this time.
EGTRRA
It is intended that the revenue proce-
dure, when finalized, will announce the
opening of the pre-approved plan pro-
grams for the Economic Growth and Tax
Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001, Pub.
L. 107–16 (EGTRRA). The decision on
when the program will open is reserved
at this time, pending a decision with
regard to possible changes to the reme-
dial amendment period rules (discussed
below), feedback on the draft revenue
procedure, and possible other guidance.
When the opening of the EGTRRA
opinion and advisory letter programs is
announced, sponsors and practitioners
will be given a window period in which to
file applications. M&P mass submitters,
VS mass submitters, and national spon-
sors/VS practitioners will be allowed to
file sometime in advance of other appli-
cants. (A “mass submitter” is a person that
submits opinion or advisory letter applica-
tions on behalf of 30 or more sponsors or
practitioners that sponsor the same M&P
basic plan document or VS specimen plan.
A “national sponsor/VS practitioner” is a
sponsor or VS practitioner that has either
(a) 30 or more adopting employers in each
of 30 or more states or (b) 3000 or more
adopting employers.) The final revenue
procedure may also address other matters
pertaining to EGTRRA, EGTRRA-related
guidance, and non-EGTRRA guidance.
Remedial Amendment Period
A white paper on the future of the
determination letter program that was
published on the Internet in May, 2003
described a proposal for a staggered re-
medial amendment period system that
would establish regular five-year cycles
for plan amendment and determination
letter renewal for individually designed
plans (that is, plans that are not pre-ap-
proved plans). Having considered the
public comments on this proposal, the Ser-
vice has decided to implement a system
of staggered remedial amendment peri-
ods for individually designed plans.See
Announcement 2004–32, page 860, this
Bulletin.
The white paper also proposed al-
ternative special remedial amendment
period rules that would apply to pre-ap-
proved plans instead of staggered remedial
amendment periods. Having considered
the public comments on these proposed
special rules, the Service has concluded
that a different approach is needed for
pre-approved plans. The new approach
now being proposed for your considera-
tion and comment would establish regular
six-year amendment/approval cycles for
all pre-approved plans, beginning with the
submission of these plans for EGTRRA
opinion and advisory letters. Announce-
ment 2004–32 describes this six-year
amendment cycle.
Request for Comments
Interested persons are invited to com-
ment on the draft revenue procedure, the
other issues addressed in this announce-
ment, the six-year amendment cycle de-
scribed in Announcement 2004–32, or any
other aspect of the pre-approved plan pro-
grams or the determination letter program,
generally.
Written comments should be submitted
by August 2, 2004, to CC:PA:LPD:RU
(Announcement 2004–33), Room 5203,
Internal Revenue Service, POB 7604, Ben
Franklin Station, Washington, D.C. 20044.
Comments may be hand delivered between
the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday
through Friday to CC:PA:LPD:RU (An-
nouncement 2004–33), Courier’s Desk,
Internal Revenue Service, 1111 Consti-
tution Ave., NW, Washington, D.C. Al-
ternatively, comments may be submitted
May 3, 20048632004-18 I.R.B.

electronically via e-mail to the follow-
ing address:Notice.Comments@irscoun-
sel.treas.gov. All comments will be avail-
able for public inspection.
Drafting Information
The principal author of this announce-
ment is James Flannery of Employee
Plans, Tax Exempt and Government Enti-
ties Division. For further information re-
garding this announcement, please contact
the Employee Plans’ taxpayer assistance
telephone service at 1–877–829–5500 be-
tween the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 6:30
p.m. Eastern time, Monday through Fri-
day (a toll-free number). Mr. Flannery
may be reached at 1–202–283–9888 (not
a toll-free number).
Draft revenue procedure
Part III
Administrative, Procedural, and
Miscellaneous
26 CFR 601.201: Rulings and determination
letters.
(Also Part I, §§ 401, 403 and 501; 1.401–1,
1.403(a)–1, 1.501(a)–1.)
Rev. Proc.
Table of Contents
SECTION 1. PURPOSE
SECTION 2. BACKGROUND
SECTION 3. OVERVIEW OF THE REV-
ENUE PROCEDURE
PART I – M&P PLANS
SECTION 4. DEFINITIONS
SECTION 5. PROVISIONS REQUIRED
IN EVERY M&P PLAN
SECTION 6. OPINION LETTERS —
SCOPE
SECTION 7. OPINION LETTERS AP-
PLICATIONS — INSTRUCTIONS TO
SPONSORS
SECTION 8. APPROVED PLANS —
MAINTENANCE OF APPROVED STA-
TUS
SECTION 9. WITHDRAWAL OF RE-
QUESTS
SECTION 10. ABANDONED PLANS
SECTION 11. RECORDKEEPING RE-
QUIREMENTS
SECTION12. M&PMASSSUBMIT-
TERS
PART II — VOLUME SUBMITTER
PLANS
SECTION 13. DEFINITIONS
SECTION 14.PROVISIONS RE-
QUIRED IN EVERY VOLUME SUB-
MITTER PLAN
SECTION 15. AMENDMENTS ON BE-
HALF OF ADOPTING EMPLOYERS
SECTION 16. ADVISORY LETTERS —
SCOPE
SECTION 17. ADVISORY LETTERS
APPLICATIONS — INSTRUCTIONS
TO VS PRACTITIONERS
SECTION 18. VS MASS SUBMITTERS
PART III — ALL PRE-APPROVED
PLANS
SECTION 19. EMPLOYER RELIANCE
SECTION 20. WHERE TO FILE AND
OTHER RULES FOR SUBMISSIONS
AND LETTERS
SECTION 21. AMENDMENTS
SECTION 22. REVOCATION
SECTION 23. EGTRRA
SECTION 24. REMEDIAL AMEND-
MENT PERIOD
SECTION 25. EFFECT ON OTHER
DOCUMENTS
SECTION 26. EFFECTIVE DATE
SECTION 27. PAPERWORK REDUC-
TION ACT
SECTION 1. PURPOSE
.01 This revenue procedure sets forth
the Service’s procedures for issuing opin-
ion and advisory letters regarding the ac-
ceptability under § 401 of the Code of the
form of pre-approved plans (that is, mas-
ter and prototype (M&P) and volume sub-
mitter (VS) plans). The revenue procedure
revises the existing procedures to elimi-
nate several of the differences between the
M&P and VS programs while maintaining
the essential distinctive features of each
program.
.02 This revenue procedure provides
that the Service will begin accepting ap-
plications for opinion and advisory letters
for pre-approved plans that take into ac-
count the requirements of the Economic
Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act
of 2001, Pub. L. 107–16 (EGTRRA) be-
ginning [RESERVED].
SECTION 2. BACKGROUND
.01 The procedures of the Service on the
issuance of opinion letters regarding the
acceptability of the form of M&P plans are
set forth in Rev. Proc. 2000–20, 2000–1
C.B. 553, as modified by Notice 2001–42,
2001–2 C.B. 70, and Rev. Proc. 2004–6,
2004–1 I.R.B. 197.
.02 Rev. Proc. 2004–6 sets forth the
general procedures of the Service on the
issuance of employee plan determination
letters and advisory letters regarding the
acceptability of the form of volume sub-
mitter plans.
.03 Notice 2001–42 provides that opin-
ion, advisory and determination letters that
take into account EGTRRA will not be is-
sued until further notice.
SECTION 3. OVERVIEW OF THE
REVENUE PROCEDURE
.01 Single Revenue Procedure — The
Service has for many years maintained two
programs for the “pre-approval” of plans
qualified under § 401 — the M&P program
and the VS program. The two programs
originated to serve different purposes and
each has had its own set of rules. Until
now, those rules were contained in differ-
ent revenue procedures. In recent years,
there have been changes that have elimi-
nated several of the distinctions between
the two programs. While the Service will
continue to maintain two programs sepa-
rately, the narrowing of the differences be-
tween the programs makes it appropriate
to set forth the rules for both programs in
a single revenue procedure.
.02 Program Changes — The funda-
mental distinction between M&P and VS
plans is unchanged by this revenue pro-
cedure. That is, M&P plans will con-
tinue to consist of a basic plan document
and adoption agreement that may not be
amended by adopting employers, except
by choosing among permitted options un-
der the adoption agreement, without the
loss of M&P status. Likewise, VS plans
will continue to be allowed in either adop-
tion agreement or “individually designed”
format and employer amendments will not
cause the loss of VS status provided the ex-
tent and complexity of the amendments are
not inconsistent with the purposes of the
VS program. However, the revenue pro-
cedure eliminates some of the other differ-
2004-18 I.R.B.864May 3, 2004

ences between the M&P and VS programs.
The principal changes are as follows:
(1) The revenue procedure elimi-
nates the requirement that the alloca-
tion or benefit formula in a nonstan-
dardized M&P plan satisfy the uni-
formity requirements for safe harbor
plans under § 1.401(a)(4)–2(b)(2) or
§ 1.401(a)(4)–3(b)(2) of the Income Tax
Regulations. This change will allow
adopting employers of nonstandardized
defined contribution M&P plans to adopt
an allocation formula that is designed
to be cross-tested for nondiscrimination
on the basis of equivalent benefits under
§ 1.401(a)(4)–8.
(2) The revenue procedure permits, but
does not require, VS plans to include a
provision that allows the VS practitioner
to amend the plan on behalf of adopting
employers for changes in the Code, etc.
By choosing to include such a provision
in the VS plan, the VS practitioner agrees
to comply with certain recordkeeping and
notice requirements that apply to sponsors
of M&P plans. The Service will evalu-
ate this new feature over time to determine
whether to preserve it as a permanent fea-
ture of the VS program.
The revenue procedure also makes
changes to simplify and streamline the
two programs. For example, under the
procedure, nonstandardized safe harbor
plans and paired standardized plans are
discontinued as separate categories of
M&P plan. This change has been made
because recent changes in law and the
procedures for employer reliance have di-
minished the utility of these types of plans.
The revenue procedure also provides that
sponsors and practitioners that sponsor
both M&P plans and VS plans will submit
both types of plans to the same office of
the Service for review and approval.
.03 Provisions Related to EGTRRA
[RESERVED].
.04 Remedial Amendment Period [RE-
SERVED].
PART I — M&P PLANS
SECTION 4. DEFINITIONS
.01 Master Plan — A “master plan” is
a plan (including a plan covering self-em-
ployed individuals) that is made available
by a sponsor for adoption by employers
and for which a single funding medium
(for example, a trust or custodial account)
is established, as part of the plan, for the
joint use of all adopting employers. A
master plan consists of a basic plan doc-
ument, an adoption agreement, and, unless
included in the basic plan document, a trust
or custodial account document.
.02 Prototype Plan — A “prototype
plan” is a plan (including a plan covering
self-employed individuals) that is made
available by a sponsor for adoption by
employers and under which a separate
funding medium is established for each
adopting employer. A prototype plan
consists of a basic plan document, an
adoption agreement, and, unless the basic
plan document incorporates a trust or cus-
todial account agreement the provisions
of which are applicable to all adopting
employers, a trust or custodial account
document.
.03 Basic Plan Document — A “ba-
sic plan document” is the portion of a
plan containing all thenon-elective provi-
sions applicable to all adopting employers.
No options (including blanks to be com-
pleted) may be provided in the basic plan
document, except as provided in section
12.03(1) of this revenue procedure regard-
ing flexible plans.
.04 Adoption Agreement — An “adop-
tion agreement” is the portion of the plan
containing the options that may be selected
by an adopting employer.
.05 Trust or Custodial Account Docu-
ment (Note: This definition does not apply
if the basic plan document includes a trust
or custodial account agreement the provi-
sions of which apply to all adopting em-
ployers.) — A “trust or custodial account
document” is the portion of an M&P plan
that contains the trust agreement or custo-
dial account agreement and includes provi-
sions covering such matters as the powers
and duties of trustees, investment author-
ity, and the kinds of investments that may
be made. Except as provided in section
5.09 and below, all provisions of the trust
or custodial account document must be ap-
plicable to all adopting employers and no
options (including blanks to be completed)
may be provided in the trust or custodial
account document. With respect to pro-
totype plans, an M&P sponsor or M&P
mass submitter may provide up to five sep-
arate trust or custodial account documents
that are intended for use with any single
basic plan document. Thus, for exam-
ple, several employers that adopt a spon-
sor’s standardized M&P plan may have
plans with different trust or custodial ac-
count documents. In addition, a sponsor or
M&P mass submitter may provide a trust
or custodial account document, designated
for use only by adopters of nonstandard-
ized plans, which provides for blanks to be
completed with respect to administrative
provisions of the trust or custodial account
agreement. Finally, an M&P plan may pro-
vide for the use of any other trust or cus-
todial account document that has been ap-
proved by the Service for use with the plan
as a qualified trust or as a custodial ac-
count treated as a qualified trust. Any trust
or custodial account document (including
one to be used by adopters of standardized
plans) may provide for blanks to be com-
pleted that merely enable the adopting em-
ployer to specify the names of the plan,
employer, trustee or custodian, plan ad-
ministrator and other fiduciaries, the trust
year, and the name of any pooled trust in
which the plan’s trust will participate.
.06 Opinion Letter — An “opinion let-
ter” is a written statement issued by the
Service to a sponsor or M&P mass submit-
ter as to the acceptability of the form of an
M&P plan under § 401(a) or § 403(a), and,
in the case of a master plan, the acceptabil-
ity of the master trust under § 501(a).
.07 Sponsor — A “sponsor” is any per-
son that (1) has an established place of
business in the United States where it is
accessible during every business day and
(2) represents to the Service that it has at
least 30 employer-clients each of which is
reasonably expected to adopt the sponsor’s
basic plan document within the 12-month
period following the issuance of opinion
letters.
A sponsor may request opinion letters
for any number of basic plan documents
and adoption agreements provided the
30-employer requirement is met with re-
spect to at least one basic plan document.
The Service reserves the right at any time
to request from the sponsor a list of the em-
ployers that have adopted or are expected
to adopt the sponsor’s M&P plans, includ-
ing the employers’ business addresses and
employer identification numbers.
Notwithstanding the above, any person
that has an established place of business
in the United States where it is accessi-
ble during every business day may spon-
sor a plan as a word-for-word identical
May 3, 20048652004-18 I.R.B.

adopter or minor modifier adopter of a plan
of an M&P mass submitter, regardless of
the number of employers that are expected
to adopt the plan.
By submitting an application for an
opinion letter for an M&P plan under this
revenue procedure (or by having an ap-
plication filed on its behalf by an M&P
mass submitter), a person represents to
the Service that it is a sponsor, as defined
above, and agrees to comply with any
requirements imposed on sponsors by this
revenue procedure. Failure to comply with
these requirements may result in the loss
of eligibility to sponsor M&P plans and
the revocation of opinion letters that have
been issued to the sponsor.
.08 M&P Mass Submitter — An “M&P
mass submitter” is any person that (1) has
an established place of business in the
United States where it is accessible during
every business day and (2) submits opin-
ion letter applications on behalf of at least
30 unaffiliated sponsors each of which is
sponsoring, on a word-for-word identi-
cal basis, the same basic plan document.
A flexible plan (as defined in section
12.03(1)) that is adopted by a sponsor will
be considered a word-for-word identical
plan. An M&P mass submitter may sub-
mit an opinion letter application on its
own behalf as one of the 30 unaffiliated
sponsors. For purposes of this definition,
affiliation is determined under § 414(b)
and (c). Additionally, the following will
be considered to be affiliated: any law,
accounting, consulting firm, etc., with its
partners, members, associates, etc. An
M&P mass submitter will be treated as an
M&P mass submitter with respect to all its
M&P plans provided the 30 unaffiliated
sponsor requirement is met with respect to
at least one basic plan document.
Notwithstanding the above, any person
that received a favorable TRA ’86 opinion
letter for a plan as an M&P mass submitter
under Rev. Proc. 89–9, 1989–1 C.B. 780,
will continue to be treated as an M&P mass
submitter with respect to all its M&P plans
if it submits applications on behalf of at
least 10 sponsors (regardless of affiliation)
each of which is sponsoring, on a word-
for-word identical basis, the same basic
plan document.
.09 Standardized Plan — A “standard-
ized plan” is an M&P plan that meets the
following requirements:
(1) The provisions governing eligibil-
ity and participation are such that the plan
by its terms must benefit all employees
describedinsection5.13(regardlessof
whether any employer is treated as op-
erating separate lines of business under
§ 414(r)) except those that may be ex-
cluded under § 410(a)(1) or (b)(3). The
adoption agreement may provide options
as to whether some or all of the employ-
ees described in § 410(a)(1) or (b)(3) are
to be excluded, provided that the crite-
ria for excluding employees described in
§ 410(a)(1) or (b)(3) applies uniformly to
all employees. A standardized plan gen-
erally may not deny an accrual or alloca-
tion to an employee eligible to participate
merely because the employee is not an ac-
tive employee on the last day of the plan
year or has failed to complete a specified
number of hours of service during the year.
However, the plan may deny an allocation
or accrual to an employee who is eligible
to participate if the employee terminates
service during the plan year with not more
than 500 hours of service and is not an ac-
tive employee on the last day of the plan
year.
(2) The eligibility requirements under
the plan are not more favorable for highly
compensated employees (as defined in
§ 414(q)) than for other employees.
(3) Under the plan, allocations, in the
case of a defined contribution plan (other
than any cash or deferred arrangement
part of the plan), or benefits, in the case
of a defined benefit plan, are determined
on the basis of total compensation. For
this purpose, total compensation means a
definition of compensation that includes
all compensation within the meaning of
§ 415(c)(3) and excludes all other compen-
sation or that otherwise satisfies § 414(s)
under § 1.414(s)–1(c).
(4) Unless the plan is a target bene-
fitplanora§401(k)and/or§401(m)
plan, the plan must, by its terms, satisfy
one of the design based safe harbors de-
scribed in § 1.401(a)(4)–2(b)(2) (taking
into account § 1.401(a)(4)–2(b)(4)) or in
§ 1.401(a)(4)–3(b)(3), (4), or (5) (taking
into account § 1.401(a)(4)–3(b)(6)).
(5) All benefits, rights, and features un-
der the plan (other than those, if any, that
have been prospectively eliminated) are
currently available to all employees ben-
efiting under the plan.
(6) Any past service credit under
the plan must meet the safe harbor in
§ 1.401(a)(4)–5(a)(3).
A plan will not fail to satisfy the cov-
erage requirement for standardized plans
merely because the plan provides, either
as the result of an elective provision or
by default in the absence of an election to
the contrary, that individuals who become
employees, within the meaning of section
5.13, as the result of a Ҥ 410(b)(6)(C)
transaction” will be excluded from eligi-
bility to participate in the plan during the
period beginning on the date of the trans-
action and ending on a date that is not later
than the last day of the first plan year be-
ginning after the date of the transaction. A
“§ 410(b)(6)(C) transaction” is an asset or
stock acquisition, merger, or other similar
transaction involving a change in the em-
ployer of the employees of a trade or busi-
ness.
.10 Nonstandardized Plan — A “non-
standardized plan” is an M&P plan that is
not a standardized plan.
SECTION 5. PROVISIONS REQUIRED
IN EVERY M&P PLAN
.01 Sponsor Amendments — M&P
plans must provide a procedure for sponsor
amendment, so that changes in the Code,
regulations, revenue rulings, other state-
ments published by the Internal Revenue
Service, or corrections of prior approved
plans may be applied to all employers
who have adopted the plan. Sponsors
must make reasonable and diligent ef-
forts to ensure that adopting employers
of the sponsor’s M&P plan have actually
received and are aware of all plan amend-
ments and that such employers complete
and sign new adoption agreements when
necessary. See section 5.11. Failure to
comply with this requirement may result
in the loss of eligibility to sponsor M&P
plans and the revocation of opinion letters
that have been issued to the sponsor.
.02 Employer Amendments — An
employer that amends any provision of an
approved M&P plan including its adoption
agreement (other than to change the choice
of options, if the plan permits or contem-
plates such a change) or an employer that
chooses to discontinue participation in a
plan as amended by its sponsor and does
not substitute another approved M&P plan
is considered to have adopted an individ-
2004-18 I.R.B.866May 3, 2004

ually designed plan. However, this rule
does not apply in the case of amendments
permitted under section 5.06 and 5.09 and
model amendments published by the Ser-
vice which specifically provide that their
adoptionbyanadopterofanM&Pplan
will not cause such plan to be treated as
individually designed. Also see section
19.03 regarding the effect of employer
amendments on an employer’s ability to
rely on an opinion letter. An employer that
amends an M&P plan because of a waiver
of the minimum funding requirement un-
der § 412(d) will also be considered to
have an individually designed plan. The
procedures stated in Rev. Proc. 2004–6
relating to the issuance of determination
letters for individually designed plans,
will then apply to the plan as adopted by
the employer.
.03 Compensation Requirements in
Nonstandardized Plans — Each nonstan-
dardized M&P plan must give the adopting
employer the option to select total com-
pensation as the compensation to be used
in determining allocations or benefits. For
this purpose, total compensation means a
definition of compensation that includes
all compensation within the meaning of
§ 415(c)(3) and excludes all other compen-
sation or that otherwise satisfies § 414(s)
under § 1.414(s)–1(c).
.04 Automatic or Optional Safe
Harbor Provisions in Nonstandardized
Plans — Each nonstandardized M&P
must automatically or by option al-
low the adopting employer to satisfy
one of the design-based safe harbors
described in § 1.401(a)(4)–2(b)(2) or
§ 1.401(a)(4)–3(b)(3), (4), and (5). A
nonstandardized defined contribution plan
is permitted to include allocation formu-
las which must be general tested under
§ 1.401(a)(4)–2(c) or cross-tested under
§ 1.401(a)(4)–8. A nonstandardized de-
fined benefit plan is permitted to include
benefit formulas that must be general
tested under § 1.401(a)(4)–3(c).
.05 Anti-Cutback Provisions — M&P
plans must specificallyprovide for the pro-
tection provided under § 411(a)(10) and
(d)(6), to the extent required, in the event
that the employer amends the plan in any
manner such as by revising the options
selected in the adoption agreement or by
adopting a new M&P plan. An M&P spon-
sor may not amend its plan in a manner that
could result in the elimination of a bene-
fit to the extent the benefit is required to
be protected under § 411(d)(6) with respect
to the plan of any adopting employer, un-
less permitted to do so under §§ 1.401(a)–4
and 1.411(d)–4. In addition, an M&P plan
that does not contain vesting for all years
that is at least as favorable to participants
as that provided in § 416(b), must specif-
ically provide that any vesting that occurs
while the plan is top-heavy, will not be cut
back if the plan ceases to be top-heavy.
.06 Adopting Employer Modification to
Satisfy§§415and416—M&Pplans
must provide that the plan provisions may
be amended by overriding plan language
completed by the employer in the adoption
agreement where such language is neces-
sary to satisfy § 415 or 416 because of
the required aggregation of multiple plans
under these sections. Generally, a space
should be provided in the adoption agree-
ment with instructions for the employer to
add such language as necessary to satisfy
§§ 415 and 416. In addition, a space must
be provided in the adoption agreement for
the employer to specify the interest rate
and mortality tables used for purposes of
establishing the present value of accrued
benefits in order to compute the top-heavy
ratio under § 416. Such a space must be in-
cluded in both defined contribution plans
and defined benefit plans.
.07 Defined Contribution § 415 Aggre-
gation — Plan language must be incorpo-
rated that aggregates all defined contribu-
tion M&P plans to satisfy § 415(c) and (f).
Sample language provided in the Listing
of Required Modifications may be down-
loaded from the Internet at the following
address:http://www.irs.gov.
.08 Top-heavy Requirements — Each
plan must either provide that all the
additional requirements applicable to
top-heavy plans (described in § 416) apply
at all times or provide that such require-
ments apply automatically if the plan is
top-heavy regardless of how the adop-
tion agreement is completed. In any case
where the latter option is chosen, all the
requirements for determining whether the
plan is top-heavy must be included in the
plan. (See Questions T–35 and T–36 of
§ 1.416–1.)
.09 Adopting Employer Modification
of Trust or Custodial Account Document
— An employer that adopts an M&P plan
other than a standardized plan (or paired
plans) will not be considered to have an
individually designed plan merely because
the employer amends administrative pro-
visions of the trust or custodial account
document (such as provisions relating to
investments and the duties of trustees),
provided the amended provisions are not
in conflict with any other provision of the
plan and do not cause the plan to fail to
qualify under § 401(a). For this purpose,
an amendment includes modification of
the language of the trust or custodial ac-
count document and the addition of over-
riding language. An employer that adopts
a standardized M&P plan may amend the
trust or custodial account document pro-
vided such amendment merely involves
the specification of the names of the plan,
employer, trustee or custodian, plan ad-
ministrator and other fiduciaries, the trust
year, or the name of any pooled trust in
which the plan’s trust will participate.
.10 Provisions Required in Adoption
Agreements Regarding Reliance — The
adoption agreement of every nonstandard-
ized M&P plan must include, in close
proximity to the signature blank, a state-
ment that describes the limitations on
employer reliance on an opinion letter
without a determination letter and the
circumstances under which an employer
will have no reliance without a determina-
tion letter. See section 19.02 and section
19.03. Standardized plans must also in-
clude a similar statement in the adoption
agreement that the adopting employer may
not rely on the opinion letter issued by the
Service but must apply for a determination
letter to have reliance under the circum-
stances described in section 19.01.
.11 Other Provisions Required in Adop-
tion Agreements — Each M&P plan must
contain a dated employer signature line.
The employer must sign the adoption
agreement when it first adopts the plan and
must complete and sign a new adoption
agreement if the plan has been restated.
In addition, the employer must complete
a new signature page if it modifies any
prior elections or makes new elections
in its adoption agreement. The signature
requirement may be satisfied by an elec-
tronic signature that reliably authenticates
and verifies the adoption of the adoption
agreement, or restatement, amendment
or modification thereof, by the employer.
The adoption agreement must state that
it is to be used with one and only one
specific basic plan document. In addition,
May 3, 20048672004-18 I.R.B.

the adoption agreement must contain a
cautionary statement to the effect that the
failure to properly fill out the adoption
agreement may result in failure of the plan
to qualify. The adoption agreement must
also contain a statement that provides that
the sponsor will inform the adopting em-
ployer of any amendments made to the
plan or of the discontinuance or abandon-
ment of the plan.
.12 Sponsor Telephone Numbers —
M&P plan adoption agreements must in-
clude the sponsor’s address and telephone
number (or a space for the address and tele-
phone number of the sponsor’s authorized
representative) for inquiries by adopting
employers regarding the adoption of the
plan, the meaning of plan provisions, or
the effect of the opinion letter.
.13 Definition of Employee / § 414(b),
(c), (m), (n), and (o) — Each M&P plan
must include a definition of employee as
any employee of the employer maintain-
ing the plan or any other employer aggre-
gated under § 414(b), (c), (m), or (o) and
the regulations thereunder. The definition
of employee shall also include any individ-
ual deemed under § 414(n) (or under regu-
lations under § 414(o)) to be an employee
of any employer described in the previous
sentence.
.14 Definition of Service / § 414(b), (c),
(m), (n), and (o) — Each M&P plan must
specifically credit all service with any em-
ployer aggregated under § 414(b), (c), (m),
or (o) and the regulations thereunder as
service with the employer maintaining the
plan. In addition, in the case of an individ-
ual deemed under § 414(n) (or under regu-
lations under § 414(o)) to be the employee
of any employer described in the previous
sentence, service with such employer must
be credited to such individual.
SECTION 6. OPINION LETTERS —
SCOPE
.01 General Limitson Opinion Letters
— Opinion letters will be issued only to
sponsors or M&P mass submitters. Opin-
ion letters constitute determinations as to
the qualification of the plans as adopted
by particular employers only under the cir-
cumstances, and to the extent, described in
section 19. In the case of prototype plans,
opinion letters do not constitute rulings or
determinations as to the exempt status of
related trusts or custodial accounts.
.02 Nonapplicability of the Procedure
to IRAs and SEPs — Opinion letters will
not be issued under this revenue procedure
for prototype plans intended to meet the
requirements for individual savings pro-
grams or simplified employee pension pro-
grams under § 408 (see Rev. Proc. 87–50,
1987–2 C.B. 647, Rev. Proc. 97–29,
1997–1 C.B. 698, and Rev. Proc. 98–59,
1998–2 C.B. 727).
.03 Areas Not Covered by Opinion Let-
ters — Opinion letters will not be issued
for:
(1) Multiemployer plans and multiple
employer plans;
(2) Union plans (This does not preclude
an M&P plan from covering employees of
the employer who are included in a unit
covered by a collective bargaining agree-
ment or the adoption of an M&P plan pur-
suant to such agreement as a single em-
ployer plan that covers only employees of
the employer.);
(3) Stock bonus plans;
(4) Employee stock ownership plans;
(5) Pooled fund arrangements contem-
plated by Rev. Rul. 81–100, 1981–1 C.B.
326;
(6) Annuity contracts under § 403(b);
(7) Cash balance plans or other de-
fined benefit plans under which the test
for nondiscrimination under § 401(a)(4) is
made by reference to contributions rather
than benefits;
(8) Plans described in § 414(k) (relat-
ing to a defined benefit plan that provides
a benefit derived from employer contribu-
tions that is based partly on the balance of
the separate account of a participant);
(9) Target benefit plans, other than
plans which, by their terms, satisfy each of
the safe harbor requirements described in
§ 1.401(a)(4)–8(b)(3)(i), as well as the ad-
ditional rules in § 1.401(a)(4)–8(b)(3)(ii)
through (vii);
(10) Defined benefit plans that provide
for employee contributions;
(11) Plans that would not satisfy the
qualification requirements except as gov-
ernmental plans as described in § 414(d);
(12) Church plans described in § 414(e)
that have not made the election provided
by § 410(d);
(13) Plans under which the § 415 limi-
tations are incorporated by reference;
(14) Plans that incorporate the ADP test
under § 401(k)(3) or the ACP test under
§ 401(m)(2) by reference;
(15) Section 401(k) plans that provide
for hardship distributions under circum-
stances other than those described in the
safe harbor standards in the regulations un-
der § 401(k);
(16) Fully-insured § 412(i) plans, other
than plans that, by their terms, satisfy
thesafeharborfor§412(i)plansin
§ 1.401(a)(4)–3(b)(5);
(17) Plans that fail to contain a pro-
vision reflecting the requirements of
§ 414(u) (see Rev. Proc. 96–49);
(18) Plans that include so-called fail-
safe provisions for § 401(a)(4) or the av-
erage benefit test under § 410(b);
(19) Plans that include blanks or fill-in
provisions for the employer to complete
unless the provisions have parameters that
preclude the employer from completing
the provisions in a manner that could vi-
olate the qualification requirements.
The Service may, in its discretion, de-
cline to issue opinion letters for other types
of plans not described in this section 6.03.
SECTION 7. OPINION LETTERS —
INSTRUCTIONS TO SPONSORS
.01 Employee Plans Rulings and Agree-
ments Issues Opinion Letters — Employee
Plans Rulings and Agreements will, upon
the request of a sponsor, issue an opinion
letter as to the acceptability of the form of
the sponsor’s M&P plan and any related
trust or custodial account under §§ 401(a),
403(a), and 501(a).
.02 Procedure for Requesting Opin-
ion Letters — A request for an opinion
letter relating to an M&P plan must be
submitted on the current version of Form
4461,Application for Approval of Master
or Prototype Defined Contribution Plan,
Form 4461–A,Application for Approval of
Master or Prototype Defined Benefit Plan,
or Form 4461–B,Application for Ap-
proval of Master or Prototype Plan Mass
Submitter Adopting Sponsor,asappro-
priate. These forms may be downloaded
from the Internet at the following address:
http://www.irs.gov.Allinformationonthe
first page of the application must be typed.
Seesection20fortheaddresswhereto
file the application.
.03 Expediting Review of Substantially
Identical Plans — The Service reserves the
right to review applications in any order
that will expedite the processing of opinion
letter applications. To expedite the review
2004-18 I.R.B.868May 3, 2004

of substantially identical plans that are not
mass submitter plans, the Service encour-
ages plan drafters and sponsors to include
with each opinion letter application where
it is appropriate a cover letter setting forth
the following information:
(1) The name and file folder number
(if available) of the plan that, for review
purposes, the plan drafter designates as the
“lead plan” (including the name and EIN
of the sponsor);
(2) A list of all plans written by the
plan drafter that are substantially identical
to the lead plan (including the information
described in (1));
(3) A description of each place where
the plan for which the application is being
submitted is not word-for-word identical
to the language of the lead plan, including
an explanation of the purpose and effect of
each such difference; and
(4) A certification, made under penalty
of perjury by the plan drafter, that the in-
formation described in (3) is true and com-
plete.
If the sponsor or plan drafter is aware
that a lead plan or any substantially identi-
cal plan has been assigned for review to a
specialist, the cover letter should also indi-
cate the name of specialist, if possible. To
the extent feasible, lead plans and substan-
tially identical plans should be submitted
together. The Service will regard the in-
formation and certification described in (3)
and (4) above as a material representation
for purposes of issuing an opinion letter.
.04 Separate Applications Required for
Different Categories of M&P Plans / Use
of Same Basic Plan Document by Multiple
Plans — An M&P plan shall not contain
any combination of profit-sharing, money
purchase (other than target benefit), target
benefit, non-integrated defined benefit, or
integrated defined benefit plan features.
However, separate defined contribution
plans may have the same basic plan doc-
ument and separate defined benefit plans
may have the same basic plan document,
but the provisions of the basic plan docu-
ment must be identical for all plans using
that document (that is, no elective or op-
tional features). For example, a sponsor
may submit four plans with respect to a
given defined benefit basic plan document:
integrated standardized and nonstandard-
ized; and nonintegrated standardized and
nonstandardized plans. A sponsor may
also use one defined contribution basic
plan document for a money purchase plan,
a target benefit plan, and a profit-shar-
ing plan. One basic plan document may
not be used with respect to both defined
benefit and defined contribution plans.
A separate adoption agreement and com-
pleted application form must be submitted
with respect to each defined benefit plan
and each defined contribution plan. In
the case of a simultaneous submission of
plans using the same basic plan document,
only one copy of the basic plan document
should be provided. If the requests are not
simultaneous, the sponsor must submit
a copy of the basic plan document with
each submission and include a cover letter
identifying the original submission. The
number of such basic plan document must
remain the same as in the prior submis-
sion.
.05 Sample Language — A Listing of
Required Modifications (LRM) contain-
ing sample language to be used in drafting
M&P plans is available from Employee
Plans Rulings and Agreements. Such
language is not automatically required in
M&P plans but should be used as a guide
in drafting such plans. To expedite the
review of their plans, sponsors are encour-
aged to use LRM language and to identify
where such language is being used in their
plan documents. LRMs may be down-
loaded from the Internet at the following
address:http://www.irs.gov.
.06 Material Furnished to Adopting
Employers — A sponsor must furnish
each adopting employer with a copy of the
approved plan, copies of any subsequent
amendments, and the most recently issued
Internal Revenue Service opinion letter.
.07 Material Furnished to Employee
Plans Determinations — Each M&P mass
submitter and each sponsor of a non-mass
submitter plan must furnish a copy of the
approved M&P plan and the Internal Rev-
enue Service opinion letter to Employee
Plans Determinationsat the following ad-
dress:
Internal Revenue Service
Employee Plans Determinations
P.O. Box 2508
Cincinnati, OH 45201
Attn: EP Determinations VSC
Coordinator
Room 5106
In addition, each M&P mass submit-
ter must submit a list to Employee Plans
Determinations of all sponsors that have
adopted a word-for-word identical plan
of the M&P mass submitter and a copy
of any plan that contains minor modifi-
cations. Each M&P mass submitter and
sponsor of a non-mass submitter plan
must also furnish Employee Plans Deter-
minations with a copy of all amendments
subsequently approved as to form by the
Service. Copies of word-for-word identi-
cal plans of M&P mass submitters should
not be submitted to Employee Plans De-
terminations.
SECTION 8. APPROVED PLANS
— MAINTENANCE OF APPROVED
STATUS
.01 Subsequent Required Amendments
— An approved M&P plan must be
amended by the sponsor and, if neces-
sary, the employer, to retain its approved
status if any provisions therein fail to meet
the requirements of law, regulations, or
other issuances and guidelines affecting
qualification that become effective subse-
quent to the issuance of an opinion letter.
Failure to so amend could result in the
loss of a plan’s qualified status. Sponsors
are required to make reasonable and dili-
gent efforts to ensure that each employer
which, to the best of the sponsor’s knowl-
edge, continues to maintain the plan as an
M&P plan amends its plan when neces-
sary. Failure to comply with this or any
other requirement imposed on sponsors by
this revenue procedure may result in the
loss of eligibility to sponsor M&P plans
and the revocation of opinion letters that
have been issued to the sponsor.
.02 Amendments Following Revenue
Rulings — If an approved M&P plan is
required to be amended to retain its ap-
proved status as a result of publication by
the Service of a revenue ruling, notice or
similar statement in the Internal Revenue
Bulletin (I.R.B.), then, unless specifically
stated otherwise in the revenue ruling, etc.,
the time by which the sponsor must amend
its M&P plan to conform to the require-
ments of the revenue ruling, etc., and re-
quest a new opinion letter shall be the end
of the one-year period after its publication
in the I.R.B., and with respect to any adopt-
ing employer’s plan the effective date of
such amendment shall be the first day of
May 3, 20048692004-18 I.R.B.

the first plan year beginning within such
one-year period.
.03 Loss of Qualified Status — If a
sponsor reasonably concludes that an em-
ployer’s M&P plan may no longer be a
qualified plan and the sponsor does not
or cannot submit a request to correct the
qualification failure under EPCRS, it is in-
cumbent on the sponsor to notify the em-
ployer that the plan may no longer be qual-
ified, advise the employer that adverse tax
consequences may result from loss of the
plan’s qualified status, and inform the em-
ployer about the availability of the Em-
ployee Plans Compliance Resolution Sys-
tem. See Rev. Proc. 2002–47, 2002–2
C.B. 133.
SECTION 9. WITHDRAWAL OF
REQUESTS
.01 Notification and Effect — A spon-
sor may withdraw its request for an opin-
ion letter at any time prior to the issuance
of such letter by notifying EP Rulings and
Agreements in writing of such withdrawal.
The sponsor must also notify each em-
ployer who adopted the plan that the re-
quest has been withdrawn. Such an em-
ployer will be deemed to have an individ-
ually designed plan.
.02 Service Retains Information —
Even though a request is withdrawn, EP
Rulings and Agreements will retain all
correspondence and documents associated
with that request and will not return them
to the sponsor. EP Rulings and Agree-
ments may furnish its views concerning
the qualified status of the plan to EP Ex-
aminations, which has audit jurisdiction
over the returns of any employers that
have adopted the plan.
SECTION 10. ABANDONED PLANS
.01 Notification to the Service — A
sponsor should notify EP Rulings and
Agreements in writing of an approved
M&P plan that is no longer used by any
employer and which the sponsor no longer
intends to offer for adoption. Such written
notification should be sent to the address
in section 20 and should refer to the file
folder number appearing on the latest
opinion letter issued.
.02 Notification to Employers — A
sponsor that intends to abandon an ap-
proved M&P plan that is in use by any
adopting employer must inform each
adopting employer that the form of the
plan has been terminated, that the em-
ployer’s plan will become an individually
designed plan (unless the employer adopts
another approved M&P plan), and that
any employer reliance will not continue if
there is a change in law or other change
in the qualification requirements. After
so informing all adopting employers, the
sponsor should notify EP Rulings and
Agreements in accordance with subsec-
tion .01 above.
SECTION 11. RECORDKEEPING
REQUIREMENTS
.01 Filing of Opinion Letter Applica-
tion Constitutes Agreement to Comply
with Recordkeeping Requirements — By
submitting an application for an opinion
letter under this revenue procedure (or by
having an application filed on its behalf
by an M&P mass submitter), an M&P
plan sponsor agrees, as provided in sec-
tion 4.07, to comply with the requirements
imposed on the sponsor by this revenue
procedure, including the recordkeeping
requirements of this section. Failure to
comply with the requirements imposed on
the sponsor by this revenue procedure may
result in the loss of eligibility to sponsor
M&P plans and the revocation of opinion
letters that have been issued to the sponsor.
.02 Maintenance and Availability of
Records of Adopting Employers — An
M&P plan sponsor must maintain, or
have maintained on its behalf, for each
of its plans, a record of the names, busi-
ness addresses, and taxpayer identifica-
tion numbers of all employers that have
adopted the plan. However, a sponsor
need not maintain records with respect to
employers that, to the best of the sponsor’s
knowledge, ceased to maintain the plan
as an M&P plan more than three years
earlier. Upon written request, a sponsor
mustprovidetotheServicealistofsuch
adopting employers that indicates, to the
best of the sponsor’s knowledge, which of
such employers continue to maintain the
plan as an M&P plan and which of such
employers have ceased to maintain the
plan as an M&P plan within the preceding
three years.
SECTION 12. M&P MASS
SUBMITTERS
.01OpinionLettersIssuedtoM&P
Mass Submitters — EP Rulings and
Agreements will, upon request by an M&P
mass submitter, as defined in section 4.08,
issue an opinion letter as to the accept-
ability of the form of the mass submitter’s
M&P plan and any related trust or custo-
dial account under §§ 401(a), 403(a), and
501(a). With respect to its plan, the M&P
mass submitter must submit a completed
Form 4461 or 4461–A, as applicable, to
the address in section 20. The first page of
the Form 4461 or 4461–A must be typed.
The application must include a copy of the
plan (adoption agreement and basic plan
document) and any separate trust or cus-
todial account document(s). In the case
of an initial submission of a basic plan
document under this revenue procedure,
the M&P mass submitter’s application
must also be accompanied by applications
for opinion letters filed on behalf of the
requisite number of identical adopters (as
determined under section 4.08), unless the
M&P mass submitter has already satis-
fied this requirement in connection with
a previous application under this revenue
procedure involving another basic plan
document. The application must also in-
clude the required user fee. An M&P mass
submitter may submit an application on its
own behalf as one of the requisite number
of adopting sponsors. After satisfying the
requisite number of adopting sponsors re-
quirement, the M&P mass submitter may
submit additional applications on behalf
of other sponsors that wish to adopt a
word-for-word identical plan or a plan that
contains minor modifications from the
mass submitter plan, as provided in sec-
tion 12.03(2). In addition, the M&P mass
submitter may then submit requests for
opinion letters under this section 12.01 for
its other plans, regardless of the number
of identical adopters of such other plans.
.02 Reduced Procedural Requirements
for Sponsors That Use Mass Submitter
Plans — A sponsor of an M&P plan of a
mass submitter must obtain an opinion let-
ter. For initial qualification, or where the
sponsor’s plan includes minor modifica-
tions, the M&P mass submitter on behalf
of the sponsor must submit to EP Rul-
ings and Agreementsa completed Form
4461-B which contains a declaration by
2004-18 I.R.B.870May 3, 2004

the M&P mass submitter under penalty
of perjury that the sponsor has adopted
an M&P plan that is word-for-word iden-
tical, within the meaning of this section,
to a plan of the M&P mass submitter, or
an M&P plan that is a minor modifica-
tion of the mass submitter’s plan. Form
4461-B must be typed. If the M&P mass
submitter’s plan has been approved by
the Service, the sponsor’s request for an
opinion letter must identify the letter se-
rial number and date of the opinion letter
issued to the M&P mass submitter with
respect to that plan. If the sponsor has
previously received a letter with respect to
a plan that is identical to the M&P mass
submitter’s plan, the procedures described
in sections 12.04 should be followed. If
the sponsor is sponsoring a word-for-word
identical plan (including a flexible plan),
a copy of the plan need not be submitted.
If the M&P mass submitter submits a plan
with minor modifications, it must comply
with the requirements of section 12.03(2).
The application submitted on behalf of the
sponsor must include the required user fee.
Upon receipt of the request for an opinion
letter, described above, the Service will,
as soon as clerically feasible, issue an
opinion letter to the sponsor.
.03 Definitions —
(1) Flexible Plan —
(a) In general — A “flexible plan” is a
plan submitted by an M&P mass submitter
that contains optional provisions (as de-
fined in (b), below). Sponsors that adopt
the flexible plan may include or delete
any optional provision that is designated
as such in the M&P mass submitter’s
plan, provided the inclusion or deletion
of specific optional provisions conforms
to the M&P mass submitter’s written rep-
resentation to the Service concerning the
choices available to sponsors and the coor-
dination of optional provisions. An M&P
mass submitter must bracket and identify
the optional provisions when submitting
such plan to EP Rulings and Agreements
and must also provide the Service a writ-
ten representation describing the choices
available to sponsors and the coordina-
tion of optional provisions. Thus, such
a representation must indicate whether a
sponsor’s plan may contain only one of a
certain group of optional provisions, may
contain only a specific combination of
provisions, or may exclude the provisions
entirely. Similarly, if the inclusion (or
deletion) of a specific optional provision in
a sponsor’s plan will automatically result
in the inclusion (or deletion) of any other
optional provision, this must be set forth in
the M&P mass submitter’s representation.
A flexible plan may contain only optional
provisions which meet the requirements
of (b), below, and must be drafted so that
the qualification of any sponsor’s plan
will not be affected by the inclusion or
deletion of optional provisions. For ex-
ample, if a sponsor’s defined contribution
plan contains an optional provision which
allows a portion of a participant’s account
to be invested in life insurance, then un-
der the terms of the sponsor’s plan, the
application of the proceeds must meet the
requirements of §§ 401(a)(11) and 417. A
flexible plan adopted by a sponsor which
differs from the M&P mass submitter plan
only because the sponsor has deleted cer-
tain optional provisions from its plan in
conformance with the M&P mass submit-
ter’s representation described above will
be treated as a word-for-word identical
plan to the M&P mass submitter plan. The
Service encourages M&P mass submitters
to limit the number of optional provisions
described in (b)(i) and (ii), below, which
they provide under a flexible plan to six
investment provisions and six administra-
tive provisions.
(b) Optional Provisions — A flexible
plan may contain only optional provisions
that comply with the requirements set forth
below. The optional provisions may be
arranged as separate optional articles or
as separate optional provisions within a
single article. A flexible plan may also
contain optional provisions in the adop-
tion agreement. For example, if an M&P
mass submitter flexible plan basic plan
document contains an optional provision
that would allow for loans under a spon-
sor’s M&P plan, the adoption agreement
could also include an optional provision
that would enable an adopting employer
to elect whether loans will be available
under the plan it adopts. If the sponsor
does not wish to enable adopting employ-
ers to make loans available under their
plans, both the basic plan document op-
tional provision and the adoption agree-
ment optional provision would be deleted
from the sponsor’s M&P plan. Sponsors
may include or delete optional provisions
of M&P mass submitter plans, but once the
sponsor has decided to include an optional
provision, it must offer that provision to all
adopting employers. Any optional provi-
sion that the Service determines does not
meet the requirements of this section will
have to be changed to a non-optional pro-
vision or deleted from the M&P mass sub-
mitter’s plan. The following is an exclu-
sive list of the allowable optional provi-
sions that a flexible plan may contain:
(i) Investment Provisions — An M&P
masssubmittermayofferavarietyofin-
vestment provisions in its plan for spon-
sors to include or delete from their version
of the plan. However, the plan as adopted
by the sponsor must provide some method
for investing trust assets. Investment pro-
visions are those provisions that describe
the plan’s methods of investing the trust or
custodial funds, including provisions such
as the availability of loans and investments
in insurance contracts or other funding me-
dia, and self-directedinvestments. (Also
see (4) and (5) regarding flexibility per-
mitted in trust or custodial account docu-
ments.)
(ii) Administrative Provisions — An
M&P mass submitter may offer a variety
of administrative provisions in its plan for
sponsors to include or delete from their
version of the plan. However, the plan as
adopted by the sponsor must describe how
the plan will be administered. Adminis-
trative provisions are those provisions that
describe the administration of the plan,
including the powers, duties, and respon-
sibilities of a plan’s custodian, trustee,
administrator, employer, and other fidu-
ciaries. Administrative provisions include
the allocation of responsibilities among
fiduciaries, the resignation or replacement
of fiduciaries, claims procedures under
the plan, and recordkeeping requirements.
However, procedural provisions that are
required for plan qualification are not
administrative provisions under this sec-
tion. For example, provisions that provide
for the notice to participants required by
§ 417 and recordkeeping required by reg-
ulations under §§ 401(k) and (m) are not
administrative provisions for purposes of
this revenue procedure, and may not be
optional provisions.
(iii) Cash or Deferred Arrangement —
An M&P mass submitter may include a
self-contained cash or deferred arrange-
ment (as defined in § 401(k)) for sponsors
to include or delete.
May 3, 20048712004-18 I.R.B.

(c) Addition of Optional Provisions by
the M&P Mass Submitter — An M&P
mass submitter may add additional op-
tional provisions to its plan after a favor-
able opinion letter is issued. Generally,
the addition of such optional provisions
will not be treated as a plan amendment
for purposes of this revenue procedure,
Rev. Proc. 2004–6, and Rev. Proc.
2004–8, 2004–1 I.R.B. 240, and spon-
sors and adopting employers will not be
required to obtain new opinion and de-
termination letters in order to preserve
reliance. (However, the addition of a cash
or deferred arrangement or any change to
the language of the adoption agreement
subsequent to the issuance of an opinion
letter will be treated as a plan amendment
to the M&P mass submitter’s plan and the
requirements of subsection .04 will then
apply.) The M&P mass submitter must
submit such additional optional provisions
to the Service, along with a completed
Form 4461 or 4461–A, as applicable, and
a check or money order in the amount
specified in section 6.04(6) of Rev. Proc.
2004–8. No opinion letter will be issued
to the M&P mass submitter or any adopt-
ing sponsor with respect to the addition of
these optional provisions. Instead, a letter
will be issued to the M&P mass submitter
notifying it that the addition of such op-
tional provisions will not affect the status
of favorable opinion and determination
letters issued to sponsors and adopting
employers.
(d) Notification to Employer — If an
M&P mass submitter adds optional provi-
sions, as described in (c), above, all adopt-
ing sponsors who wish to include the ad-
ditional optional provisions must furnish
each adopting employer with a copy of the
plan that includes such additional provi-
sions. If a sponsor decides to include or
delete an optional provision after it ini-
tially adopted the plan, it must also fur-
nish each adopting employer with a copy
of the new plan. However, if such inclu-
sion or deletion results in a change to the
language of the adoption agreement, such
change will be treated as a plan amend-
ment and the sponsor and its adopting em-
ployers may not continue to rely on previ-
ously issued opinion or determination let-
ters.
(2) Minor Modification — A “minor
modification” is a minor change to an oth-
erwise word-for-word identical plan of the
M&P mass submitter that does not require
an in-depth technical review. For exam-
ple, a change from 5 year 100% vesting
to 3 year 100% vesting is a minor modi-
fication. On the other hand, a change in
the method of accrual of benefits in a de-
fined benefit plan would not be considered
a minor modification. A minor modifica-
tion must be submitted by the M&P mass
submitter on behalf of the sponsor that will
adopt the modified plan. Such submis-
sionswillbereviewedonanexpeditedba-
sis and opinion letters will be issued to the
sponsor as soon as possible. However, the
Service reserves the right to determine if
such changes are actually minor. If it is
determined that the changes are extensive
or require an in-depth technical review, the
plan will not be entitled to expedited re-
view but will be treated as a non-mass sub-
mitter plan. (In such event, the Service will
notify the M&P mass submitter in writing
of its determination. Within 30 days fol-
lowing the date of such communication, ei-
ther the M&P mass submitter may revise
the plan so that the modifications are mi-
nor and resubmit the revised plan, or the
sponsor may submit an additional user fee
in an amount equal to the difference be-
tween a non-mass submitter plan applica-
tion user fee and a minor modifier appli-
cation user fee. If, after such 30 day pe-
riod neither action has been taken, the ap-
plication may be considered withdrawn.)
To qualify for the expeditious review, the
M&P mass submitter must submit a com-
pleted Form 4461-B. Such form must be
typed. In addition, the M&P mass sub-
mitter must submit a copy of the M&P
mass submitter’s plan with the minor mod-
ifications highlighted, as well as a state-
ment indicating the location and effect of
each change. The M&P mass submitter
must certify under penalty of perjury that
the plan of the sponsor, except for the de-
lineated changes, is word-for-word iden-
tical, within the meaning of this section,
to the plan for which the M&P mass sub-
mitter received a favorable opinion letter.
If an M&P mass submitter fails to iden-
tify each modification, such failure will
be considered a material misrepresentation
and an employer may not rely on any opin-
ion or determination letter that may be is-
sued with respect to the plan. If an M&P
mass submitter repeatedly fails to identify
such modifications, the Service may deny
permission to that M&P mass submitter to
submit additional minor modifications.
.04 Amendments of M&P Mass Sub-
mitter Plans — Any plan submitted by
an M&P mass submitter must include
language designating the M&P mass sub-
mitter as agent for the sponsor for purposes
of making plan amendments (see section
12.02). Any sponsor that does not wish to
make the amendments made by an M&P
mass submitter may switch to another
M&P mass submitter or may submit an
application for an opinion letter on its own
behalf. If the M&P mass submitter makes
any change to the plan, other than the addi-
tion of optional provisions pursuant to sec-
tion 12.03(1)(c), an amendment described
in section 21.02, or a model amendment
published by the Service, it must comply
with the requirements of section 21.01 of
this revenue procedure. In addition, prior
to submitting an amendment to EP Rulings
and Agreements, the M&P mass submitter
must notify the Service of its intention to
amend the plan. Such notification should
be submitted, in writing, to the address in
section 20. The Service will then mail a
list to the M&P mass submitter showing
all sponsors that have adopted plans that
are identical to the M&P mass submitter’s
plans, as well as the specific plans adopted
by each sponsor. The M&P mass submit-
ter must then submit the amended plan to
EP Rulings and Agreements for approval,
along with a list identifying all adopting
sponsors’ plans that will be amended, a
user fee form for each such sponsor, and
the appropriate user fee required under
section 6.04 of Rev. Proc. 2004–8. All
sponsors that have adopted the M&P mass
submitter’s plan, are identified on the list
submittedtotheService,andforwhicha
user fee has been submitted, will be con-
sidered to have made such amendments
and will be issued opinion letters. In the
case of minor modifier plans, separate
Form 4461–B applications must be filed
along with copies of the plans as amended,
user fee forms, and the user fee required
by section 6.04 of Rev. Proc. 2000–8 for
minor modifier applications. Copies of
the amended plan must be sent to adopting
employers and EP Determinations in ac-
cordance with section 7.11. Any adopting
sponsor that is not included on the list
submitted to the Service (or in the case
of a minor modifier, for which a Form
4461–B application has not been filed) or
2004-18 I.R.B.872May 3, 2004

which notifies the Service of its desire not
to adopt such amendment will no longer
participate as an M&P mass submitter plan
but must apply for an opinion letter on its
own behalf to retain its status as an M&P
plan.
.05 Expeditious Processing Accorded
M&P Mass Submitter Plans — All M&P
mass submitter plans, including the adop-
tion of approved M&P mass submitter
plans by sponsors, will be accorded more
expeditious processing than M&P plans
submitted by non-mass submitters, to the
extent administratively feasible.
PART II — VOLUME SUBMITTER
PLANS
SECTION 13. DEFINITIONS
.01 Volume Submitter Plan — A “vol-
ume submitter plan” or “VS plan” refers to
either a specimen plan of a VS practitioner
or a plan of a client of the VS practitioner
that is substantially similar to the VS prac-
titioner’s approved specimen plan.
.02 Specimen Plan — A “specimen
plan” is a sample plan of a VS practi-
tioner (rather than the actual plan of an
employer). A specimen plan may include
an adoption agreement.
.03 Advisory Letter — An “advisory
letter” is a written statement issued by the
Service to a VS practitioner or VS mass
submitter as to the acceptability of the
form of a specimen plan and any related
trust or custodial account under § 401(a)
or § 403(a).
.04 VS Practitioner — A “VS practi-
tioner” is any person that (1) has an es-
tablished place of business in the United
States where it is accessible during ev-
ery business day and (2) represents to the
Service that it has at least 30 employer-
clients each of which is reasonably ex-
pected to adopt a plan that is substantially
similar to the VS practitioner’s specimen
plan within the 12-month period following
the issuance of an advisory letter.
A VS practitioner may submit any num-
ber of specimen plans for advisory letters
provided the 30-employer requirement is
separately satisfied with respect to each
specimen plan. The Service reserves the
right at any time to request from the VS
practitioner a list of the employers that
have adopted or are expected to adopt the
VS practitioner’s specimen plans, includ-
ing the employers’ business addresses and
employer identification numbers.
Notwithstanding the above, any person
that has an established place of business
in the United States where it is accessible
during every business day may sponsor a
specimenplanasaword-for-wordidenti-
cal adopter of a specimen plan of an VS
mass submitter, regardless of the number
of employers that are expected to adopt the
plan.
By submitting an application for an ad-
visory letter for a specimen plan under this
revenue procedure (or by having an appli-
cation filed on its behalf by a VS mass
submitter), a person represents to the Ser-
vice that it is a VS practitioner, as de-
fined above. If the VS practitioner’s spec-
imen plan permits the VS practitioner to
amend the VS plan on behalf of adopt-
ing employers, as permitted by section 15,
the VS practitioner also agrees to comply
with any requirements imposed on spon-
sors of M&P plans by this procedure. Fail-
uretocomplywiththeserequirementsmay
result in the loss of eligibility to sponsor
specimen plans and the revocation of ad-
visory letters that have been issued to the
VS practitioner.
.05 VS Mass Submitter — A “VS mass
submitter” is any person that (1) has an es-
tablished place of business in the United
States where it is accessible during every
business day and (2) submits advisory let-
ter applications on behalf of at least 30
unaffiliated practitioners each of which is
sponsoring, on a word-for-word identical
basis, the same specimen plan. A VS mass
submitter may submit an advisory letter
application on its own behalf as one of
the 30 unaffiliated practitioners. For pur-
poses of this definition, affiliation is deter-
mined under § 414(b) and (c). Addition-
ally, the following will be considered to be
affiliated: any law, accounting, consulting
firm, etc., with its partners, members, as-
sociates, etc. A VS mass submitter will be
treated as a VS mass submitter with respect
to each specimen plan for which the 30 un-
affiliated practitioner requirement is sepa-
rately met.
SECTION 14. PROVISIONS
REQUIRED IN EVERY VS PLAN
.01 Anti-Cutback Provisions — VS
plans must specifically provide for the
protection provided under § 411(a)(10)
and (d)(6), to the extent required, in the
event that the employer amends the plan
in any manner. If a VS plan authorizes
the VS practitioner to amend the plan on
behalf of employers, the VS practitioner
may not amend the plan in a manner that
could result in the elimination of a benefit
to the extent the benefit is required to be
protected under § 411(d)(6) with respect to
the plan of any adopting employer, unless
permitted to do so under §§ 1.401(a)–4
and 1.411(d)–4. In addition, a VS plan
that is not exempt from the top-heavy
requirements and that does not contain
vesting for all years which is at least as
favorable to participants as that provided
in § 416(b), must specifically provide that
any vesting that occurs while the plan is
top-heavy will not be cut back if the plan
ceases to be top-heavy.
.02 Definition of Employee / § 414(b),
(c), (m), (n), and (o) — Each VS plan
must include a definition of employee as
any employee of the employer maintain-
ing the plan or any other employer aggre-
gated under § 414(b), (c), (m), or (o) and
the regulations thereunder. The definition
of employee shall also include any individ-
ual deemed under § 414(n) (or under regu-
lations under § 414(o)) to be an employee
of any employer described in the previous
sentence.
.03 Definition of Service / § 414(b), (c),
(m), (n), and (o) — Each VS plan must
specifically credit all service with any em-
ployer aggregated under § 414(b), (c), (m),
or (o) and the regulations thereunder as
service with the employer maintaining the
plan. In addition, in the case of an individ-
ual deemed under § 414(n) (or under regu-
lations under § 414(o)) to be the employee
of any employer described in the previous
sentence, service with such employer must
be credited to such individual.
SECTION 15. AMENDMENTS ON
BEHALF OF ADOPTING EMPLOYERS
.01OptiontoPermit Practitioner
Amendment — A VS practitioner may
amend its specimen plan and request a new
advisory letter with respect to the amended
plan. Ordinarily, the amendments will ap-
ply only to the plans of employers who
adopt the plan after it has been amended
and will not apply to plans of employers
who adopted the plan prior to the amend-
ment. However, a VS plan may, but is
May 3, 20048732004-18 I.R.B.

not required to, include a provision that
authorizes the VS practitioner to amend
theplanonbehalfofemployerswho
have previously adopted the plan, so that
changes in the Code, regulations, revenue
rulings, other statements published by the
Internal Revenue Service, or corrections
of prior approved plans may be applied to
all employers who have adopted the plan.
The provision must state that the practi-
tioner will no longer have the authority to
amend the plan on behalf of the adopting
employer as of the date the Service re-
quires the employer to file Form 5300 as
an individually designed plan because of
substantial employer modifications of the
specimen plan. The provision must also
state that if the employer is required to ob-
tain a determination letter in order to have
reliance (for example, because the em-
ployer has modified the specimen plan),
the practitioner’s authority to amend the
plan on behalf of the adopting employer is
conditioned on the plan being covered by
a favorable determination letter.
.02 A VS practitioner who is autho-
rized to adopt plan amendments on behalf
of adopting employers must comply with
the requirements in sections 7.06 and 8
through11thatapplytoM&Psponsors.
Failure to do so may result in the loss of
eligibility to sponsor VS plans and the
revocation of advisory letters that have
been issued to the VS practitioner. Thus,
the VS practitioner must maintain, or have
maintained on its behalf, a record of the
employers that have adopted the plan, and
the VS practitioner must make reasonable
and diligent efforts toensure that adopting
employers have actually received and are
aware of all plan amendments and that
such employers adopt new documents
when necessary.
SECTION 16. ADVISORY LETTERS
—SCOPE
.01 General Limits on Advisory Let-
ters — Advisory letters will be issued only
to VS practitioners or VS mass submit-
ters. Advisory letters constitute determi-
nations as to the qualification of the plans
as adopted by particular employers only
under the circumstances, and to the extent,
described in section 19. Advisory letters
do not constitute rulings or determinations
as to the exempt status of related trusts or
custodial accounts.
.02 Areas Not Covered by Advisory
Letters — Advisory letters will not be is-
sued for:
(1) Multiemployer plans;
(2) Union plans (This does not preclude
a VS plan from covering employees of the
employer who are included in a unit cov-
ered by a collective bargaining agreement
or the adoption of a VS plan pursuant to
such agreement as a single employer plan
which covers only employees of the em-
ployer.);
(3) Stock bonus plans;
(4) Employee stock ownership plans;
(5) Pooled fund arrangements contem-
plated by Rev. Rul. 81–100, 1981–1 C.B.
326;
(6) Annuity contracts under § 403(b);
(7) Cash balance plans or other de-
fined benefit plans under which the test
for nondiscrimination under § 401(a)(4) is
made by reference to contributions rather
than benefits;
(8) Plans described in § 414(k) (relating
to a defined benefit plan which provides
a benefit derived from employer contribu-
tions which is based partly on the balance
of the separate account of a participant);
(9) Target benefit plans, other than
plans which, by their terms, satisfy each of
the safe harbor requirements described in
§ 1.401(a)(4)–8(b)(3)(i), as well as the ad-
ditional rules in § 1.401(a)(4)–8(b)(3)(ii)
through (vii);
(10) Defined benefit plans that provide
for employee contributions;
(11) Church plans described in § 414(e)
that have not made the election provided
by § 410(d);
(12) Governmental plans that include
so-called “DROP” provisions or similar
provisions;
(13) Plans under which the § 415 limi-
tations are incorporated by reference;
(14) Plans that incorporate the ADP test
under § 401(k)(3) or the ACP test under
§ 401(m)(2) by reference;
(15) Section 401(k) plans that provide
for hardship distributions under circum-
stances other than those described in the
safe harbor standards in the regulations un-
der § 401(k);
(16) Fully-insured § 412(i) plans, other
than plans that, by their terms, satisfy
thesafeharborfor§412(i)plansin
§ 1.401(a)(4)–3(b)(5);
(17) Plans that fail to contain a pro-
vision reflecting the requirements of
§ 414(u) (see Rev. Proc. 96–49);
(18) Plans that include so-called fail-
safe provisions for § 401(a)(4) or the av-
erage benefit test under § 410(b);
(19) Plans that include blanks or fill-in
provisions for the employer to complete
unless the provisions have parameters that
preclude the employer from completing
the provisions in a manner that could vi-
olate the qualification requirements.
The Service may, in its discretion, de-
cline to issue advisory letters for other
types of plans not described in this section
16.02.
SECTION 17. ADVISORY
LETTERS — INSTRUCTIONS TO
VS PRACTITIONERS
.01 Employee Plans Rulings and Agree-
ments Issues Advisory Letters — Em-
ployee Plans Rulings and Agreements
will, upon the request of a VS practitioner,
issue an advisory letter as to the accept-
ability of the form of the VS practitioner’s
specimen plan under § 401(a) or § 403(a).
.02 Procedure for Requesting Advisory
Letters — A request for an advisory letter
relating to a specimen plan must be sub-
mitted on Form 4461–V,Application for
Approval of VS Specimen Plan.Thisisa
new form, first published in [RESERVED
FOR INITIAL PUBLICATION DATE OF
FORM 4461–V]. The form may be down-
loaded from the Internet at the following
address:http://www.irs.gov. All informa-
tion on the first page of the application
must be typed. See section 20 for the ad-
dress to file the application. The request
must include the following:
(1) a copy of the specimen plan, includ-
ing adoption agreement, if applicable, and
any related specimen trust instrument;
(2) the required user fee submitted with
Form 8717,User Fee for Employee Plan
Determination Letter Request;and
(3) an index/table of contents listing the
location of all variable sections.
.03 Separate Specimen Plans and Ap-
plications Required for Different Cate-
gories of Plans — A separate specimen
plan and application is required for the fol-
lowing categories of plans: a profit-shar-
ing plan (without a § 401(k) arrangement),
a profit-sharing plan (with a § 401(k) ar-
rangement), a money purchase pension
2004-18 I.R.B.874May 3, 2004

plan (other than a target benefit plan), a
target benefit plan, and a defined bene-
fit plan. Different categories may not be
combined in a single specimen plan or
application.
.04 Sample Language — A Listing of
Required Modifications (LRM) contain-
ing sample plan language is available from
Employee Plans Rulings and Agreements.
Although the sample language is designed
for use in M&P plans, which use an adop-
tion agreement format, VS practitioners
should refer to the sample language as a
guide in drafting VS plans. To expedite
the review of their plans, VS practition-
ers are encouraged to use LRM language
where appropriate and to identify where
such language is being used in their plan
documents. LRMs may be downloaded
from the Internet at the following address:
http://www.irs.gov.
SECTION 18. VS MASS SUBMITTERS
.01 Advisory Letters Issued to VS Mass
Submitters — EP Rulings and Agreements
will, upon request by an VS mass submit-
ter, as defined in section 13.05, issue an ad-
visory letter as to the acceptability of the
form of the VS mass submitter’s specimen
plan under § 401(a) or § 403(a). .] See
section 20 for the address to file the appli-
cation.
.02 The requirements for the VS mass
submitters application are as follows:
(1) The application must include the
plan and trust and all the other information
required by section 17. The application
must include a cover letter that states that
at least 30 VS practitioners are submitting
applications for advisory letters for iden-
tical specimen plans and must certify that
each such plan is word-for-word identical
to the VS mass submitter specimen plan.
The cover letter must provide the name,
address, and EIN of each of the VS practi-
tioners.
(2) The application for the VS mass
submitter specimen plan must include
the required user fee under Rev. Proc.
2004–8.
(3) The application must be accompa-
nied by separate advisory letter applica-
tions filed by each of the VS practitioners
listed in the cover letter.
(4) The required user fee for an identi-
cal adopter application under Rev. Proc.
2004–8 must also be submitted.
(5) After the initial submission of advi-
sory letter applications for at least 30 VS
practitioners, applications may be filed by
other VS practitioners who will sponsor
the word-for-word identical plan. A copy
of the plan should not be submitted.
PART III — ALL PRE-APPROVED
PLANS
SECTION 19. EMPLOYER RELIANCE
.01 Standardized M&P Plans — An
employer adopting a standardized M&P
plan may rely on that plan’s opinion let-
ter,exceptasprovidedin(1)through(3)
and section 19.03 below, if the sponsor of
such plan or plans has a currently valid
favorable opinion letter, the employer has
followed the terms of the plan(s), and the
coverage and contributions or benefits
under the plan(s) are not more favorable
for highly compensated employees (as
defined in § 414(q)) than for other em-
ployees.
(1)Anemployermaynotrelyonan
opinion letter for a standardized plan with
respect to the requirements of §§ 415 and
416, without obtaining a determination let-
ter, if the employer maintains at any time,
or has maintained at any time, another
plan, including a standardized plan, that
was qualified or determined to be qual-
ified covering some of the same partici-
pants. For this purpose, a plan that has
been properly replaced by the adoption of
a standardized plan is not considered an-
other plan. The plan that has been re-
placed and the standardized plan must be
ofthesametype(e.g., both defined bene-
fit plans) in order for the employer to be
able to rely on the standardized plan with
respect to the requirements of §§ 415 and
416 without obtaining a determination let-
ter. In addition, an employer that adopts
a standardized defined contribution plan
will not be considered to have maintained
another plan merely because the employer
has maintained another defined contribu-
tion plan(s), provided such other plan(s)
has been terminated prior to the effective
date of the standardized plan and no an-
nual additions have been credited to the ac-
count of any participant under such other
plan(s) as of any date within a limitation
year of the standardized plan. Likewise,
an employer that adopts a standardized de-
fined contribution plan that is first effec-
tive on or after the effective date of the re-
peal of § 415(e) will not be considered to
have maintained another plan merely be-
cause the employer has maintained a de-
fined benefit plan(s),provided the defined
benefit plan(s) has been terminated prior to
the effective date of the standardized de-
fined contribution plan.
(2) An employer that has adopted a
standardized defined benefit plan may rely
on an opinion letter with respect to the re-
quirements of § 401(a)(26) only if the plan
satisfies the requirements of § 401(a)(26)
with respect to its prior benefit structure
or is deemed to satisfy § 401(a)(26) under
the regulations. However, an employer
may request a determination letter if the
employer wishes to have reliance as to
whether the plan satisfies § 401(a)(26)
with respect to its prior benefit structure.
(3) An employer that adopts a standard-
ized plan may not rely on an opinion letter
with respect to: (a) whether the timing of
any amendment to the plan (or series of
amendments) satisfies the nondiscrimina-
tion requirements of § 1.401(a)(4)–5(a),
except with respect to plan amendments
granting past service that meet the safe
harbor described in § 1.401(a)(4)–5(a)(3)
and are not part of a pattern of amend-
ments that significantly discriminates in
favor of highly compensated employ-
ees; or (b) whether the plan satisfies
the effective availability requirement of
§ 1.401(a)(4)–4(c) with respect to any ben-
efit, right, or feature. An employer that
adopts a standardized plan as an amend-
ment to a plan other than a standardized
plan may not rely on an opinion letter
with respect to whether a benefit, right, or
feature that is prospectively eliminated sat-
isfies the current availability requirements
of § 1.401(a)(4)–4 of the regulations. Such
an employer may request a determination
letter if the employer wishes to have re-
liance as to whether the prospectively
eliminated benefit, right, or feature satis-
fies the current availability requirements.
.02 Nonstandardized M&P Plans and
Volume Submitter Plans — An employer
adopting a nonstandardized M&P or vol-
ume submitter plan may rely on that plan’s
opinion or advisory letter as described be-
low if the employer’s plan is identical to
an approved M&P or specimen plan with a
currently valid favorable opinion or advi-
sory letter, the employer has chosen only
options permitted under the terms of the
May 3, 20048752004-18 I.R.B.

approved plan, and the employer has fol-
lowed the terms of the plan. (Also see
section 19.03(3) below.) These employ-
ers can forego filing Form 5307 and rely
on the plan’s favorable opinion or advisory
letter with respect to the qualification re-
quirements, except as provided in section
(1) through (4) and section 19.03 below.
(1) Except as provided in section
19.03(2) and (3), adopting employers
of nonstandardized M&P plans and vol-
ume submitter plans may not rely on a
favorable opinion or advisory letter with
respect to the requirements of:
(a) §§ 401(a)(4), 401(a)(26), 401(l),
410(b) or 414(s); or
(b) if the employer maintains or has
ever maintained another plan covering
some of the same participants, §§ 415 or
416.
For this purpose, whether an employer
maintains or has ever maintained another
plan will be determined using principles
consistent with section 19.01 above.
(2) Adopting employers of nonstan-
dardized M&P plans and volume submitter
plans may rely on the opinion or advisory
letter with respect to the requirements of
§§ 410(b) and 401(a)(26) (other than the
§ 401(a)(26) requirements that apply to a
prior benefit structure) if 100 percent of all
nonexcludable employees benefit under
the plan.
(3) Nonstandardized M&P plans must
give adopting employers the option to
elect a safe harbor allocation or benefit
formula and a safe harbor compensation
definition. Adopting employers of non-
standardized M&P plans that elect a safe
harbor allocation or benefit formula and a
safe harbor compensation definition may
rely on an opinion letter with respect to the
nondiscriminatory amounts requirement
under § 401(a)(4). Adopting employers
of nonstandardized M&P plans that are
§ 401(k) and/or § 401(m) plans may rely
on an opinion letter with respect to whether
the form of the plan satisfies the actual de-
ferral percentage test of § 401(k)(3) or
the actual contribution percentage test
of § 401(m)(2) if the employer elects to
use a safe harbor definition of compen-
sation in the test. Adopting employers
of nonstandardized M&P plans described
in § 401(k)(11) and/or § 401(m)(12) may
rely on an opinion letter with respect to
whether the form of the plan satisfies these
requirements unless the plan provides for
the safe harbor contribution to be made
under another plan.
.03 Other Limitations and Conditions
on Reliance — The following conditions
and limitations apply with respect to stan-
dardized and nonstandardized M&P plans
as well as volume submitter plans:
(1) An adopting employer can rely on
a favorable opinion or advisory letter for
a plan that amends or restates a plan of
the employer only if the plan that is being
amended or restated was qualified.
(2) An adopting employer has no re-
liance if the employer’s adoption of the
plan precedes the issuance of an opinion
or advisory letter for the plan.
(3) An adopting employer can rely on
an opinion or advisory letter only if the em-
ployer’s plan is identical to an approved
M&P or specimen plan with a currently
valid favorable opinion or advisory letter;
that is, the employer has not added any
terms to the approved M&P or VS plan
and has not modified or deleted any terms
of the plan other than choosing options
permitted under the plan or, in the case
of an M&P plan, amending the document
as permitted under sections 5.06 and 5.09.
Thus, for example, in the case of a VS
plan, the employer’s plan must be identi-
cal to the approved specimen plan except
as the result of the employer’s selection
among options that are permitted under the
terms of the approved specimen plan. An
employer’s plan will not fail to be identi-
cal to an approved M&P or specimen plan
merely because the employer modifies or
amends the plan to add or change a provi-
sion and/or to specify or change the effec-
tive date of a provision, provided the em-
ployer is permitted to make the modifica-
tion or amendment under the terms of the
approved M&P or specimen plan as well
as under § 401(a), and, except for the ef-
fective date, the provision is identical to
a provision in the approved plan. Thus,
an employer is not required to restate its
M&P or volume submitter plan in order to
change options under the plan or to spec-
ify different effective dates Also see sec-
tion 5.02, which limits an employer’s abil-
itytoamendanM&Pplanwithoutcaus-
ing the plan to be treated as an individu-
ally designed plan, and section 5.11, which
requires the employer to complete a new
signature page when the employer changes
options in an M&P adoption agreement.
(4) An adopting employer cannot rely
on an opinion or advisory letter if the
adopting employer has modified the terms
of the plan’s approved trust in a manner
that would cause the plan to fail to be
qualified.
.04 Reliance Equivalent to Determina-
tion Letter — If an employer can rely on
a favorable opinion or advisory letter pur-
suant to this section, the opinion or ad-
visory letter shall be equivalent to a fa-
vorable determination letter. For exam-
ple, the favorable opinion or advisory let-
ter shall be treated as a favorable determi-
nation letter for purposes of section 21 of
Rev. Proc. 2004–6, regarding the effect of
a determination letter, and section 5.01(4)
of Rev. Proc. 2002–47, regarding the def-
inition of “favorable letter” for purposes
of the Employee Plans Compliance Res-
olution System. Of course, the extent of
the employer’s reliance may be limited, as
provided above.
SECTION20.WHERETOFILEAND
OTHER RULES FOR APPLICATIONS
AND LETTERS
.01 Opinion Letters — Except as pro-
vided in section 20.03, applications for
opinion letters, including applications
filed by M&P mass submitters, should be
sent to: [RESERVED].
.02 Advisory Letters — Except as pro-
vided in section 20.03, applications for ad-
visory letters, including applications filed
by VS mass submitters, should be sent to:
[RESERVED].
.03 Sponsors of Both M&P and VS
Plans — Sponsors, practitioners, or mass
submitters who sponsor both M&P plans
and VS plans should send applications for
both types of plans to: [RESERVED].
.04 Effect of Failure to Disclose Mate-
rial Fact or to Accurately Provide Informa-
tion — The Service may determine, based
on the application, the extent of review of
the pre-approved plan. A failure to dis-
close a material fact or misrepresentation
of a material fact in the application may ad-
versely affect the reliance that would oth-
erwise be obtained through issuance by the
Service of a favorable opinion or advisory
letter. Similarly, failure to accurately pro-
vide any of the information called for on
any form required by this revenue proce-
dure may result in no reliance.
2004-18 I.R.B.876May 3, 2004

.05 Additional Information May Be Re-
quested — The Service may, at its dis-
cretion, require any additional informa-
tion that it deems necessary, including a
demonstration of how the variables (op-
tions or alternatives) in the M&P or spec-
imen plan interrelate to satisfy the qualifi-
cation requirements of the Code. If a let-
ter, requesting changes to plan documents,
is sent to the sponsor or VS practitioner or
an authorized representative, the changes
must be received no later than 30 days
from the date of the letter, and the response
must include either a copy of the plan with
the changes highlighted or, if the changes
are not extensive, replacement pages. If
the changes are not received within 30
days, the application may be considered
withdrawn. An extension of the 30-day
time limit will only be granted for good
cause.
.06 Inadequate Submissions — The
Service will return, without further action,
plans that are not in substantial compli-
ance with the qualification requirements
or plans that are so deficient that they can-
not be reviewed in a reasonable amount
of time. A plan may be considered not
to be in substantial compliance if, for
example, it omits or merely incorporates
qualification requirements by reference to
the applicable Code section. The Service
will not consider these plans until after
they are revised, and they will be treated
as new requests as of the date they are
resubmitted. No additional user fee will
be charged if an inadequate submission is
amended to be in substantial compliance
and is resubmitted to the Service within 30
days following the date the sponsor or VS
practitioner is notified of such inadequacy.
.07 Nonidentification of Questionable
IssuesMayCauseDelay—Iftheplandoc-
ument submitted as part of an opinion or
advisory letter request contains a provision
that gives rise to an issue for which con-
trary published authorities exist, failure to
disclose and address significant contrary
authorities may result in requests for addi-
tional information, which will delay action
on the request.
.08 DOL Participant Loan Regulations
not Addressed by Opinion or Advisory
Letter — Pre-approved plans may adopt
procedures to complywith the Department
of Labor’s (DOL) participant loan regula-
tions under § 408(b)(1) of ERISA in the
plan or in a separate document. The adop-
tion of procedures outside of the plan doc-
ument that are intended to comply with
these regulations will not cause a pre-ap-
proved plan to be considered an individu-
ally designed plan. The Service will not
review loan program procedures (whether
in the plan or in a separate written docu-
ment) to determine whether they comply
with the requirements of the DOL regula-
tions. Also, any opinion or advisory let-
ter issued for a pre-approved plan will not
consider whether loan program procedures
may, in the operation of the plan, have an
adverse effect on the qualified status of the
plan. However, the loan program proce-
dures under the plan may not be inconsis-
tent with the qualification requirements of
§ 401(a).
.09 Nontransferability of Opinion and
Advisory Letters — An opinion or advi-
sory letter issued to a sponsor or VS prac-
titioner is not transferable to any other en-
tity. For this purpose, a change of em-
ployer identification number is deemed to
be a change of entity.
SECTION 21. AMENDMENTS
.01 Opinion Letters for Sponsor or VS
Practitioner Amendments — A sponsor or
VS practitioner may amend or restate its
previously approved plan and the Service
will entertain a request for an opinion or
advisory letter as to the acceptability, for
purposes of § 401(a) or § 403(a), of the
form of the plan as amended. If the spon-
sor or VS practitioner is amending its plan,
it must, except as provided in section 12,
submit an application under the procedures
in section 7 or section 17, together with a
copy of the amendment(s), a cover letter
summarizing the changes to the plan ef-
fected by such amendment(s), and a copy
of the plan which is being amended. If
the sponsor is restating its plan, it must,
except as provided in section 12, submit
the restated plan, with the changes high-
lighted, along with the application. (The
plan and application may be returned to the
sponsor if the changes have not been high-
lighted.) No more than four consecutive
amendments may be submitted without re-
stating the plan. In addition, the Service
may, at its discretion, require plan restate-
ment at any time that it deems necessary to
adequately review a plan.
.02 No Opinion or Advisory Letters for
Certain Amendments — A pre-approved
plan will not lose its qualified status and,
except as provided in (4) below, no opinion
or advisory letter will be issued merely be-
cause amendments are made which solely
cover the following:
(1) Amendments to conform a plan to
the requirements of § 402(a) of Title I of
the Employee Retirement Income Security
Act of 1974 (ERISA), Pub. L. 93–406,
1974–3 C.B. 1, relating to named fiducia-
ries.
(2) Amendments to conform a plan to
requirements of § 503 of ERISA, relating
to claims procedures.
(3) Amendments that merely adjust
the limitations under §§ 415, 402(g),
401(a)(17), and 414(q)(1)(B) to reflect
annual cost-of-living increases, other
than amendments that add an automatic
cost-of-living adjustment provision to the
plan.
(4) Amendments that merely reflect a
change of a sponsor’s or VS practitioner’s
name. However, the sponsor or VS practi-
tioner must notify the Service, in writing,
of the change in name and certify that it
still meets the conditions for sponsorship
described in section 4.07 or 13.04. No
opinion or advisory letter will be issued
and no user fee will be required for a mere
change in name. However, if the sponsor
or VS practitioner wants a new opinion let-
ter, it will have to submit a new application
and pay the appropriate user fee. (Also see
section 20 regarding changes in employer
identification numbers.)
SECTION 22. REVOCATION
Revocation of Opinion or Advisory
Letter by the Service — An opinion or
advisory letter found to be in error or not
in accord with the current views of the
Service may be revoked. However, except
in rare or unusual circumstances, such re-
vocation will not be applied retroactively
if the conditions set forth in section 13.05
of Rev. Proc. 2004–4 are met. For this
purpose, opinion and advisory letters will
be given the same effect as rulings. Re-
vocation may be effected by a notice to
the sponsor or VS practitioner to which
the letter was originally issued, or by a
regulation, revenue ruling or other state-
ment published in the Internal Revenue
Bulletin. The sponsor or VS practitioner
should then notify each adopting employer
of the revocation as soon as possible.
May 3, 20048772004-18 I.R.B.

SECTION 23. EGTRRA
[RESERVED]
SECTION 24. REMEDIAL
AMENDMENT PERIOD
[RESERVED]
SECTION 25. EFFECT ON OTHER
DOCUMENTS
Rev. Proc. 2000–20 is superseded.
Rev. Proc. 2004–6 is modified.
SECTION 26. EFFECTIVE DATE
[RESERVED]
SECTION 27. PAPERWORK
REDUCTION ACT
[RESERVED]
DRAFTING INFORMATION
[RESERVED]
Election of Alternative Deficit
Reduction Contribution
Announcement 2004–38
This announcement sets forth the pro-
cedures for electing an alternative deficit
reduction contribution under § 412(l)(12)
of the Internal Revenue Code (the Code) as
added by section 102 of the Pension Fund-
ing Equity Act of 2004, Pub. L. 108-218.
I. Background
Section 102 of the Pension Funding Eq-
uity Act of 2004 added § 412(l)(12) to the
Code and section 302(d)(12) to the Em-
ployee Retirement Income Security Act of
1974 (ERISA). Section 412(l)(12) of the
Code permits certain employers who are
required to make additional contributions
under § 412(l) to elect a reduced amount
of those contributions (“alternative deficit
reduction contributions”) for certain plan
years. An employer is eligible to make
such an election if it is (1) a commercial
passenger airline, (2) primarily engaged in
the production or manufacture of a steel
mill product or the processing of iron ore
pellets, or (3) an organization described
in § 501(c)(5) and which established a
plan on June 30, 1955, to which § 412
now applies. Section 302(d)(12) of ERISA
permits an identical election and provides
identical requirements with respect to the
minimum funding standard of section 302.
The election can be made for any plan
year beginning after December 27, 2003,
and before December 28, 2005. An elec-
tion for a plan of an eligible employer must
be made annually and cannot be made for
more than two plan years for each plan.
An election of an alternative deficit reduc-
tion contribution may only be made with
respect to a plan for which the additional
contributions under § 412(l) of the Code
andsection302(d)ofERISAfortheplan
year beginning in 2000 did not apply (de-
termined without regard to the special rule
for small plans under § 412(l)(6) of the
Code and section 302(d)(6) of ERISA).
Section 412(l)(12)(B) of the Code and
section 302(d)(12)(B) of ERISA contain
restrictions on the plan amendments that
may be made during a year for which an
alternative deficit reduction contribution
is elected.
Section II of this announcement sets
forth the information that must be con-
tained in the election and the address to
which the election must be sent. If an em-
ployer elects an alternative deficit reduc-
tion contribution for any plan year, the em-
ployer must provide written notice of the
election to the plan’s participants and ben-
eficiaries and to the Pension Benefit Guar-
anty Corporation within 30 days of filing
the election.
II. Election of Alternative Deficit
Reduction Contribution
A. As an officer of the employer main-
taining the plan, I hereby elect an alter-
native deficit reduction contribution un-
der § 412(l)(12) of the Code and section
302(d)(12) of ERISA and include the fol-
lowing information:
(Continued on the following page)
2004-18 I.R.B.878May 3, 2004

1. The employer is:
(a) a commercial passenger airline,
(b) primarily engaged in the production or manufacture of a steel mill product or the processing
of iron ore pellets, or
(c) an organization described in § 501(c)(5) ofthe Code and which established a plan on June 30,
1955, to which § 412 now applies.
2. The name and EIN of the employer:
3. The name and plan number of the plan:
4. The plan year to which the election relates:
5. Specify the plan year beginning in 2000 for which theadditional contributions under § 412(l) did not apply:
6. If any of the information in items 2 or 3 was different from the name of the employer or the plan, etc., than
in the plan year for which the election is being made, enter the plan name, plan number, and name and EIN
of the employer for the 2000 plan year:
7. Signature of employerDate
The election must be signed by an officer of the employer maintaining the plan. An authorized representative
of the employer, plan administrator, or enrolled actuary may not sign this election on behalf of the employer.
B. This election must be filed at the
following address:
Internal Revenue Service
Commissioner, Tax Exempt and
Government Entities Division
Attention: SE:T:EP:RA:T
Alternative DRC Election
P.O. Box 27063
McPherson Station
Washington, D.C. 20038
III. Paperwork Reduction Act
The collection of information contained
in this announcement has been reviewed
and approved by the Office of Manage-
ment and Budget in accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C.
3507) under control number 1545–1883.
An agency may not conduct or sponsor,
and a person is not required to respond
to, a collection of information unless the
collection of information displays a valid
control number.
The collection of information in this an-
nouncement is in section II. This infor-
mation is required to enable the Commis-
sioner, Tax Exempt and Government Enti-
ties Division of the Internal Revenue Ser-
vice to monitor and make valid determina-
tions with respect to employers that elect
an alternative deficitreduction contribu-
tion for certain plans. As a result of such
elections, an employer’s deficit reduction
contribution for certain plans will be based
on amounts specified under § 412(l)(12)
of the Code. Such an election may cause
the excise tax for failure to meet the mini-
mum funding standards not to be incurred.
The likely respondents are businesses or
other for-profit institutions, nonprofit in-
stitutions, and small businesses or organi-
zations.
The estimated total annual reporting
and/or recordkeeping burden is 800 hours.
The estimated annual burden per re-
spondent/recordkeeper varies from 3 to 5
hours, depending on individual circum-
stances, with an estimated average of 4
hours. The estimated number of respon-
dents and/or recordkeepers is 200.
The estimated frequency of responses is
occasional.
Books or records relating to a collection
of information must be retained as long
as their contents may become material in
the administration of any internal revenue
law. Generally, tax returns and tax return
information are confidential, as required
by 26 U.S.C. § 6103.
Deletions From Cumulative
List of Organizations
Contributions to Which
are Deductible Under Section
170 of the Code
Announcement 2004–41
The name of an organization that no
longer qualifies as an organization de-
scribedinsection170(c)(2)oftheInternal
Revenue Code of 1986 is listed below.
Generally, the Service will not disallow
deductions for contributions made to a
listed organization on or before the date
of announcement in the Internal Revenue
Bulletinthatanorganizationnolonger
qualifies. However, the Service is not
precluded from disallowing a deduction
for any contributions made after an or-
ganization ceases to qualify under section
170(c)(2) if the organization has not timely
filed a suit for declaratory judgment under
section 7428 and if the contributor (1) had
knowledge of the revocation of the ruling
or determination letter, (2) was aware that
such revocation was imminent, or (3) was
in part responsible for or was aware of the
activities or omissions of the organization
that brought about this revocation.
May 3, 20048792004-18 I.R.B.

If on the other hand a suit for declara-
tory judgment has been timely filed, con-
tributions from individuals and organiza-
tions described in section 170(c)(2) that
are otherwise allowable will continue to
be deductible. Protection under section
7428(c) would begin on May 3, 2004, and
would end on the date the court first deter-
mines that the organization is not described
in section 170(c)(2) as more particularly
set forth in section 7428(c)(1). For indi-
vidual contributors, the maximum deduc-
tion protected is $1,000, with a husband
and wife treated as one contributor. This
benefit is not extended to any individual, in
wholeorinpart,fortheactsoromissions
of the organization that were the basis for
revocation.
Kids Voting SD,
Rapid City, SD
2004-18 I.R.B.880May 3, 2004

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 ef-
fect:
Amplifieddescribes a situation where
no change is being made in a prior pub-
lished position, but the prior position is be-
ingextendedtoapplytoavariationofthe
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 withmodi-
fied,below).
Clarifiedis used in those instances
where the language in a prior ruling is be-
ing made clear because the language has
caused, or may cause, some confusion.
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
withamplifiedandclarified, 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
beingstatedinanewruling.
Supersededdescribes a situation where
the new ruling does nothing more than re-
state the substance and situation of a previ-
ously published ruling (or rulings). Thus,
the term is used to republish under the
1986 Code and regulations the same po-
sition published under the 1939 Code and
regulations. The term is also used when
it is desired to republish in a single rul-
ing a series of situations, names, etc., that
were previously published over a period of
time in separate rulings. If the new rul-
ing does more than restate the substance
of a prior ruling, a combination of terms
is used. For example,modifiedandsu-
persededdescribes 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 pub-
lished 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 rul-
ing has been supplemented several times, a
new ruling may be published that includes
the list in the original ruling and the ad-
ditions, and supersedes all prior rulings in
the series.
Suspendedis used in rare situations
to show that the previous published rul-
ings 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 fol
lowing abbreviations in current use
and for
merly used will appear in material
publis
hedintheBulletin.
A—Individual.
Acq.—A
cquiescence.
B—Individual.
BE—Beneficiary.
BK—Bank
.
B.T.A.—Board of Tax Appeals.
C—Individual.
C.B.—Cu
mulative Bulletin.
CFR—Code of Federal Regulations.
CI—City.
COOP—Coo
perative.
Ct.D.—Court Decision.
CY—County.
D—Decede
nt.
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—Emp
loyer.
ERISA—Employee Retirement Income Security Act.
EX—Executor.
F—Fiduc
iary.
FC—Foreign Country.
FICA—Federal Insurance Contributions Act.
FISC—Fo
reign International Sales Company.
FPH—Foreign Personal Holding Company.
F.R.—Federal Register.
FUTA—Fed
eral Unemployment Tax Act.
FX—Foreign corporation.
G.C.M.—Chief Counsel’s Memorandum.
GE—Grante
e.
GP—General Partner.
GR—Grantor.
IC—Insura
nce Company.
I.R.B.—Internal Revenue Bulletin.
LE—Lessee.
LP—Limited
Partner.
LR—Lessor.
M—Minor.
Nonacq.—No
nacquiescence.
O—Organization.
P—Parent Corporation.
PHC—Persona
l Holding Company.
PO—Possession of the U.S.
PR—Partner.
PRS—Pa
rtnership.
PTE—Prohibited Transaction Exemption.
Pub. L.—Public Law.
REIT—Re
al Estate Investment Trust.
Rev. Proc.—Revenue Procedure.
Rev. Rul.—Revenue Ruling.
S—Subsi
diary.
S.P.R.—Statement of Procedural Rules.
Stat.—Statutes at Large.
T—Target
Corporation.
T.C.—Tax Court.
T.D.—Treasury Decision.
TFE—Trans
feree.
TFR—Transferor.
T.I.R.—Technical Information Release.
TP—Taxpay
er.
TR—Trust.
TT—Trustee.
U.S.C.—Uni
ted States Code.
X—Corporation.
Y—Corporation.
Z—Corporat
ion.
May 3, 2004i2004-18 I.R.B.

Numerical Finding List
1
Bulletins 2004–1 through 2004–18
Announcements:
2004-1, 2004-1 I.R.B.254
2004-2, 2004-3 I.R.B.322
2004-3, 2004-2 I.R.B.294
2004-4, 2004-4 I.R.B.357
2004-5, 2004-4 I.R.B.362
2004-6, 2004-3 I.R.B.322
2004-7, 2004-4 I.R.B.365
2004-8, 2004-6 I.R.B.441
2004-9, 2004-6 I.R.B.441
2004-10, 2004-7 I.R.B.501
2004-11, 2004-10 I.R.B.581
2004-12, 2004-9 I.R.B.541
2004-13, 2004-9 I.R.B.543
2004-14, 2004-10 I.R.B.582
2004-15, 2004-11 I.R.B.612
2004-16, 2004-13 I.R.B.668
2004-17, 2004-12 I.R.B.635
2004-18, 2004-12 I.R.B.639
2004-19, 2004-13 I.R.B.668
2004-20, 2004-13 I.R.B.673
2004-21, 2004-13 I.R.B.673
2004-22, 2004-14 I.R.B.709
2004-23, 2004-13 I.R.B.673
2004-24, 2004-14 I.R.B.714
2004-25, 2004-15 I.R.B.737
2004-26, 2004-15 I.R.B.743
2004-27, 2004-14 I.R.B.714
2004-28, 2004-16 I.R.B.818
2004-29, 2004-15 I.R.B.772
2004-30, 2004-17 I.R.B.833
2004-31, 2004-18 I.R.B.854
2004-32, 2004-18 I.R.B.860
2004-33, 2004-18 I.R.B.862
2004-35, 2004-17 I.R.B.839
2004-37, 2004-17 I.R.B.839
2004-38, 2004-18 I.R.B.878
2004-39, 2004-17 I.R.B.840
2004-40, 2004-17 I.R.B.840
2004-41, 2004-18 I.R.B.879
2004-42, 2004-17 I.R.B.840
Court Decisions:
2078, 2004-16 I.R.B.773
Notices:
2004-1, 2004-2 I.R.B.268
2004-2, 2004-2 I.R.B.269
2004-3, 2004-5 I.R.B.391
2004-4, 2004-2 I.R.B.273
2004-5, 2004-7 I.R.B.489
2004-6, 2004-3 I.R.B.308
Notices— Continued:
2004-7, 2004-3 I.R.B.310
2004-8, 2004-4 I.R.B.333
2004-9, 2004-4 I.R.B.334
2004-10, 2004-6 I.R.B.433
2004-11, 2004-6 I.R.B.434
2004-12, 2004-10 I.R.B.556
2004-13, 2004-12 I.R.B.631
2004-14, 2004-9 I.R.B.526
2004-15, 2004-9 I.R.B.526
2004-16, 2004-9 I.R.B.527
2004-17, 2004-11 I.R.B.605
2004-18, 2004-11 I.R.B.605
2004-19, 2004-11 I.R.B.606
2004-20, 2004-11 I.R.B.608
2004-21, 2004-11 I.R.B.609
2004-22, 2004-12 I.R.B.632
2004-23, 2004-15 I.R.B.725
2004-24, 2004-13 I.R.B.642
2004-25, 2004-15 I.R.B.727
2004-26, 2004-16 I.R.B.782
2004-27, 2004-16 I.R.B.782
2004-28, 2004-16 I.R.B.783
2004-29, 2004-17 I.R.B.828
2004-30, 2004-17 I.R.B.828
2004-31, 2004-17 I.R.B.830
2004-32, 2004-18 I.R.B.847
2004-33, 2004-18 I.R.B.847
2004-34, 2004-18 I.R.B.848
Proposed Regulations:
REG-106590-00, 2004-14 I.R.B.704
REG-116664-01, 2004-3 I.R.B.319
REG-106681-02, 2004-18 I.R.B.852
REG-122379-02, 2004-5 I.R.B.392
REG-139845-02, 2004-5 I.R.B.397
REG-165579-02, 2004-13 I.R.B.651
REG-166012-02, 2004-13 I.R.B.655
REG-115471-03, 2004-14 I.R.B.706
REG-121475-03, 2004-16 I.R.B.793
REG-126459-03, 2004-6 I.R.B.437
REG-126967-03, 2004-10 I.R.B.566
REG-128309-03, 2004-16 I.R.B.800
REG-149752-03, 2004-14 I.R.B.707
REG-153172-03, 2004-15 I.R.B.729
REG-156232-03, 2004-5 I.R.B.399
REG-156421-03, 2004-10 I.R.B.571
REG-167217-03, 2004-9 I.R.B.540
REG-167265-03, 2004-15 I.R.B.730
Revenue Procedures:
2004-1, 2004-1 I.R.B.1
2004-2, 2004-1 I.R.B.83
2004-3, 2004-1 I.R.B.114
2004-4, 2004-1 I.R.B.125
2004-5, 2004-1 I.R.B.167
Revenue Procedures— Continued:
2004-6, 2004-1 I.R.B.197
2004-7, 2004-1 I.R.B.237
2004-8, 2004-1 I.R.B.240
2004-9, 2004-2 I.R.B.275
2004-10, 2004-2 I.R.B.288
2004-11, 2004-3 I.R.B.311
2004-12, 2004-9 I.R.B.528
2004-13, 2004-4 I.R.B.335
2004-14, 2004-7 I.R.B.489
2004-15, 2004-7 I.R.B.490
2004-16, 2004-10 I.R.B.559
2004-17, 2004-10 I.R.B.562
2004-18, 2004-9 I.R.B.529
2004-19, 2004-10 I.R.B.563
2004-20, 2004-13 I.R.B.642
2004-21, 2004-14 I.R.B.702
2004-22, 2004-15 I.R.B.727
2004-23, 2004-16 I.R.B.785
2004-24, 2004-16 I.R.B.790
2004-25, 2004-16 I.R.B.791
2004-27, 2004-17 I.R.B.831
Revenue Rulings:
2004-1, 2004-4 I.R.B.325
2004-2, 2004-2 I.R.B.265
2004-3, 2004-7 I.R.B.486
2004-4, 2004-6 I.R.B.414
2004-5, 2004-3 I.R.B.295
2004-6, 2004-4 I.R.B.328
2004-7, 2004-4 I.R.B.327
2004-8, 2004-10 I.R.B.544
2004-9, 2004-6 I.R.B.428
2004-10, 2004-7 I.R.B.484
2004-11, 2004-7 I.R.B.480
2004-12, 2004-7 I.R.B.478
2004-13, 2004-7 I.R.B.485
2004-14, 2004-8 I.R.B.511
2004-15, 2004-8 I.R.B.515
2004-16, 2004-8 I.R.B.503
2004-17, 2004-8 I.R.B.516
2004-18, 2004-8 I.R.B.509
2004-19, 2004-8 I.R.B.510
2004-20, 2004-10 I.R.B.546
2004-21, 2004-10 I.R.B.544
2004-22, 2004-10 I.R.B.553
2004-23, 2004-11 I.R.B.585
2004-24, 2004-10 I.R.B.550
2004-25, 2004-11 I.R.B.587
2004-26, 2004-11 I.R.B.598
2004-27, 2004-12 I.R.B.625
2004-28, 2004-12 I.R.B.624
2004-29, 2004-12 I.R.B.627
2004-30, 2004-12 I.R.B.622
2004-31, 2004-12 I.R.B.617
2004-32, 2004-12 I.R.B.621
1
A cumulative list of all revenue rulings, revenue procedures, Treasury decisions, etc., published in Internal Revenue Bulletins 2003–27 through 2003–52 is in Internal Revenue Bulletin
2003–52, dated December 29, 2003.
2004-18 I.R.B.iiMay 3, 2004

Revenue Rulings— Continued:
2004-33, 2004-12 I.R.B.628
2004-34, 2004-12 I.R.B.619
2004-35, 2004-13 I.R.B.640
2004-36, 2004-12 I.R.B.620
2004-37, 2004-11 I.R.B.583
2004-38, 2004-15 I.R.B.717
2004-39, 2004-14 I.R.B.700
2004-40, 2004-15 I.R.B.716
2004-41, 2004-18 I.R.B.845
2004-42, 2004-17 I.R.B.824
2004-43, 2004-18 I.R.B.842
Tax Conventions:
2004-3, 2004-7 I.R.B.486
Treasury Decisions:
9099, 2004-2 I.R.B.255
9100, 2004-3 I.R.B.297
9101, 2004-5 I.R.B.376
9102, 2004-5 I.R.B.366
9103, 2004-3 I.R.B.306
9104, 2004-6 I.R.B.406
9105, 2004-6 I.R.B.419
9106, 2004-5 I.R.B.384
9107, 2004-7 I.R.B.447
9108, 2004-6 I.R.B.429
9109, 2004-8 I.R.B.519
9110, 2004-8 I.R.B.504
9111, 2004-8 I.R.B.518
9112, 2004-9 I.R.B.523
9113, 2004-9 I.R.B.524
9114, 2004-11 I.R.B.589
9115, 2004-14 I.R.B.680
9116, 2004-14 I.R.B.674
9117, 2004-15 I.R.B.721
9118, 2004-15 I.R.B.718
9119, 2004-17 I.R.B.825
May 3, 2004iii2004-18 I.R.B.

Findings List of Current Actions on
Previously Published Items
1
Bulletins 2004–1 through 2004–18
Announcements:
93-60
Obsoleted by
Rev. Proc. 2004-23, 2004-16 I.R.B.785
2003-56
Modified by
Ann. 2004-11, 2004-10 I.R.B.581
Notices:
98-5
Withdrawn by
Notice 2004-19, 2004-11 I.R.B.606
2000-4
Obsoleted by
T.D. 9115, 2004-14 I.R.B.680
2003-76
Modified by
Notice 2004-19, 2004-11 I.R.B.606
2004–2
Modified by
Notice 2004–25, 2004–15 I.R.B.727
Proposed Regulations:
REG-110896-98
Corrected by
Ann. 2004-14, 2004-10 I.R.B.582
REG-115037-00
Corrected by
Ann. 2004-7, 2004-4 I.R.B.365
REG-138499-02
Partially withdrawn by
REG-106590-00, 2004-14 I.R.B.704
REG-143321-02
Withdrawn by
REG-156232-03, 2004-5 I.R.B.399
REG-146893-02
Corrected by
Ann. 2004-7, 2004-4 I.R.B.365
REG-163974-02
Corrected by
Ann. 2004-13, 2004-9 I.R.B.543
REG-166012-02
Corrected by
Ann. 2004-40, 2004-17 I.R.B.840
Revenue Procedures:
87-19
Obsoleted in part by
Rev. Proc. 2004-18, 2004-9 I.R.B.529
93-15
Obsoleted in part by
Rev. Proc. 2004-18, 2004-9 I.R.B.529
94-41
Superseded by
Rev. Proc. 2004-15, 2004-7 I.R.B.490
94-55
Obsoleted in part by
Rev. Proc. 2004-18, 2004-9 I.R.B.529
98-16
Suspended by
Notice 2004-12, 2004-10 I.R.B.556
2000-38
Modified by
Rev. Proc. 2004-11, 2004-3 I.R.B.311
2000-50
Modified by
Rev. Proc. 2004-11, 2004-3 I.R.B.311
2001-10
Modified by
Ann. 2004-16, 2004-13 I.R.B.668
2001-23
Modified by
Ann. 2004-16, 2004-13 I.R.B.668
2002-9
Modified and amplified by
Rev. Rul. 2004-18, 2004-8 I.R.B.509
Rev. Proc. 2004-23, 2004-16 I.R.B.785
Modified by
Rev. Proc. 2004-11, 2004-3 I.R.B.311
Ann. 2004-16, 2004-13 I.R.B.668
2002-28
Modified by
Ann. 2004-16, 2004-13 I.R.B.668
2002-71
Superseded by
Rev. Proc. 2004-13, 2004-4 I.R.B.335
2003-1
Superseded by
Rev. Proc. 2004-1, 2004-1 I.R.B.1
2003-2
Superseded by
Rev. Proc. 2004-2, 2004-1 I.R.B.83
2003-3
As amplified by Rev. Proc. 2003-14, and as
modified by Rev. Proc. 2003-48 superseded by
Rev. Proc. 2004-3, 2004-1 I.R.B.114
Revenue Procedures— Continued:
2003-4
Superseded by
Rev. Proc. 2004-4, 2004-1 I.R.B.125
2003-5
Superseded by
Rev. Proc. 2004-5, 2004-1 I.R.B.167
2003-6
Superseded by
Rev. Proc. 2004-6, 2004-1 I.R.B.197
2003-7
Superseded by
Rev. Proc. 2004-7, 2004-1 I.R.B.237
2003-8
Superseded by
Rev. Proc. 2004-8, 2004-1 I.R.B.240
2003-23
Modified and superseded by
Rev. Proc. 2004-14, 2004-7 I.R.B.489
2003-26
Supplemented by
Rev. Proc. 2004-17, 2004-10 I.R.B.562
2003-29
Obsoleted, except as provided in section 5.02, by
Rev. Proc. 2004-24, 2004-16 I.R.B.790
2003-64
Modified by
Rev. Proc. 2004-21, 2004-14 I.R.B.702
2004-1
Corrected by
Ann. 2004-8, 2004-6 I.R.B.441
2004-4
Modified by
Rev. Proc. 2004-15, 2004-7 I.R.B.490
2004-5
Modified by
Rev. Proc. 2004-15, 2004-7 I.R.B.490
2004-6
Modified by
Rev. Proc. 2004-15, 2004-7 I.R.B.490
Revenue Rulings:
55-748
Modified and superseded by
Rev. Rul. 2004-20, 2004-10 I.R.B.546
92-19
Supplemented in part by
Rev. Rul. 2004-14, 2004-8 I.R.B.511
94-38
Clarified by
Rev. Rul. 2004-18, 2004-8 I.R.B.509
1
A cumulative list of current actions on previously published items in Internal Revenue Bulletins 2003–27 through 2003–52 is in Internal Revenue Bulletin 2003–52, dated December 29,
2003.
2004-18 I.R.B.ivMay 3, 2004

Revenue Rulings— Continued:
98-25
Clarified by
Rev. Rul. 2004-18, 2004-8 I.R.B.509
2004-38
Modified by
Rev. Proc. 2004-22, 2004-15 I.R.B.727
Treasury Decisions:
9088
Corrected by
Ann. 2004-39, 2004-17 I.R.B.840
May 3, 2004v2004-18 I.R.B.
*U.S. Government Printing Office: 2004—304–778/60133