The IRS has provided an early release of increases to user fees for certain letter ruling and determination letter requests submitted with Employee Plans Rulings and Agreements that are scheduled to take effect on January 4, 2021.
Typically, user fees are announced in the IRS’s annual updates to its revenue procedures. However, for 2021, the IRS is giving advance notice of several fee increases affecting employee plans. Employers may wish to submit determination letter requests before the end of this year to take advantage of the lower 2020 filing fees.
According to IRS Announcement 2020-14, user fees for the following types of letter ruling and determination letter requests will increase in 2021 as follows:
| User Fee Type | Current User Fee | New User Fee eff. 1/4/21 |
| Letter ruling request for five-year automatic extension of the amortization period | $1,000 | $6,500 |
| Form 5300 (Application for Determination for Employee Benefit Plan) | $2,500 | $2,700 |
| Form 5307 (Application for Determination for Adopters of Modified Volume Submitter Plans) | $800 | $1,000 |
| Form 5310 (Application for Determination for Terminating Plan | $3,000 | $3,500 |
