IRS Announces Phase 2 of Pre-Examination Compliance Pilot Program

Recently, the IRS announced phase two of its expansion of the Pre-Examination Compliance Pilot Program. Under the pilot program, an employer may limit or entirely avoid an impending IRS audit if they promptly correct any identified errors via the IRS’s Self Correction Program (SCP). During phase two, the IRS will notify employers by letter that their retirement plan was selected for upcoming examination. The employer then has 90 days to review their plan’s documents and operations to determine if they meet current tax code requirements.

If the employer identifies any errors, they may self-correct the errors under the SCP. Errors that aren’t eligible for correction under the SCP can be corrected by requesting a closing agreement, and the IRS will use the favorable Voluntary Correction Program fee structure to determine the sanction amount payable.