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IRS Issues 2023 Required Amendments List
Practical Law Legal Update w-041-6725 (Approx. 4 pages)
IRS Issues 2023 Required Amendments List
by Practical Law Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation
| Published on 11 Dec 2023 • USA (National/Federal) |
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Notice 2023-79, which provides the 2023 Required Amendments List for qualified retirement plans and Section 403(b) retirement plans.
On December 8, 2023, the IRS issued Notice 2023-79, which provides the 2023 Required Amendments List for qualified retirement plans and Section 403(b) retirement plans. The notice states that the 2023 Required Amendments List has no entries listing changes in qualification requirements for retirement plans.
Required Amendments List
IRS Revenue Procedure 2016-37 eliminated the staggered five-year remedial amendment cycles for individually designed retirement plans (see Legal Update, IRS Provides Determination Letter Guidance in Revenue Procedure 2016-37).
The Revenue Procedure also announced that the IRS intends to publish annually a Required Amendments List, which will:
- List the statutory and administrative changes in qualification requirements that require a plan amendment and become effective during the plan year in which the list is published.
- Establish the deadline for a plan to be amended to comply with the requirements that are identified on the list.
The Required Amendments List has two parts:
- Part A, which provides the changes in requirements that generally would require an amendment to most plans or most plans of the type affected by the change.
- Part B, which provides the changes in requirements that the Treasury Department and the IRS anticipate will not require amendments in most plans, but might require an amendment because of an unusual plan provision in a particular plan.
The Treasury Department and the IRS anticipate that few plans have language that will need to be amended for annual, monthly, or other periodic changes to:
- The various dollar limits that are adjusted for cost of living increases as provided in Code Section 415(d) (26 U.S.C. § 415(d)).
- The spot segment rates used to determine the applicable interest rate under Code Section 417(e)(3) (26 U.S.C. § 417(e)(3)).
- The applicable mortality table under Code Section 417(e)(3) (26 U.S.C. § 417(e)(3)).
These changes are treated as included on the Required Amendments List for the year in which the changes are effective even though they are not directly referenced on that year's Required Amendments List.
The Required Amendments List does not include:
- Guidance that is issued or legislation that is enacted after the Required Amendments List is prepared.
- Statutory changes in requirements for which the Treasury Department and the IRS expect to issue guidance.
- Changes in requirements that permit (but do not require) optional plan provisions.
- Changes in the tax laws affecting qualified plans or 403(b) plans that do not change the requirements under Code Section 401(a) (26 U.S.C. § 401(a)) or Code Section 403(b) (26 U.S.C. § 403(b)).
Notice 2023-79
Notice 2023-79 states that the 2023 Required Amendments List does not include any entries listing changes in qualification requirements for retirement plans.
Practical Implications
Retirement plan sponsors should be aware that there are no entries listing changes in qualification requirements on the 2023 Required Amendments List.
For more information on qualified retirement plan amendments for individually designed plans for the 2023 plan year, see Article, Required 2023 Qualified Retirement Plan Amendments.