Which code section and/or treasury regulation calls for a definitely determinable allocation; which section calls for a complete plan document?

[Guest Enda80]

What section of the code or treasury regulations dictates a definitely determinable allocation, and which section cals for a complete plan document?

What sections of the code or which treasury regulation call for, respectively, a complete plan document and a definitely determinable allocation?

[J Simmons]

Treas Reg §§ 1.401-1(a)(2) and (b)(1).

[Jim Chad]

j Simmons:

I have a question for you. How did you find this? Do you use a computer or books or??...

We are a small CPA firm and we have a service we load to our network every month. If I know the code section, I can navigate to it just fine. But I almost never am able to find a topic using the search features.

[Guest Sieve]

Jim --

I don't want to answer for John, but it probably is his basic familiarity with the regs and knowing where certain issues are located within them. At least that's how it is for me when I'm looking for something in the regs. And that comes with significant usage of the regs and significant age!!

It would also help if you had a good secondary source for starting your search--such as CCH Pension Plan Guide, Tripodi's volumes, etc.--so that you could look something up by topic in an index or table of contects and probably find a citation to a Code or reg. section within the discussion of that topic.

Otherwise, navigating Code, ERISA or regs is a nightmare--and often is even with help.

[GBurns]

Enda80

Is there some reason why ERISA is of no concern ? In both questions, you only stated the code and treas regs.

I find that, for new people, the best places to start with are the IRS website and Google searches. For example the IRS EP Navigator gives booklets etc covering almost every aspect in a non-technical manner:

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-tege/online_navigator.pdf

I have heard that Tax Facts is helppful, bit my preference is BNA.

By the way having an incomplete or partial plan document seems somewhat like being only a little pregnant. How do you have a plan if there is no plan document ? What is being sponsored? What was adopted? What sets the rules and benefits etc, if there is no plan document sponsored or adopted ?