Form 5307 Status

[BTH]

As part of the EGTRRA restatements, we filed and received favorable determination letters some time ago for all of our clients...except for one. We filed the Form 5307, etc. in early 2010 and received the standard acknowledgement letter from the IRS dated 2/12/2010. And that is the last we heard from the IRS -- no follow-up, no determination letter. So, I called the 1-877-829-5500 number earlier this year and was told that the review was "in progress." I was able to have the representative put it for review by a supervisor, who I was told I could expect to hear from within 30 days. Naturally, I never received a call. Two months go by and I called the number again and get the same "review in progress" answer. On 5/3/2011, I sent a fax to (513) 263-4330 number shown on the IRS website to request copies of EP Determination Letterss or case files. It's mid-June and I still haven't been contacted.

As this point, I'm sure it's just gathering dust somewhere or has been completely lost. As noted, it was received by the IRS and the client paid the $300 User Fee, so if we had to re-submit things because it's been lost, then we would do so. But I can't seem to get an answer on what happened here. Does anyone have any ideas on the best way to contact to the IRS to get information on a 5307 filing?

Thanks.

[mming]

I've had similar situations in the past regarding status requests with different IRS departments. What usually happened was I would call several times, each time being told that they would look into it, and sometimes asking me to put the request in writing. When pressed to have a callback with any info, I was told that they couldn't guarantee someone would call, and, of course, they didn't. As you probably are aware, you can never be transferred to a supervisor, although once I was transferred for an actuarial audit (but that was many years ago).

Unfortunately, you're probably right in your suspicion that it's not being worked on. My experience has been that after several follow ups I eventually talk to someone who says they don't have any record of it and the whole process should be restarted, which would lead to a discussion about the cashed user fee check (I'm assuming they cashed it and the client has the cancelled check). Wish I had a better solution, but you may just have to keep following up until you get someone who knows or cares enough to give you a meaningful answer. Although between the acknowledgement letter and the cancelled check you have solid evidence it was submitted, I would guess that when it comes time to restate again, they would expect you to submit the application assuming no FDL was issued, so I would keep following up and not let it slide. Hope it all works out.

[BTH]

In the end, I decided to send a letter to the IRS Director of EP Rulings & Agreements in Washington, detailing my attempts to find out the status of the 5307 filing. I also included copies of the original filing, attachments, etc. Not long after, I received a call from his office indicating that it had been referred to the appropriate party in Cincinnati. The same day, I received a call from a representative in Cincinnati with finally an answer to my long standing inquiry. The Plan in question (along with others) had been transferred to the Federal Records Center, was supposed to have been issued a determination letter, but wasn't for some reason. By the next day, they had re-acquired the filing and shortly after, actually issued the favorable determination letter. Each individual that I spoke to at the IRS over the past couple of weeks was very helpful in resolving the matter. Hopefully, this will be of help to anyone else who encounters a similar problem.

[mming]

That's great news! Where can I find the name and address of the Director, or would you mind posting it? Thanks!