Anybody know of IRS 403(b) audits of school districts now taking place

[Guest geekster]

This message concerns the IRS' announced plan to begin auditing school districts, etc., to ensure that they are complying with the statutory requirements re 403(B)'s. I first became aware of this plan of the IRS in December of 1999 when I heard IRS agent Robert Architect speak on it.

Has anyone out there actually been audited? Has anyone made use of the IRS' voluntary compliance program? Is this something I should stop losing sleep over?

[Guest bstarr@metlife.com]

I've been told recently that Los Angeles Unified IS being audited currently, at least @ the C.C. level.

[smm]

IRS officials at the ALI-ABA conference in Washington, DC this month confirmed that this was an audit area. I would not lose sleep over it. I would conduct a self audit and if there are issues, evaluate the cost of self-correction under TVC. The purpose of the TVC and other amnesty programs is to encourage self correction. I have done several and have been very pleased with the results.

[Guest Harvey Carruth]

Since you are in Illinois, you may be especially interested to know that Jeff Taggart, Business Manager at Evanston Township High School District, reported at the ASBO Meeting in Minneapolis earlier this month on an IRS Audit that has taken place there. This is a district of some 500 employees located near Chicago.

It is true that Los Angeles Unified School District is undergoing an audit now. Other audits that are either underway or recently completed include Cherry Creek in Colorado and Salem-Keizer in Oregon.

The first IRS audit of a school district's 403(B) plan was at St. Paul Public Schools in St. Paul Minnesota. This audit was of calendar year 1995 and occurred mostly during 1997. Lois Rockney reported on this audit at an annual meeting of ASBO several years ago. About the same time as the St. Paul audit, four other Minnesota school districts were audited: Roseville; Hutchinson; Brooklyn Center; and Minnetonka.

I, too, am interested in learning of other audits that have been completed, are currently underway, or are under notification to begin.

[Ellie Lowder]

Two Orange County schools/one in Northern CA. are taking place - audits also reported in Virginia and Florida, among others. I am told about 40 are underway in public schools - not sure how accurate that is, however! Self-correction hasn't become popular yet - probably because most public school employers did not, until recently, have any kind of compliance procedures in place!

[Guest Harvey Carruth]

Actually, I am more interested in specific, named employers that have been, are being, or will be audited. I realize that the IRS will not release such information and that attorneys and consultants must protect the confidentiality of their clients. However, when the general public knows that a specific employer has been, is being, or will be audited (e.g., by attending a presentation on such an audit by the employer's own personnel at a local, regional, or national professional meeting), then it seems reasonable to share such information with other interested parties, as I did in my earlier post to this thread.