Internal Revenue Service user fees

The Secretary shall establish a program requiring the payment of user fees for— The fees charged under the program required by subsection (a)— The Secretary shall provide for such exemptions (and reduced fees) under such program as the Secretary determines to be appropriate. The Secretary shall not require payment of user fees under such program for requests for determination letters with respect to the qualified status of a pension benefit plan maintained solely by 1 or more eligible employers or any trust which is part of the plan. The preceding sentence shall not apply to any request— made after the later of— For purposes of subparagraph (B)— The term “pension benefit plan” means a pension, profit-sharing, stock bonus, annuity, or employee stock ownership plan. The term “eligible employer” means an eligible employer (as defined in section 408(p)(2)(C)(i)(I)) which has at least 1 employee who is not a highly compensated employee (as defined in section 414(q)) and is participating in the plan. The determination of whether an employer is an eligible employer under subparagraph (B) shall be made as of the date of the request described in such subparagraph. For purposes of any determination of average fees charged, any request to which subparagraph (B) applies shall not be taken into account. The average fee charged under the program required by subsection (a) shall not be less than the amount determined under the following table: Average CategoryFee Employee plan ruling and opinion$250 Exempt organization ruling$350 Employee plan determination$300 Exempt organization determination$275 Chief counsel ruling$200. The fee charged under the program in connection with the certification by the Secretary of a professional employer organization under section 7705 shall be an annual fee not to exceed $1,000 per year.