• FREE RESOURCES
        • Accounts Payable
          Finally! The trick to securing greater T&E compliance
          Benefits
          Rooting out folks who don’t belong on your health plan: A 6-point dependent audit checklist
          IT
          3 costly misconceptions about biz email compromise
          Credit and Collections
          Collecting via email: 4 must-make moves in your subject line
          Accounts Payable
          5 Tough-to-spot signs that an invoice is fake
  • PREMIUM CONTENT
        • Staff management
          120 Proven Communications Tips for Today’s CFO
        • Payroll
          Handling Nonexempt Employee Pay: Stay Compliant and Avoid DOL Audits
          Accounts Payable
          T&E Best Practices: Complete Guide to Ensure Compliance
          Payroll
          Payroll Best Practices: 4 Ways to Save Time and Money
        • Staff management
          Email Best Practices: A 6-Question Quiz
          Staff management
          Innovative Communications Strategies: An Email Case Study
          Staff management
          A 5-part Framework for Successful Workplace Communications
        • SEE MORE
          PREMIUM RESOURCES
  • CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES
  • LOGIN
  • SIGN UP FREE

CFO Daily News

  • FREE RESOURCES
        • Accounts Payable
          Finally! The trick to securing greater T&E compliance
          Benefits
          Rooting out folks who don’t belong on your health plan: A 6-point dependent audit checklist
          IT
          3 costly misconceptions about biz email compromise
          Credit and Collections
          Collecting via email: 4 must-make moves in your subject line
          Accounts Payable
          5 Tough-to-spot signs that an invoice is fake
  • PREMIUM CONTENT
        • Staff management
          120 Proven Communications Tips for Today’s CFO
        • Payroll
          Handling Nonexempt Employee Pay: Stay Compliant and Avoid DOL Audits
          Accounts Payable
          T&E Best Practices: Complete Guide to Ensure Compliance
          Payroll
          Payroll Best Practices: 4 Ways to Save Time and Money
        • Staff management
          Email Best Practices: A 6-Question Quiz
          Staff management
          Innovative Communications Strategies: An Email Case Study
          Staff management
          A 5-part Framework for Successful Workplace Communications
        • SEE MORE
          PREMIUM RESOURCES
  • CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES
  • Accounts Payable
  • Credit and Collections
  • Payroll
  • Accounting
  • Benefits
  • Finance Technology
  • More
    • Employment Law
    • Strategy
    • Policy and Culture
    • Fraud
    • Payments and Transactions
    • Budgeting and Forecasting
    • Banking
    • Staff Management
    • Cost Control
    • Supply Chain
    • IT

IRS updates key compliance program: What Finance needs to know

Jared Bilski
by Jared Bilski
December 13, 2017
  • Accounting
2 minute read
  • SHARE ON

You’ll want to take note of the IRS’s latest move regarding its Voluntary Correction Program (VCP).

The IRS just updated Form 8950 — and its instructions — for employer submissions under the VCP, which is a part of its larger Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS).

The VCP is one of three programs under the feds’ EPCRS and, like the name suggests, it allows employers to voluntarily correct plan errors to avoid costly fees and penalties.

In addition to the VCP, the IRS offers the following programs to correct errors:

  • The Self-Correction Program (SCP) – plans can correct the issues themselves without involving IRS, and
  • The Audit Closing Agreement Program (Audit CAP) – initiated by the IRS and allows plans under investigation to take certain IRS-approved steps, pay a penalty and enter a closing agreement.

Reflects changes made last year

The updated form was created to reflect changes the agency made to EPCRS that took effect on January 1, 2017, and the new Form 8950 and corresponding instructions has a revision date of November 2017.

Despite the revision , neither the new form nor the instructions specifically states when employers should start using the updated 8950. However, experts like the folks at the Employee Benefits Institute of America (EBIA) suggest employers begin using the updated form immediately.

Highlights of the changes

Some of the main changes in the updated form include:

  • Determination letter gets eliminated. The updated Form 8950 incorporates the changes made to EPCRS regarding determination letters. Prior to 2017, some VCP submissions required a determination letter submission. Now that requirement has been dropped.
  • Clarification on the signature line. The update offers more detail on who must sign Form 8950. Specifically, the signature line now says the form should be signed “by the owner of a sole proprietor or by an officer with legal authority to bind a corporation, partnerships, or organization.” The instructions also state the signature can be either electronic or handwritten.
  • “Compliance” fee becomes “User” fee. A subtle but important change for employers to take note of: The fee for the VCP is listed as a “user fee,” as opposed to the previous listing as a “compliance fee.”

Keep Up To Date with the Latest Finance News

With CFO Daily News arriving in your inbox, you will never miss critical stories on accounting, benefits, payroll & employment law strategies.

Sign up for a free CFO Daily News membership and get our newsletter!
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
CFO Daily News Logo
  • ABOUT CFO DAILY NEWS
  • ADVERTISE WITH US
  • WRITE FOR US
  • CONTACT
  • Accounting
  • Benefits
  • Payroll
  • Policy and Culture
  • Employment Law
  • Fraud
  • Finance Technology
  • Accounts Payable
  • Credit and Collections
  • Strategy
  • Payments and Transactions
  • Budgeting and Forecasting
  • Banking
  • Staff Management
  • Cost Control
  • Supply Chain
  • IT

CFO Daily News, part of the SuccessFuel Network, provides the latest Finance and employment law news for Finance professionals in the trenches of small-to-medium-sized businesses. Rather than simply regurgitating the day’s headlines, CFO Daily News delivers actionable insights, helping Finance execs understand what Finance trends mean to their business.

Privacy Policy Terms of Service
Copyright © 2021 SuccessFuel

WELCOME BACK!

Enter your username and password below to log in

Forget Your Username or Password?

Reset Password

Lost your password? Please enter your username or email address. You will receive a link to create a new password via email.

Log In

preloader