As a plan sponsor or benefit professional, finding the right information on the IRS website can be a daunting task. To help streamline your search, we’ve compiled a list of the most useful IRS webpages that provide crucial benefit-related information.
- Forms, Instructions, and Publications. You can view, download, and order IRS forms, instructions, and publications on this webpage: https://www.irs.gov/forms-instructions
- Internal Revenue Bulletins (IRBs). These weekly bulletins include IRS announcements, notices, revenue procedures, revenue rulings, regulations, and other items of general interest: https://www.irs.gov/internal-revenue-bulletins
- Drop Library. IRS announcements, notices, revenue procedures, and revenue rulings usually appear in the IRS Drop Library before they are published in an IRB: https://www.irs.gov/downloads/irs-drop
- Information Letters. Information letters provide general statements of well-defined law without applying them to a specific set of facts. They are issued by the IRS National Office in response to requests for general information from taxpayers or congressional offices. Although information letters are only advisory and have no binding effect on the IRS, they can be helpful in understanding the IRS’s position on the issues that they cover: https://www.irs.gov/information-letters
- Written Determinations. This webpage provides access to private letter rulings (PLRs), technical advice memoranda (TAMs), and chief counsel advice (CCA). PLRs are rulings or determinations from the IRS Office of Chief Counsel that interpret and apply tax laws to a specific set of facts and are furnished in response to taxpayer requests. TAMs are written memoranda that the IRS Office of Chief Counsel furnishes in response to an IRS director or chief appeals officer request. CCA materials are written advice or instructions that the IRS Office of Chief Counsel prepares and issues to other IRS employees. These written determinations cannot be used or cited as precedent, but they are helpful in determining the IRS’s position, often on very specific facts: https://www.irs.gov/written-determinations
Other helpful IRS webpages include the following:
- IRS Newsroom. The latest news releases, fact sheets, and other IRS-related news items are available here: https://www.irs.gov/newsroom
- News Release and Fact Sheet Archive. This archive contains news releases and fact sheets issued from 2002 to the present: https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/news-release-and-fact-sheet-archive
- Topics in the News. Look here for information about items of current interest, such as new programs, recent guidance, or timely reminders: https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/topics-in-the-news
- Priority Guidance Plan. These documents provide information about regulations, revenue rulings, revenue procedures, notices, and other guidance that the IRS and Treasury Department expect to work on during a particular period: https://www.irs.gov/privacy-disclosure/priority-guidance-plan
- Frequently Asked Tax Questions and Answers. You’ll find FAQs regarding a broad array of tax categories here, as well as a search feature: https://www.irs.gov/faqs
- Affordable Care Act (ACA) Tax Provisions. This webpage provides information about ACA tax provisions for which the IRS has issued regulations or other guidance: https://www.irs.gov/affordable-care-act/affordable-care-act-tax-provisions
- ACA Information Center for Applicable Large Employers (ALEs). This webpage helps employers determine whether they are ALEs and provides helpful links to applicable IRS resources: https://www.irs.gov/affordable-care-act/employers/aca-information-center-for-applicable-large-employers-ales
- ACA Information Returns (AIR). This webpage provides information about electronic filing of returns and transmittals required under the ACA: https://www.irs.gov/e-file-providers/affordable-care-act-information-returns-air
- Tax Information for Retirement Plans. This is the IRS’s home page for retirement plan information, with links to recent developments and guidance, newsletters, and other retirement plan administration resources: https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans
Keep in mind that other agency websites also provide useful and important benefits-related information. For example, the DOL’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) website is also helpful and can be accessed at https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa.
By utilizing these resources, you can efficiently navigate the IRS website and stay informed about the latest developments in employee benefits.
Source: Thomson Reuters