8950

Application for Voluntary Correction Program (VCP)

Agency
IRS
Revision
Rev. November 2017
Fillable fields
87
Pages
6
Official source
IRS form page
Checked
October 21, 2026
Fill 8950 online
Page 1 of form 8950

Form 8950: Application for Voluntary Correction Program (VCP)

Form 8950 is the Application for Voluntary Correction Program (VCP) under the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS). The IRS About page says it is filed as part of a VCP submission to request written approval from the IRS for correction of a qualified plan, 403(b) plan, SEP, SARSEP or SIMPLE IRA that has failed to comply with the applicable requirements of the Internal Revenue Code. It is filed by the employer or plan sponsor, a plan administrator or another eligible party, not by plan participants.

The PDF says Form 8950 is filed electronically only on Pay.gov, and the instructions say paper copies won't be accepted. The PDF is the November 2017 layout: plan sponsor and contact lines, plan details, yes or no eligibility questions and a Procedural Requirements Checklist. The instructions, revised in January 2022, describe the Pay.gov version, where some lines differ.

The PDF can be filled out free in the browser on this page and downloaded without an account. A filled PDF is not a filing: the application itself is completed on Pay.gov.

What's on Form 8950

Lines 1a to 1l: plan sponsor

Name, address, foreign address, employer identification number, telephone and fax numbers and the NAICS business code of the plan sponsor.

Lines 2a to 2g: contact person

A person to contact if more information is needed, with a box to check instead when a power of attorney is attached.

Signature

A penalties of perjury declaration covering the whole VCP submission, with the signer's typed or printed name and title.

Lines 3 to 5: submission and plan

Line 3 is the type of submission. Lines 4a to 4e ask for the plan name, 3-digit plan number, month the plan year ends, dollar value of plan assets and number of participants. Line 5 is a plan type code.

Lines 6 to 11: questions

Yes or no questions on Forms 14568-A through 14568-I schedules, retroactive plan amendments, abusive tax avoidance transactions, misuse of plan assets, examination status and a prior Form 5300 series application.

Procedural Requirements Checklist

Pages 4 to 6 list 26 items, such as Form 8951 and the user fee, the sponsor's EIN, and a description of each failure and its correction. The form says the checklist is optional but may help prevent delays.

How to fill out Form 8950

  1. 1

    Plan sponsor, lines 1a to 1l

    The instructions say to enter the plan sponsor's information even when a representative files, matching the filed Form 5500 series return. Line 1i is the nine-digit EIN, never a social security number or trust EIN.

  2. 2

    Contact, lines 2a to 2g

    If a Form 2848 is included, the instructions say this section may be left blank and the box checked. A Form 8821 is attached when copies of IRS correspondence should go to another person.

  3. 3

    Submission type, line 3

    The instructions say most submissions are regular VCP submissions. The 2017 PDF still lists an anonymous submission, but the instructions say the IRS no longer permits anonymous VCP submissions as of January 1, 2022.

  4. 4

    Plan details, lines 4 and 5

    Enter the full plan name and 3-digit plan number as used on Form 5500. The instructions say a SEP, SARSEP or SIMPLE IRA with no other plans enters 990, and plan type 99 needs an attached description.

  5. 5

    Questions, lines 6 to 11

    Answer each question yes or no. A yes on line 7 calls for copies of the corrective amendments, and a yes on line 8 calls for an explanation. On line 10 the form says a yes makes the submission ineligible for VCP.

  6. 6

    Sign, attach and pay

    On Pay.gov, the instructions say to check the box by the penalties of perjury statement, enter a name and title, attach one PDF of all submission documents of no more than 15MB, and pay the user fee.

These steps follow the PDF lines and the instructions. On Pay.gov some line numbers differ from the 2017 PDF.

Why fill Form 8950 on indox

You get the real form, filled in a browser tab, with nothing standing between you and the finished PDF.

  • Fill the form right in your browser, no software to install
  • Free to fill and free to download, with no account
  • The official blank straight from the IRS, not a copy someone retyped
  • Works on a phone, tablet or computer

How it is filed, fees and follow-up

Pay.gov only

The instructions say Form 8950 and related VCP documents are filed electronically only, through IRS.gov/Form8950 or Pay.gov, and paper copies won't be accepted.

User fee

A user fee is paid through Pay.gov when the application is filed. The instructions point to Appendix A of Rev. Proc. 2022-4 (or its annual successor) for current fees and list 877-829-5500.

PDF size and fax

The attached PDF can't exceed 15MB. Documents that don't fit may be faxed to 855-203-6996 after filing, with the Pay.gov Tracking ID Number, EIN, applicant name and plan name on the cover sheet.

Confirmation

The instructions say the Pay.gov payment confirmation receipt is the acknowledgment of the submission, and its Pay.gov Tracking ID Number is the IRS control number for the case.

Status inquiries

The instructions list 626-927-2011 (not a toll-free number) for status questions if the IRS has not made contact within 6 months of the submission date.

Additional fees

To pay an additional user fee on an open case, the instructions say not to file a new Form 8950 and to use Form 8951 on Pay.gov instead.

Related forms

Who files Form 8950?

  • Employers and plan sponsors

    In general, an employer or plan sponsor, including a sole proprietor, partnership or corporation. For a single-employer plan, the employer maintaining the plan signs.

  • Plan administrators

    For multiple employer or multiemployer plans, the plan administrator files rather than any contributing or adopting employer, and the submission covers the whole plan.

  • Eligible organizations

    An eligible organization, such as a provider, mass submitter or volume submitter practitioner, may make a group submission for a systemic error affecting at least 20 plans.

  • Eligible parties for orphan plans

    A court-appointed representative, a person or entity the Department of Labor determined accepted responsibility for the plan, or in some cases a surviving spouse who is the sole beneficiary.

  • Authorized representatives

    With specific authorization on Form 2848, a representative may sign and file for the plan sponsor. A representative may also use the form to request an anonymous pre-submission conference.

The instructions say Form 8950 and the VCP submission may be filed only by the parties they list. They also say that, generally, estates and beneficiaries may not file a VCP submission.

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Questions about Form 8950

Can Form 8950 be mailed on paper?

No. The PDF says Form 8950 is filed electronically only on Pay.gov, and the instructions say paper copies of the form and related VCP documents won't be accepted.

Who signs Form 8950?

The instructions list the employer maintaining a single-employer plan, the plan administrator of a multiple employer or multiemployer plan, the eligible organization for a group submission, or the eligible person for an orphan plan. For a corporation, partnership or organization, an officer or partner with legal authority to bind the plan sponsor signs.

Which plans does VCP cover?

The instructions say VCP is open to certain tax-favored retirement plans under sections 401(a), 403(a), 403(b), 408(k) or 408(p). Under limited circumstances, the IRS may also consider section 457(b) submissions outside of EPCRS on a provisional basis.

Can a VCP submission be anonymous?

The instructions say the IRS no longer permits anonymous VCP submissions as of January 1, 2022. An authorized representative may instead use Form 8950 to request a pre-submission conference on an anonymous basis.

What if the plan is under examination?

The instructions say correction under VCP isn't available if the plan or plan sponsor is under examination, and that Form 8950 and the VCP submission are to be submitted before that time.

How is the user fee figured?

The instructions say the fee on the Pay.gov form is calculated automatically from the type of submission or the plan assets entered. Current fees are in Appendix A of Rev. Proc. 2022-4 or its annual successor.

Why do the PDF lines differ from the instructions?

The PDF is the November 2017 revision, while the instructions were revised in January 2022 and describe the Pay.gov application. For example, the instructions describe lines 6a to 6c and pre-submission conference requests, which the 2017 PDF does not show.