IRS Updates Retirement Plan Corrections and Creates a New Correction System for IRAs
Two new IRS revenue procedures update plan corrections, create the IRA Compliance Resolution System, and move certain rollover waiver requests to it.
What the IRS announced
On October 22, 2026, the Department of the Treasury and the IRS issued two revenue procedures. One updates the correction program for employee retirement plans. The other creates a new correction program for Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs). The IRS says both are meant to fix simple errors faster and with less burden on taxpayers.
Revenue Procedure 2026-34: updated plan corrections
Revenue Procedure 2026-34 expands the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS). It replaces and restructures Revenue Procedure 2021-30, which plan sponsors had used to make plan corrections. The IRS says this procedure is effective on the day it was issued.
EPCRS includes three programs: the Self-Correction Program, the Voluntary Correction Program, and the Audit Closing Agreement Program. Together, they let sponsors of qualified plans, section 403(b) plans, SEP arrangements, and SIMPLE IRA plans make corrections and keep providing retirement benefits on a tax-favored basis.
Revenue Procedure 2026-33: a new IRA correction system
Revenue Procedure 2026-33 establishes the IRA Compliance Resolution System, called ICRS. It is modeled after the employee plan procedure. The IRS notes that the system was enacted as part of the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022.
Under ICRS, IRA custodians and IRA owners can request correction of certain eligible inadvertent failures caused by service-provider errors. The IRS says ICRS is effective May 1, 2027.
Rollover waivers move to ICRS
ICRS also gives retirement plan participants and IRA owners a process to request a waiver of the 60-day rollover requirement. That rule requires a rollover to another plan or IRA to be made within 60 days of the distribution from the first plan or IRA.
Right now, these waiver requests must be submitted as private letter ruling requests. The IRS says they will be moved to ICRS over the course of 2027 and 2028.
Existing self-certification options still apply
The existing automatic waiver and self-certification procedures remain available at no cost. They apply to taxpayers who meet the requirements under Revenue Procedures 2020-46, 2016-47, and 2003-16.
What to tell your clients
- Ask whether any retirement plan or IRA may contain an error. The programs cover certain simple problems, not every mistake.
- If a service provider caused an IRA error, ask the custodian or owner to review ICRS once it takes effect on May 1, 2027.
- If a client missed the 60-day rollover deadline, the current private letter ruling route still applies. The IRS says waiver requests will transition to ICRS over 2027 and 2028, so check the current process before advising.
- Clients who sponsor a SEP or SIMPLE IRA plan should review EPCRS, since the updated procedure applies to those arrangements.
- Treasury and the IRS invite public comments on both programs. Each revenue procedure lists the issues where comments are especially wanted, the submission instructions, and the due dates.
This article summarizes the announcement only. Before advising a client, read Revenue Procedures 2026-33 and 2026-34 on IRS.gov and review the IRS FAQs on correcting plan errors, individual retirement arrangements, and waivers of the 60-day rollover requirement.
Informational only, based on the IRS source linked above; not tax or legal advice for a specific situation.