IRS Offers Online Guide to Rollovers

July 27, 2006 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The Internal Revenue Service made an online resource available to guide individuals through the process of rolling their tax-deferred assets from one retirement plan to another.

The site provides information about how participants can waive the 60-day limit that retirement plan participants have to transfer all or part of their assets before losing their tax-deferred status. A request for a waiver must follow Revenue Procedure 2003-16 , 2003-1 C.B. 359, and a fee must be paid for each request.

According to the site, in order for the 60-day rollover limit to be automatically waived, an individual must meet all of the following requirements:

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  • The financial institution receives the funds on an individual’s behalf before the end of the 60-day rollover period.
  • All of the procedures set by the financial institution for depositing the funds into an eligible retirement plan within the 60-day period are followed (including giving instructions to deposit the funds into an eligible retirement plan).
  • The funds are not deposited into an eligible retirement plan within the 60-day rollover period solely because of an error on the part of the financial institution.
  • The funds are deposited into an eligible retirement plan within 1 year from the beginning of the 60-day rollover period.
  • It would have been a valid rollover if the financial institution had deposited the funds as instructed.

The IRS site also provides information on:

  • Special relief afforded by the Katrina Emergency Tax Relief Act of 2005.
  • A chart  summarizing the rollover rules as a general guide but should not be relied upon as a substitute for professional tax advice.
  • Guides on filing returns for Individual Retirement Arrangements; Retirement Plans for Small Businesses, Tax-Sheltered Annuity Plans (403(b) Plans) For Employees of Public Schools and Certain Tax-Exempt Organizations; and Pension and Annuity Income.

For more information, go here .

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