1. Introduction: What is Form 14568-A?

IRS Form 14568-A, officially titled Schedule 1 (Form 14568-A) – Model VCP Compliance Statement: Plan Document Failures for 403(b) Plans, is a specialized compliance schedule published by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). It is administered by the Employee Plans (EP) division under the IRS Tax Exempt and Government Entities (TE/GE) Division.

This form serves as an attachment to Form 14568 (Model VCP Compliance Statement) under the IRS Voluntary Correction Program (VCP). It is used specifically by tax-exempt organizations and public schools that sponsor Section 403(b) retirement plans to formally disclose and correct plan document failures, such as failing to adopt a timely written plan or missing mandatory legal amendment deadlines.

2. Purpose of the Form: Why Does Form 14568-A Exist?

Federal tax regulations require every 403(b) retirement plan to be maintained pursuant to a written plan document that complies with all statutory requirements of the Internal Revenue Code. If a nonprofit organization or school fails to maintain a written plan or misses required tax law amendments, the plan loses its tax-advantaged status.

Form 14568-A provides a standardized, pre-approved framework to fix these document errors. It solves major problems for plan sponsors and participants:

Preventing Plan Disqualification: A defective 403(b) plan risks losing tax-sheltered status, which would make all employee contributions and accrued earnings immediately taxable. Form 14568-A preserves the plan’s tax benefits.
Streamlined Model Correction: Rather than drafting complex custom legal submissions, employers can use this standardized schedule to adopt retroactive plan amendments recognized by the IRS.
Legal Finality: When approved by the IRS, the compliance statement provides binding protection confirming that the IRS will not disqualify the 403(b) plan due to the disclosed document errors.

3. Who Needs to File This Form?

Form 14568-A is completed by employers sponsoring 403(b) retirement plans who discover document defects. You need to use this form if you meet the following criteria:

You are an eligible 403(b) sponsor—such as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit, public school system, state college, university, or hospital.
Your plan failed to adopt a written 403(b) plan document on or before December 31, 2009, or failed to adopt a written plan upon the initial establishment of the plan.
Your plan missed statutory deadlines to adopt mandatory interim amendments required by changing federal tax legislation.
Your plan failed to adopt an IRS-approved pre-approved plan document by the close of the initial 403(b) remedial amendment window (Cycle 1, which closed June 30, 2020) or subsequent restatement deadlines.
You are submitting a formal VCP application through Pay.gov using Form 8950 and master Form 14568.

4. Who Is Exempt / Not Required to File?

Form 14568-A is tailored exclusively to document failures in 403(b) retirement plans. You are not required or eligible to use this schedule in the following situations:

Qualified Plans (401(k) and 401(a)): For-profit corporations and employers sponsoring 401(a) or 401(k) plans with document failures must use Form 14568-B instead.
Compliant 403(b) Plans: Sponsors that have timely adopted all written plans, required interim amendments, and pre-approved restatements have no need for this form.
Church Plans Without Written Document Rules: Certain non-electing church plans that are exempt from the written plan document regulations do not need to correct under this schedule.
Purely Operational Failures: If your 403(b) plan has an up-to-date document but experienced day-to-day administrative errors (such as loan failures or missed required minimum distributions), you must use other VCP schedules like Form 14568-E or Form 14568-H.
Plans Under IRS Examination: If the IRS has notified your organization that the 403(b) plan is under audit, you are barred from VCP and must resolve document failures through the Audit Closing Agreement Program (Audit CAP).

5. When to File: Deadlines and Frequency

Form 14568-A is an event-based filing. It is not submitted annually, but rather on an as-needed basis whenever plan document defects are discovered.

The submission must occur before the IRS notifies the employer that the plan is under examination. Once the IRS issues an audit notice, the opportunity to use the lower fees and standardized terms of VCP is lost. After the IRS approves the VCP submission and issues the executed compliance statement, the plan sponsor generally has 150 calendar days to formally execute all retroactive plan documents and amendments.

6. Where and How to File

Form 14568-A cannot be mailed as a standalone paper form. It must be processed digitally through the federal government’s payment and filing portal:

Pay.gov Submission: Complete Form 14568-A as part of your master Form 14568 package. The completed PDF forms, proposed retroactive amendments, and supporting documentation must be uploaded together through Pay.gov when completing Form 8950.
User Fee: Pay the mandatory VCP user fee electronically on Pay.gov at the time of submission. The fee amount is based on the total net assets held by the 403(b) plan.
Supplemental Records: If the IRS Employee Plans specialist assigned to your case requests additional information, deliver documents via secure electronic channels or send them to the designated IRS address as per instructions provided by the agent.

7. Step-by-Step Instructions to Fill Form 14568-A

Form 14568-A is structured to guide the sponsor through failure identification, proposed retroactive remedies, and future internal controls. The table below highlights the primary sections.

Section	Title	Required Information
Header	Identifying Data	Plan name, Plan Sponsor EIN, and 3-digit Plan Number (on all pages).
Section I	Identification of Failures	Specific checkboxes indicating missing written plans, late interim amendments, or missed restatement deadlines.
Section II	Description of Correction	Confirmation of retroactive adoption of a compliant written plan or required missing amendments.
Section III	Administrative Procedures	Detailed narrative describing updated tracking systems and procedures to prevent future nonamender errors.
Section IV	Enclosures	List of attached proposed plan documents, specimen contracts, and board resolutions.

Header: Plan and Sponsor Information

Enter the full legal name of the 403(b) plan, the employer’s nine-digit Employer Identification Number (EIN), and the three-digit plan number (typically 001 for a single plan). This information must match your annual Form 5500 filings and must appear at the top of every page.

Section I: Identification of Failures

Select the specific document failures that occurred in your 403(b) plan:

Failure to Timely Adopt a Written Plan: Check this box if your organization failed to adopt a written 403(b) plan on or before December 31, 2009, or when the plan was first created.
Failure to Timely Adopt Interim Amendments: Check this box if the plan missed legal amendment deadlines for specific federal legislation (such as disaster relief acts or pension reform statutes).
Failure to Adopt a Pre-Approved Plan: Check this box if the sponsor intended to adopt an IRS-approved prototype or volume submitter 403(b) plan by the close of the Cycle 1 remedial amendment window but failed to execute the documents timely.

Section II: Description of Proposed Method of Correction

Under this section, confirm the standardized correction method. The employer must adopt an IRS-approved pre-approved plan document or an individually designed written 403(b) plan retroactively to the date the document or amendment was originally required. The correction affirms that all plan operations conformed to the terms of the retroactively adopted document.

Section III: Revision of Administrative Procedures

You must provide a concrete, written narrative explaining the new management practices your organization has implemented to ensure future amendments are adopted on time. Examples include retaining an external Third-Party Administrator (TPA), subscribing to legal compliance tracking services, or adding recurring annual compliance reviews to executive board meeting agendas.

Section IV: Attachments and Enclosures

Assemble and check off all required enclosures. This includes a copy of the proposed retroactive plan document or amendments, copies of relevant board minutes, and a copy of the pre-approved plan’s IRS opinion letter if using a prototype document.

8. Required Documents and Information Needed Before Filling

Before preparing Form 14568-A, gather all relevant administrative and historical records for your 403(b) program:

Historical annuity contracts, custodial account agreements, and salary reduction agreements from all past and present investment vendors.
Any existing written plan documents, committee charters, or board resolutions discussing retirement benefits.
The proposed compliant 403(b) plan document or retroactive amendments ready for execution.
The IRS Favorable Opinion Letter for the pre-approved plan document being adopted (if applicable).
Completed master Form 14568 and Form 8950.
Form 2848 (Power of Attorney) if an employee benefits attorney or consulting firm is handling the submission.

9. Common Mistakes to Avoid

Because Form 14568-A is an official model schedule, altering its terms can cause processing delays or rejection. Avoid these common mistakes:

Altering Model Language: The text of Form 14568-A is pre-approved by the IRS. Modifying, striking through, or rewriting the boilerplate text will cause the IRS to reject the submission as a non-standard application.
Using the Wrong Schedule: Do not use Form 14568-A for a 401(k) plan. Form 14568-A is strictly reserved for Section 403(b) tax-sheltered annuity arrangements.
Failing to Provide a Specific Prevention Narrative: Section III requires practical details. Merely stating that the human resources department will “monitor the law” is insufficient and will prompt an IRS request for additional information.
Forgetting to Execute Documents After Approval: Submitting the proposed plan document to the IRS is only the first step. Once the IRS issues the signed compliance statement, the employer must formally sign and date the retroactive document within 150 days.
Omitting Vendor Coordination Language: A 403(b) plan consists of both the overarching plan document and underlying vendor contracts. Ensure your retroactively adopted document accurately references all active and former investment providers.

10. Penalties for Non-Filing or Errors

Failing to correct 403(b) plan document defects can lead to disastrous consequences if discovered during an IRS Employee Plans examination:

Loss of Section 403(b) Tax Status: The entire plan can be disqualified. As a result, all elective deferrals and employer contributions made during open tax years lose tax-deferred status.
Tax Liability for Participants: Employees face immediate tax liability on all contributions and earnings, potentially triggering back taxes and interest for hospital workers, teachers, or nonprofit employees.
Employer Employment Tax Liabilities: The sponsoring organization may become liable for unpaid federal income tax withholding and payroll taxes on reclassified contributions.
High Audit Sanctions: If corrected during an audit under Audit CAP, the employer must pay negotiated monetary sanctions that are drastically higher than the standard VCP user fee.

11. Related Forms or Schedules

Form 14568-A operates as part of an integrated collection of EPCRS compliance documents:

Form 14568: Model VCP Compliance Statement (the master agreement).
Form 14568-B: Schedule 2 – Nonamender Failures for 401(a) Plans.
Form 8950: Application for Voluntary Correction Program (VCP) Submission.
Form 8951: Additional User Fee Payment for Open VCP Request.
Form 5500 / 5500-SF: Annual Return/Report of Employee Benefit Plan.
Form 2848: Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative.

12. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What is the difference between Form 14568-A and Form 14568-B?

Form 14568-A is used exclusively for 403(b) plans sponsored by tax-exempt nonprofits and public schools. Form 14568-B is used for 401(a) and 401(k) qualified retirement plans sponsored by commercial or private employers.

2. Can a public school district use Form 14568-A?

Yes. Public educational organizations are eligible sponsors of 403(b) plans and can use Form 14568-A to resolve missing written plan document issues or late amendment adoptions.

3. What is the deadline to sign the plan document once the IRS approves Form 14568-A?

The employer must formally execute and adopt the retroactive plan document or amendments within 150 calendar days from the date stamped on the approved IRS compliance statement.

4. Does filing Form 14568-A fix operational errors like missed deferrals?

No. Form 14568-A only fixes document failures (nonamender and missing written plan defects). Operational errors must be disclosed on master Form 14568 or other applicable schedules, such as Form 14568-G or Form 14568-H.

5. Can I self-correct a 403(b) plan document failure without filing Form 14568-A?

Under current EPCRS guidelines, significant plan document failures generally cannot be self-corrected under the Self-Correction Program (SCP). Sponsors must submit a formal VCP application with Form 14568-A to obtain binding IRS approval.

6. What is the IRS user fee for submitting Form 14568-A?

The VCP user fee is based on the total net assets held by the 403(b) plan at the time of submission, ranging from $1,500 for small plans to $3,500 for large plans, paid directly through Pay.gov.

13. Conclusion: Key Takeaways

IRS Form 14568-A provides a secure, structured mechanism for 403(b) plan sponsors to correct missing plan documents and late amendments. By utilizing this standardized schedule under the Voluntary Correction Program, nonprofit organizations and educational institutions can restore full tax compliance, protect their employees’ retirement savings, and prevent plan disqualification.

Because retroactively adopting retirement plan documents requires strict adherence to federal regulations and coordination with investment providers, 403(b) sponsors should work closely with an experienced benefits attorney, CPA, or retirement plan consultant when completing the Form 14568-A submission package.

IRS Form 14568-A Guide: 403(b) Plan Document Failure Rules