The new IRS IRA Compliance Resolution System (ICRS) is a formal correction program for certain IRA mistakes, and it qualifies an IRA owner — including an inherited-IRA beneficiary, estate or trust — or the IRA custodian. It covers traditional, Roth, SEP and SIMPLE IRAs.
The IRS established ICRS in Revenue Procedure 2026-33, announced in news release IR-2026-126 on Oct. 22, 2026, with effectiveness May 1, 2027, according to the Internal Revenue Service in the IRS news release. Congress required the program in SECURE 2.0 Act Section 305(c) to expand correction relief to IRA custodians, according to Current Federal Tax Developments in its technical analysis.
Official resources:
- Read the official guidance from Irs — Use this primary source to verify the official guidance.
- Read the official notice from Currentfederaltaxdevelopments — Use this primary source to verify the official announcement.
Table of Contents
- Which accounts and people qualify?
- Which four mistakes does it cover?
- Do you need a custodian or adviser error?
- How do you apply?
- What do you gain, and what should you try first?
Which accounts and people qualify?
An applicant must be the IRA owner or the custodian. Owner includes a living owner, an inherited-IRA beneficiary, and an estate or trust that holds the IRA.
The account must be a traditional, Roth, SEP or SIMPLE IRA. Employer plans and other retirement accounts are outside this program.
- owner filing for own traditional, Roth, SEP or SIMPLE IRA
- inherited-IRA beneficiary, estate, or trust filing for inherited IRA
- custodian filing for an IRA it holds
Which four mistakes does it cover?
ICRS covers only four failures. A missed required minimum distribution means the yearly withdrawal was not taken on time.
The other three are an IRA opened as the wrong type, a nonspouse beneficiary paid a taxable distribution instead of a direct trustee transfer, and a missed 60-day rollover. If the problem is not one of these four, ICRS does not apply.
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Do you need a custodian or adviser error?
Three failures require causation by a service-provider error. The definition includes custodians plus CPAs and licensed attorneys.
A missed 60-day rollover waiver does not require provider fault. That distinction matters because an owner error alone will not support the other three cases.
How do you apply?
At launch ICRS offers only the IRA Voluntary Correction Program (IVCP) filed on Pay.gov with Form 15443. Self-correction is expressly unavailable and paper filings are not permitted.
That means the applicant must prepare the electronic filing and wait for IRS review. There is no do-it-yourself fix under ICRS that preserves relief without IRS approval.
What do you gain, and what should you try first?
An approved IVCP filing yields a signed IRS compliance statement that preserves the IRA's tax-favored status and relieves listed income and excise taxes if correction terms are completed, according to Mercer Street in its ICRS summary. The protection depends on completing every term in the statement.
The ordinary IVCP fee is $3,500 for filings before Jan. 1, 2028, so free routes such as 60-day self-certification and Form 5329 RMD penalty waivers remain the practical first step, according to the CrowdfundedWealth research note in its fee and filing breakdown. From 2028, 60-day waivers are expected only through ICRS.
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