They were short on capacity and unsure whether Form 8717 still rode along with the application, how Pay.gov handled the payment, and where to send a confirmation. What they needed was not more hands, they needed an operating system that made the work dependable, fast, and review friendly.
That is the gap Accountably fills for firms like yours. We are a U.S.‑led offshore partner for CPA firms, EA practices, and multi‑office accounting groups that need production capacity without chaos. We build disciplined offshore delivery, so you can hit deadlines, protect quality, and keep your advisory pipeline moving.
Key takeaways
- Form 8717 is the IRS user fee form tied to employee plan determination letter applications, however for Forms 5310, 5300, 5307, and 5316 submitted on or after their e‑file effective dates, the user fee is paid inside Pay.gov and Form 8717 is used only for additional payments when required.
- Small‑employer exemption remains available. If you have 100 or fewer employees, each with $5,000+ prior‑year compensation, at least one non‑HCE participant, and you file within the allowed timing window, you complete only the certification on Form 8717 and no fee is due.
- Mailing addresses for any paper submissions or correspondence have shifted to the IRS Covington P.O. Box and Florence street address. Always confirm you are using the current addresses.
- For e‑filed determination applications, you pay at the end of the Pay.gov workflow, then provide any requested proof to your assigned Employee Plans Specialist.
- Accountably integrates trained offshore teams into your workflow, so production is predictable, reviews are faster, and partners get time back for client strategy.
The bottleneck is delivery, not demand. When production is disciplined, growth stops being scary and starts being repeatable.
Why delivery becomes the ceiling in firm growth
Partners can sell. Pipelines are healthy. Yet deadlines slip, reviews pile up, and teams burn out. Most firms do not struggle because of a lack of clients, they struggle because delivery breaks once growth accelerates. Common barriers we see when we audit a new client’s workflow:
- Capacity spikes around peak season, then idle valleys that make hiring feel risky.
- Partner and senior time trapped in review loops instead of advisory and client strategy.
- Hiring delays and turnover that create permanent resourcing gaps.
- Rising salaries and overhead making expansion feel expensive and fragile.
- Inconsistent work quality across preparers and reviewers, which forces rework.
- Limited workflow visibility, weak documentation, and unclear accountability.
- Missed deadlines that wear down client trust and limit referrals.
- Complex multi‑entity, multi‑state footprints that strain process control.
- Rushed workpapers that slow reviews and mask avoidable errors.
- Compliance fatigue as IRS and state updates stack up in the background.
- Advisory stuck on the runway because production buries the team.
This is not a sales problem, it is a delivery system problem. If the system cannot deliver, growth hits a ceiling.
Why most offshore attempts fail
Firms often try offshore as a quick capacity fix. It rarely sticks when treated like staffing. Typical failure patterns:
- No clear SOPs, so work varies by person and week.
- Workpapers are unstructured, poorly named, and hard to review.
- Review expectations are fuzzy, so revisions balloon.
- Missing schedules and weak documentation discipline.
- No SLAs or delivery metrics, so turnaround is unpredictable.
- Vendors send resumes, not accountable teams with managers.
- No layered quality control, so errors slip to partner review.
- Gaps in U.S. GAAP, IRS standards, and firm communication norms.
- Reactive communication, not workflow‑driven updates.
- Loose access controls, a security headache waiting to happen.
- Dependency on freelancers with no continuity plan.
Capacity without structure creates noise, not relief.
How Accountably fixes the delivery problem
Accountably is not a staffing vendor. We design and run a controlled offshore delivery system for firms that cannot trade quality or security for speed. Our U.S.‑led team embeds into your workflow with a delivery architecture built for speed, review protection, and accountability.
Structured onboarding for U.S. firm standards
Every professional we deploy is trained on U.S. accounting work, IRS workflows, and firm communication. We put each new teammate through a three‑week delivery readiness framework that covers review note etiquette, documentation logic, and deadline accountability. They work in your systems, your templates, and your client expectations from day one.
Our teams work inside QuickBooks, Xero, UltraTax, CCH Axcess, ProConnect, Lacerte, Drake, Thomson Reuters, Canopy, Karbon, TaxDome, Suralink, and JetPack. We align to your naming rules, folder logic, and checklists.
Delivery structure that protects quality and time
- SOP‑driven execution across bookkeeping, month‑end close, tax, and year‑end support.
- Structured workpapers with standardized naming and version control.
- Multi‑layer review, preparer to senior to quality to final, so partner review is lighter.
- Turnaround SLAs by engagement type and complexity.
- Internal pre‑review checklists to reduce back‑and‑forth.
- Live workflow tracking with escalation rules for early issue flags.
- Capacity planning based on utilization data, not guesswork.
- Continuity plans if a team member is out, delivery does not stop.
You get fewer revision cycles, faster partner sign‑off, and less delivery friction.
IRS Form 8717 made simple for busy plan practitioners
If you handle qualified plan work, you know Form 8717 sits at the doorway of an employee plan determination letter request. Here is the part that trips teams up. For modern e‑filed applications, you no longer attach Form 8717 with a check. You pay the user fee inside the Pay.gov application, then use Form 8717 only when an additional payment is required. The Pay.gov form itself spells this out and even provides a specialist contact for payment confirmations.
What Form 8717 does today
- It documents the user fee tied to determination letter applications for plans and group trusts.
- For e‑filed Forms 5310, 5300, 5307, and 5316, the user fee is paid within Pay.gov, not via a paper Form 8717. Use Form 8717 on Pay.gov only if you need to send an additional payment.
- The current IRS page and the form PDF confirm the role shift, and they direct filers to the online fee schedule and the annual revenue procedure for the exact amounts.
Practical rule, if the application is on Pay.gov, the user fee is on Pay.gov. Form 8717 comes back into play only when you need to true up.
How Accountably handles Form 8717 for your firm
- We set up a clean Playbook for EP determinations, including Pay.gov owner, backup owner, and a submission checklist.
- We pre‑stage your fee category, confirm the current amount from the IRS user fee schedule, and capture the Pay.gov confirmation page for your files.
- For additional payments, we submit via the Form 8717 page on Pay.gov, then send the confirmation to the assigned Employee Plans Specialist, exactly as instructed.
- We keep your evidence trail tight, so matching to the case is fast, and reviews are shorter.
Who must pay, and when the small‑employer exemption applies
Most applicants must pay a user fee with each determination letter request. The small‑employer exemption remains in effect, and it is underused. You qualify if all of the following are true:
- You have 100 or fewer employees who each received $5,000+ in the calendar year before you file.
- You have at least one participating employee who is not highly compensated under section 414(q).
- You file by the last day of the fifth plan year the plan is in existence, or by the end of a remedial amendment period that begins within those first five years. IRS guidance also treats certain later filings as timely under the ten‑year rule in Notice 2017‑1.
If you qualify, complete only the certification on Form 8717 and leave the fee section blank. Your package will be returned if you claim the exemption without actually meeting the criteria, so document your headcount, compensation, participation, and timing.
Documentation we set up for you
- Headcount and compensation proof for the prior calendar year, payroll reports, and sampling notes.
- Proof of at least one non‑HCE participant and the plan’s effective date history.
- A timing tracker that maps the first five plan years and any remedial amendment periods.
- A signed certification and a filing binder ready for future IRS requests.
Electronic payments, Pay.gov accounts, and guest access
Pay.gov accepts ACH and card. You can preview the form as a guest, then sign in to submit. An account lets you view prior payments, store methods, and copy previous forms, which speeds repeat filings. The Pay.gov form explains both flows clearly.
Additional payments and specialist notifications
If you submit an additional payment through the Form 8717 page on Pay.gov, retain the confirmation and send it to the Employee Plans Specialist assigned to your case, as the form directs. The Pay.gov page provides a contact name and phone for assistance.
What we do so you do not have to
- Validate the correct fee category against the latest revenue procedure and IRS fee page.
- Submit payment through Pay.gov, capture confirmations, and notify the specialist with the exact identifiers the IRS requests.
- Store receipts and bank records in your DMS with consistent naming, so audits and reviews are quick.
Filing logistics and addresses you can trust today
Paper is the exception now, however when you need to mail something for EP determinations, use the current IRS addresses. The IRS updated EP mailing addresses to a Covington P.O. Box for USPS and a Florence, Kentucky street address for private delivery. The current Form 8717 PDF and the IRS address notice align.
Where to send EP determination items
| Method | Address |
| USPS | Internal Revenue Service, Attn: EP Determination Letters, Stop 31A Team 105, P.O. Box 12192, Covington, KY 41012‑0192 |
| Private delivery | Internal Revenue Service, Attn: EP Determination Letters, Stop 31A Team 105, 7940 Kentucky Drive, Florence, KY 41042 |
Always check the latest IRS page before shipping, since addresses do change.
E‑file requirements that catch teams off guard
- Form 5310 applications filed on or after August 1, 2021 require Pay.gov e‑file with user fee paid in‑flow.
- Form 5300 applications filed on or after July 1, 2022 require Pay.gov e‑file with user fee paid in‑flow.
- Forms 5307 and 5316 filed on or after July 1, 2023 require Pay.gov e‑file with user fee paid in‑flow. For these forms, use the standalone Form 8717 on Pay.gov only when making an additional payment.
The IRS Internal Revenue Manual also reflects the Pay.gov rule, which is why our teams treat Pay.gov as the default for these applications.
Quick clarifications about Form 8717 line 5 and coverage
Older internal notes in some firms say line 5 selections on Form 8717 control coverage testing review and the fee. The current form is simpler. Line 5 is where you check the applicable application type and enter the fee amount. Coverage and testing elections live inside the determination letter application itself, including any required attachments or demonstrations for your plan’s testing method. The form PDF and the IRS pages now point you to the online fee schedule and current revenue procedure for exact amounts.
Treat line 5 as a fee entry step, not a place to manage your coverage testing scope.
Security, compliance, and work integrity with Accountably
When you let a partner inside your workflow, trust matters more than anything. Accountably runs with structured safeguards that protect client data while keeping delivery efficient.
- SOC 2 aligned controls and NDA‑backed confidentiality.
- Role‑based data access, zero local storage, encrypted file exchange.
- Secure VPN, server protection, and audit logs for activity records.
- Background‑verified staff and U.S. client data integrity standards.
- Documentation discipline that supports audit and IRS requests.
Compliance foundations you can rely on
- U.S. GAAP aligned accounting practices.
- IRS and state tax standards, multi‑state payroll familiarity, and sales tax workflows.
- Documentation and audit support readiness that shortens review time and reduces back‑and‑forth.
With this baseline, your team gets predictability and a cleaner review experience, and your clients get on‑time delivery without drama.
Engagement models that scale with you
Accountably meets you where you are, then grows with your pipeline.
Options that give you control
| Model | Best for | Value |
| Dedicated Offshore Talent | Firms that need stable production capacity across close, compliance, and cleanup | Full‑time accountants and tax staff who live inside your workflow and tools |
| White‑Label Delivery Teams | Firms scaling seasonal workload or specific compliance lines | End‑to‑end pods that include preparers, seniors, and reviewers managed to SLAs |
| Build–Operate–Transfer (BOT) Offshore Unit | Firms that want their own long‑term offshore center | We build and run your center, then transfer it when you are ready, with continuity baked in |
No short‑term band‑aids, no resume farming, just dependable offshore execution guided by your standards.
Work we support across accounting, taxation, advisory, and audit support
We cover the core work that eats your calendar, plus the documentation and review guardrails that protect your partners’ time.
Accounting execution
- Month‑end close and reconciliations, AP, AR, cleanup, and multi‑entity consolidation.
- Financial reporting packages, fixed asset schedules, depreciation, and GL adjustments.
- Cash flow statements and controller‑level support.
U.S. taxation, including EP determination support
- 1040, 1120, 1120‑S, 1065, and 990 preparation, cleanup, and review support.
- SALT, year‑end processing, workpaper preparation that shortens reviews.
- Employee Plans determination letter support, including Form 5300, 5307, 5310, 5316 e‑file steps, user fee validation, and additional payments through Form 8717 on Pay.gov with specialist notification.
Client accounting services and payroll
- Monthly financial packages, payroll review, and T&E allocations.
- Client onboarding and cleanup with tight documentation for transitions.
Advisory and audit support
- Management reporting, KPI packs, and board‑ready decks.
- Prepared‑by‑Client coordination, schedules, and evidence packs for auditors.
- Pre‑audit file hygiene, tie‑outs, and request tracking that keep your team out of firefighting.
What‑How‑Wow for Form 8717 and EP determinations
- What, firms must pay a user fee for employee plan determination letter applications, with a small‑employer exemption when criteria are met. The fee and payment method depend on the form and filing date.
- How, for e‑filed Forms 5310, 5300, 5307, and 5316, you pay inside Pay.gov and use Form 8717 only for additional payments, then send the confirmation to your assigned specialist. We run the checklist and evidence trail for you.
- Wow, fewer corrections, shorter reviews, and clean documentation that stands up to scrutiny. Your partners get hours back every week in peak season.
FAQs for CPAs and EAs
Do I still attach a paper Form 8717 with a check?
Not for the modern e‑filed applications listed by the IRS. For Forms 5310, 5300, 5307, and 5316 on or after their Pay.gov effective dates, you pay the fee as part of the Pay.gov application and use Form 8717 only to make an additional payment if the IRS requests it.
How do I claim the small‑employer exemption?
Confirm that you have 100 or fewer employees with $5,000+ compensation in the preceding calendar year, at least one non‑HCE participant, and that you are within the timing window. Then complete only the certification on Form 8717. Keep documentation in your file, since the IRS can ask for verification.
What are the current fees?
The IRS updates user fees through its annual revenue procedure and the online fee schedule. We confirm the amount each time before filing and store proof in your case file.
Where do I send paper items if needed?
Use the IRS Covington P.O. Box for USPS and the Florence, KY street address for private delivery, as currently posted by the IRS and reflected on Form 8717. Verify before shipping.
Who do I notify after an additional payment?
Send the Pay.gov confirmation to the assigned Employee Plans Specialist on your case. The Pay.gov Form 8717 page provides a help contact if you need assistance coordinating the match.