You can rely on the current version of the Start Up Guide to help you thru Form 1023. It will save you loads of time trying to figure out Form 1023.
The last important revision by the IRS was Fall 08 when they eliminated the concept of an Advanced Ruling Period. The 1023 packet you get from the IRS has a new cover page that explains how to answer the Part X questions regarding Advanced/Definitive Ruling. The IRS has NOT yet changed the actual form 1023 you fill out.
The PTO Today Start Up Guide shows images of the forms as of the October 04 version (you have to use a magnifying glass to see the date in teh top left corner of each image!). The information, questions, and text for this version is exactly the same as the newest version (dated June 06), except that the IRS raised the filing fee in June 06. The text of the Start Up Guide was changed to show the new fee, but the scanned image of the Form 1023 pages that are shown in the Start Up Guide were not changed. So...follow the step by step instructions in the Start Up Guide, pay the IRS $300/$750 as required, and follow the new instructions on the cover page of your actual Form 1023 when you get to the part about Advanced Ruling.
I think the folks at PTOToday are going to revise the Start Up Guide to show that the Advanced Ruling has gone away, but in the meantime, the Guide is still a HUGE help.
I'm writing about the "Starting a PTO" toolkit. We're looking at purchasing it in order to help us complete our IRS form 1023.
We had a source online that we were getting our information from but the examples of forms they have appear to be old forms. Are the IRS 1023 instructions that are provided in the toolkit up-to-date (most recent year's forms?)