Notes to Financial Statements, continued
3. Master Trust Investments, continued
(a) In accordance with FASB Accounting Standard Codification Topic 820, Fair Value Measurement,
certain Investments that were measured at net asset value per share (or its equivalent) as a practical
expedient have not been classified in the fair value hierarchy. The fair value amounts presented in
this table are intended to permit reconciliation of the fair value hierarchy to the net assets presented in
the Master Trust footnote.
There were no transfers between Level 1 and Level 2 investments during 2019 or 2018.
4. Party in Interest Transactions
Parties in interest are defined under Department of Labor regulations as any fiduciary of the Plan, any party rendering services to the Plan, the Company, and certain others. The Plan allows participants to invest their account balances in shares of certain mutual funds or other investments managed by the Trustee or Fidelity Investments. Fidelity Investments is an affiliate of the Trustee; therefore, these transactions qualify as party-in-interest transactions. For the year ended December 31, 2019, fees were paid by the Plan to an affiliate of the Trustee. Investment management fees are paid by the Plan to investment managers which are parties in interest and these expenses are reflected in the financial statements as a reduction of the return on the Plan’s investments. The Plan also allows participants to take loans from their accounts in the Plan. These transactions also qualify as party-in-interest transactions and totaled $5,289,132 and $4,922,651 at December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively.
The Master Trust had $23,418,845 and $25,722,976 at December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively, in Ingredion Common Stock, which is exempt from the party-in-interest transaction prohibitions of ERISA. The Master Trust had 251,951 and 281,433 shares of Ingredion Common Stock at December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively. The Master Trust earned dividend income of $660,096 on the Ingredion Incorporated common stock during the year ended December 31, 2019. These transactions are considered party-in-interest transactions and also qualify as related party transactions as defined by GAAP.
5. Tax Status
The Internal Revenue Service has determined and informed the Plan by a letter dated March 4, 2014, that the Plan and related trust were designed in accordance with the applicable sections of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC). Although the Plan has been amended and restated since receiving the determination letter, the Plan administrator believes that the Plan is designed, and is currently being operated, in compliance with the applicable requirements of the IRC and, therefore, believes that the Plan is qualified, and the related trust is tax-exempt.
U.S. GAAP requires plan management to evaluate tax positions taken by the Plan and recognize a tax liability (or asset) if the Plan has taken an uncertain position that more likely than not would not be sustained upon examination by the IRS. The plan administrator has analyzed the tax positions taken by the Plan, and has concluded that as of December 31, 2019 and 2018, there are no uncertain tax positions taken or expected to be taken that would require recognition of a liability (or asset) or disclosure in the financial statements. The Plan is subject to routine audits by taxing jurisdictions; however, there are