The IRS, Department of Labor, and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation developed the Form 5500-series returns for employee benefit plans to satisfy annual reporting requirements under ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code. Plan sponsors must generally file the return on the last day of the seventh month after their plan year ends. Form 5558 will be postponed for electronic filing through EFAST2 until Jan. 1, 2025 Due to IRS administrative issues involving the EFAST2 system, the IRS is postponing electronic filing of Form 5558 through EFAST2 until Jan. 1, 2025. Plan sponsors and administrators should continue to use a paper Form 5558 to request a one-time extension of time to file a Form 5500 series or Form 8955-SSA (up to 2½ months after the normal due date for Form 5500s or Form 8955-SSA). Form 5500, Annual Return/Report of Employee Benefit Plan Form Form 5500, Annual Return/Report of Employee Benefit Plan (form and instructions) Who files The employer maintaining the plan or the plan administrator of a Pension or Welfare benefit plan covered by ERISA. File Form 5500 to report information on the qualification of the plan, its financial condition, investments and the operations of the plan. Where to file Must file electronically through EFAST2. Additional tips Due date: the last day of the seventh month after the plan year ends (July 31 for a calendar year plan). Extensions: request on Form 5558 See Increased penalties for failure to file retirement plan returns. Frequently Asked Questions about EFAST2 Electronic Filing System (Form 5500s filing) Troubleshooter's Guide to Filing the ERISA Annual Report PDF Fixing Problems with Electronic Signatures for 5500 Series Returns DOL's Delinquent Filer Voluntary Compliance Program- IRS Penalty Relief for DOL DFVC Filers Clarification of 2022 Form 5500 Instructions Form 5500-SF, Short Form Annual Return/Report of Small Employee Benefit Plan Form Form 5500-SF, Short Form Annual Return/Report of Small Employee Benefit Plan (form and instructions) Who files A plan with fewer than 100 participants and meets all of the eligibility conditions. You can no longer use Form 5500-SF in place of Form 5500-EZ. See the instructions for Form 5500-SF for eligibility requirements. Where to file Must file electronically through EFAST2. Form 5500-EZ, Annual Return of A One-Participant (Owners/Partners and Their Spouses) Retirement Plan or A Foreign Plan Form Form 5500-EZ, Annual Return of A One-Participant (Owners/Partners and Their Spouses) Retirement Plan or A Foreign Plan PDF (instructions PDF) Schedules: Completed and signed Schedules SB and MB, if applicable. You don't need to file the Schedule MB or Schedule SB, but you must keep with your records. Get prior year forms and instructions. Who files A one-participant plan or a foreign plan. Beginning January 1, 2021, a "one-participant" plan and a foreign plan can file Form 5500-EZ electronically using the EFAST2 filing system or file Form 5500-EZ on paper with the IRS. You can no longer use Form 5500-SF in place of Form 5500-EZ. Certain foreign plans maintained outside the U.S. by a domestic employer or a foreign employer primarily for the benefit of nonresident aliens must file Form 5500-EZ rather than Form 5500. Where to file If you file Form 5500-EZ electronically, you can either use: EFAST2's web-based filing system or an EFAST2-approved vendor If you file Form 5500-EZ on paper, you must mail it to: Department of the Treasury IRS Ogden, UT 84201-0020 Additional tips Due date: the last day of the seventh month after the plan year ends (July 31 for a calendar year plan). Extensions: request on Form 5558 Mandatory electronic filing Penalty relief program for Form 5500-EZ late filers Request copies of filed Forms 5500-EZ using Form 4506 PDF (includes instructions). Filing an Amended 2020 Form 5500-EZ Form 8955-SSA, Annual Registration Statement Identifying Separated Participants With Deferred Vested Benefits Form Form 8955-SSA, Annual Registration Statement Identifying Separated Participants with Deferred Vested Benefits PDF Form 8955-SSA Instructions PDF Who files Plan administrators of plans that have separated participants with deferred vested benefits. Where to file File electronically through the IRS FIRE system – no electronic signature needed. Approved software vendors. May mail it to: Department of the Treasury IRS Ogden, UT 84201-0024 Additional tips Due date: the last day of the seventh month after the plan year ends (July 31 for a calendar year plan) Extensions: request on Form 5558 Mandatory electronic filing Delinquent or amended returns: use the current year form See Increased Penalties for Failure to File Retirement Plan Returns below. Form 8955-SSA Resources FAQs, guidance and e-file provider information Form 5558, Application for Extension of Time to File Certain Employee Plan Returns Form Form 5558, Application for Extension of Time To File Certain Employee Plan Returns PDF (form and instructions) Who files Plan administrators who want to file for an extension of time for the following returns: Form 5500 Form 5500-SF Form 5500-EZ Form 8955-SSA Where to file File paper Form 5558 with the IRS and mail to: Department of the Treasury IRS Ogden, UT 84201-0045 Form 5558 is no longer used to apply for an extension of time to file Form 5330, Return of Excise Taxes Related to Employee Benefit Plans. You can, instead, use Form 8868, Application for Extension of Time To File an Exempt Organization Return or Excise Taxes Related to Employee Benefit Plans, to apply for an extension of time to -file Form 5330. Additional tips Use a separate Form 5558 for an extension to file Form 5500 series. Signatures are not needed for extension of time to file Form 5500 series or Form 8955-SSA. May use a single Form 5558 to extend the Form 5500 and Form 8955-SSA filed for the same plan. Avoid errors when requesting an extension. A DCG filer is not required to attach a list of participating plans to their Form 5558 for submission through EFAST2 A "one-participant plan," for purposes of the Form 5500-EZ, means a retirement plan not subject to the annual ERISA Title I reporting requirements that only covers the owner who owns the entire business (whether or not incorporated) and owner's spouse, or one or more partners, and their spouses in a business partnership (treating 2% shareholder of an S corporation, as defined in IRC Section 1372(b), as a partner). A plan is not a one-participant plan if the plan benefits anyone besides the owner (or owner and spouse) or partners (or partners and their spouses). One-participant plans or foreign plans can file Form 5500-EZ electronically using EFAST2 filing system Beginning January 1, 2021, a one-participant plan or a foreign plan required to file an annual return can file Form 5500-EZ electronically using the Department of Labor’s EFAST2 filing system, or file Form 5500-EZ on paper with the IRS. Form 5500-SF can no longer be used by a one-participant plan or a foreign plan filer in place of Form 5500-EZ. Information for a one-participant plan or a foreign plan filed electronically with EFAST2 filing system will not be available to the public on DOL’s website. A one-participant plan or a foreign plan must file Form 5500-EZ electronically through the EFAST2 filing system, if the plan sponsor is subject to IRS e-filing requirements (see Mandatory electronic filing) pursuant to Treas. Reg. 301.6058-2. Plans retroactively adopted after the end of the employer’s tax year plan year have no 2020 Form 5500-series filing requirement Under Section 201 of the SECURE Act, employers can adopt a plan by the due date of their tax return, including extensions, and elect to treat the plan as being effective for the employer’s tax year. This provision applies to plans adopted for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2019. An employer with a 2020 calendar year tax year that adopts a plan in 2021 by the due date of their tax return, including extensions, may elect to treat the plan as having been adopted on the last day of the employer’s 2020 tax year: A Form 5500 series return is not required to be filed for the 2020 plan year. The first Form 5500 series return required to be filed is for the 2021 plan year. The plan sponsor must check a box on the 2021 Form 5500 series return indicating the employer elects to treat the plan as retroactively adopted as of the last day of the employer’s 2020 tax year. Additionally, if the plan is a defined benefit plan, the employer will be required to attach a 2020 Schedule SB to the 2021 Form 5500 or Form 5500-SF, in addition to a 2021 Schedule SB. The instructions for the 2021 Form 5500 will further explain the filing requirements for plans adopted retroactively. We anticipate that similar rules will apply to the retroactive adoption of a plan pursuant to section 201 of the SECURE Act after an employer’s 2021 taxable year. Form 5558 extension: Plan sponsors that submitted a Form 5558, Application for Extension of Time to File Certain Employee Plan Returns, for a retroactively adopted plan will not establish a 2020 Form 5500 filing requirement. Additionally, filing the Form 5558 does not result in an IRS delinquency notice if no 2020 Form 5500 was filed for the plan specified in the Form 5558. Delinquency notices are based on when the Form 5500 is filed, not the filing of the Form 5558. Increased penalties for failure to file retirement plan returns Section 403 of the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (SECURE Act), Division O of the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020 (P.L. 116-94), increases penalties for failure to file certain retirement plan returns effective for returns, statements, and notifications required to be filed after December 31, 2019. The penalty for failure to file Form 5500 series and Form 5310-A required by IRC 6058 increased to $250 per day, not to exceed $150,000. The penalty for failure to file a registration statement, Form 8955-SSA, required by IRC 6057(a), increased to $10 for each participant with respect to whom there is a failure to file multiplied by the number of days the failure occurred, not to exceed $50,000 with respect to any plan year. The penalty for failure to file a notification of change of plan status required by IRC 6057(b) increased to $10 for each day during which such failure occurs, not to exceed $10,000. IRS Penalty Relief program and reasonable cause relief for delinquent Form 5500-EZ Plan sponsors and administrators have two options available for relief from penalties for failing to file Form 5500-EZ. IRS Penalty Relief Program for Form 5500-EZ late filers See Revenue Procedure 2015-32 Reasonable Cause Penalty Relief program See IRM 20.1.1.3.2 See the frequently asked questions for more information about the penalty relief programs for delinquent Form 5500-EZ returns. The DOL Delinquent Filer Voluntary Compliance Program (DFVCP) PDF is not available to correct a delinquent Form 5500-EZ. Notices from the IRS Did you receive an IRS filing notice for a Forms 5500, 5558 or 5500-EZ filing? These FAQs help you understand your notice if you received a CP403, CP406, CP216H, CP216F or CP214 notice. Ask a question If you need help completing Form 5500 or Form 5500-SF: Call the toll-free EFAST2 Help Desk at 866-463-3278, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET. Visit the EFAST2 website for filing instructions, approved software vendors and more. Contact Us - Telephone representatives will help answer basic questions such as filing requirements and due date for Form 5500, status of pending determination letter applications and responding to notices. Related Retirement plan reporting and disclosure
