IRS Provides Penalty Relief for Late Form 5500 Filers

Greg Gautam • May 19, 2014

Plan administrators that fail to timely file their Form 5500s can be subject to penalties under both ERISA and the Code.  The Department of Labor’s Delinquent Filer Voluntary Compliance Program (“DFVCP”) provides plan administrators with the opportunity to pay reduced Department of Labor penalties for late Form 5500 filings.  The DFVCP among other things, requires plan administrators to file the late Form 5500s through the DOL’s EFAST2 system.  The DFVCP, however, does not address any penalties that may be imposed by the IRS.

In recently released IRS Notice 2014-35, the IRS stated that it will not impose penalties under Code Sections 6652(d), 6652(e) and 6692 on late Form 5500 filings if the plan administrator: (i) is eligible for and satisfies the requirements of the DFVCP, and (ii) files separately with the IRS a Form 8955-SSA that provides the information required under Code Section 6057 for the late year and otherwise satisfies the requirements of Notice 2014-35.  The Form 8955-SSA will otherwise satisfy the requirements of the Notice if: (A) it is not filed electronically (i.e., it must be filed on paper with the IRS), (B) the plan administrator checks the box on Line C, Part I (Special Extension) and enters “DFVC” in the space, and (C) it is filed by the 30 th calendar day after the DFVCP filing is completed, or by December 1, 2014, if later.

It is important to note that the Form 8955-SSA requirement applies to any DFVCP filings submitted through EFAST2 (i.e., all DFVCP filings after December 31, 2009), regardless of whether the filing was submitted before May 9, 2014.  For example, if a plan administrator went through DFVCP to correct a late 2008 Form 5500 in 2012 and the information required to be filed under Section 6057 of the Code was never filed for 2008, a paper Form 8955-SSA must be filed with the IRS no later than December 1, 2014.

The full text of Notice 2014-35 can be found here.

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Employee burnout has become an epidemic in today’s modern workplace. So much so that the World Health Organization (WHO) officially recognizes it as an “occupational phenomenon.”1 While many used to consider mounting workplace stress an individual employee problem, these days, it’s become an employer’s responsibility to prevent burnout before it hurts productivity and business performance—not to mention your employees’ physical and mental health. Luckily, you can prevent burnout from affecting your workforce in several ways. This article will explore the causes and signs of employee burnout and the steps you can take to create a positive work environment where employees feel safe from toxic stress levels.

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If you're a small business owner, you may have heard of the acronym PCORI and the fees that come with it. But what is PCORI, and how does it apply to your organization? Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), sponsors of self-insured health plans must pay a fee to fund the federal Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI). PCORI is an independent organization the ACA created to conduct research to help healthcare consumers make better decisions for their specific needs and outcomes. It also performs research related to clinical effectiveness. Employers offering a self-insured medical reimbursement health plan, such as a health reimbursement arrangement (HRA), must pay this fee by July 31 each year via Form 7201. This fee was initially set to expire in 2019, but Congress extended it through September 30, 20292, due to the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 20203.
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