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Form 5500 Due Date
&
Penalties for Late Filing
Due Date
Each employer (subject to a limited exception) that maintains a qualified retirement plan is required to file an annual report. The annual report is commonly referred to as the Form 5500 series return/report.
The Form 5500 must be filed for each qualified retirement plan for each plan year in which the plan has assets. Therefore, the year of complete distribution of all plan assets is the last year for which a Form 5500 must be filed.
Unless an extension is granted, the appropriate Form 5500 series return/report is due by the last day of the seventh month following the close of the plan year (e.g. July 31 for calendar year plans). Note that the due date relates to the plan year and not to the employer's taxable year.
An extension of up to two and one-half months may be granted for filing the Form 5500 series return/report. Form 5559, Application for Extension of Time To File Certain Employee Plan Returns, must be filed on or before the regular due date to receive automatic approval for the extension.
One
or more of the following five penalties may be imposed or assessed for late or
incomplete filings after the date they are due unless there was reasonable cause
for the improper filing:
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The Department of Labor (DOL) may assess a civil penalty against a plan administrator of up to $1,000 a day for the late filing of a Form 5500. In addition, a Form 5500 rejected by the DOL because it lacks material information will be treated as if it had not been filed.
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A penalty of $25 a day (up to a maximum of $15,000) is imposed for each day a Form 5500 is overdue.
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A plan administrator who fails to include all required separated participants in a timely filed annual registration statement (Schedule SSA of the Form 5500) is subject to a penalty of $1 a day for each separated participant (to a maximum of $5,000).
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A penalty of $1,000 is imposed if an actuarial report (Schedule B of the Form 5500) is not filed for a defined benefit plan.
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A penalty of $1 a day (up to a maximum of $1,000) is imposed if a notification of change of status of a plan is not filed on time.
The DOL has opined that a penalty for the late filing of Form 5500 does not constitute a reasonable expense of administering a plan, and therefore, the penalty is a liability of the plan administrator and not a liability of the plan.