The IRS had some good news for Form 5500 filers last week.
The IRS has decided that filers should not answer compliance questions to Forms 5500, 5500-SF and 5500-EZ, as well as Schedules H, I and R, for the 2016 plan year. This change was among the recommendations that the American Retirement Association (ARA) made to the IRS earlier this year.
In a letter the ARA sent to the IRS on May 31, 2016 in response to the IRS’ request for comments on the proposed compliance questions for the Form 5500 series, the ARA had recommended that:
- the effective date for mandatory collection of information solicited by the new compliance questions should be delayed to coincide with the proposed Form 5500 revisions expected from the Department of Labor which were being reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) before being published and public comment solicited; and
- the request for the EIN of the plan’s trust at 1(b) should remain an optional question at least for the next two plan years so as to provide time for plan sponsors to determine whether a trust EIN has been deactivated by the IRS or apply for an EIN.
In an Aug. 1 letter to OMB, the ARA had suggested that the effective date for mandatory collection of compliance questions be delayed to coincide with the effective date of the proposed Form 5500 series revisions from the DOL, which were expected to be applicable to the 2019 plan year Form 5500 filings.
With the latest decision by the IRS, filers will not have to answer these questions for 2015 and 2016 plan years.
