Form 5500 Reporting Information

2009 Plan Year Information will be provided in the spring of 2010.

2008 and 2007 Plan Years

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Department of Labor Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) require most – but not all – employee benefit plans to file some version of the Form 5500 annual report each year.

• Returns may be filed electronically or by mail. You may call 1-800-TAX-FORM (1-800-829- 3676) to order Form 5500 or Form 5500-EZ and instructions, or order online at www.irs.gov. Be sure to allow several weeks for mailing time.
• The 5500 return must be filed with the EBSA by the last day of the seventh month after the end of the plan year that began in 2008.
• A final annual return (on Form 5500 or Form 5500-EZ, as applicable) must be filed for a plan's final plan year.

• Form 5500-EZ is generally required for all one-participant plans, including plans with owners, business partners, and spouses. No annual report is required if the combined plan assets of all of the employer's plans totaled $250,000 or less at the end of the plan year.
• Form 5500 is required for all plans with multiple participants (other than owners, business partners, and spouses) regardless of the amount of combined assets in all the employer's plans.

• Form 5500-EZ is generally required for all one-participant plans, including plans with owners, business partners, and spouses.
• No annual report is required if the combined plan assets of all of the employer's plans totaled $250,000 or less at the end of the plan year.

• Form 5500 must be filed for all 403(b) plans that are covered by the provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).
• Sponsors of 403(b) arrangements are required to complete only certain sections of Form 5500 (Part I - all; Part II - lines 1 through 5 and line 8). Refer to the IRS Form 5500 instructions for complete information.

These guidelines and line-by-line instructions are provided specifically for small qualified retirement plans (plans with fewer than 100 participants on the first day of the plan year). Sponsors of large qualified retirement plans (100 or more participants) should consult a tax advisor for Form 5500 filing assistance.