Reporting Requirements

You may have to file an annual return/report form by the last day of the 7th month after the plan year ends. See the following list of forms to choose the right form for your plan.

Form 5500-EZ. You can use Form 5500-EZ if the plan meets all the following conditions.

• The plan is a one-participant plan, defined below.
• The plan meets the minimum coverage requirements of section 410(b) without being combined with any other plan you may have that covers other employees of your business.
• The plan only provides benefits for you, you and your spouse, or one or more partners and their spouses.
• The plan does not cover a business that is a member of an affiliated service group, a controlled group of corporations, or a group of businesses under common control.
• The plan does not cover a business that leases employees.

One-participant plan. Your plan is a one-participant plan if, as of the first day of the plan year for which the form is filed, either of the following is true.

• The plan covers only you (or you and your spouse) and you (or you and your spouse) own the entire business (whether incorporated or unincorporated).
• The plan covers only one or more partners (or partner(s) and spouse(s)) in a business partnership.

Form 5500-EZ not required. You do not have to file Form 5500-EZ (or Form 5500) if you meet the conditions mentioned above and either of the following conditions.

• You have a one-participant plan that had total plan assets of $100,000 or less at the end of every plan year beginning after December 31, 1993.
• You have two or more one-participant plans that together had total plan assets of $100,000 or less at the end of every plan year beginning after December 31, 1993.

Example. You are a sole proprietor and your plan meets all the conditions for filing Form 5500-EZ. The total plan assets are more than $100,000. You should file Form 5500-EZ.

All one-participant plans must file Form 5500-EZ for their final plan year, even if the total plan assets have always been less than $100,000. The final plan year is the year in which distribution of all plan assets is completed.

Form 5500. If you do not meet the requirements for filing Form 5500-EZ, you must file Form 5500.

Schedule A (Form 5500). If any plan benefits are provided by an insurance company, insurance service, or similar organization, complete and attach Schedule A (Form 5500), to Form 5500. Schedule A is not needed for a plan that covers only one of the following.

1. An individual or an individual and spouse who wholly own the trade or business, whether incorporated or unincorporated.
2. Partners in a partnership or the partners and their spouses.

Do not file a Schedule A (Form 5500) with a Form 5500-EZ.

Schedule B (Form 5500). For most defined benefit plans, complete and attach Schedule B (Form 5500), Actuarial Information, to Form 5500 or Form 5500-EZ.

Schedule P (Form 5500). This schedule is used by a fiduciary (trustee or custodian) of a trust described in section 401(a) or a custodial account described in section 401(f) to protect it under the statute of limitations provided in section 6501(a). The filing of a completed Schedule P (Form 5500), Annual Return of Fiduciary of Employee Benefit Trust, by the fiduciary satisfies the annual filing requirement under section 6033(a) for the trust or custodial account created as part of a qualified plan. This filing starts the running of the 3-year limitation period that applies to the trust or custodial account. For this protection, the trust or custodial account must qualify under section 401(a) and be exempt from tax under section 501(a). The fiduciary should file, under section 6033(a), a Schedule P as an attachment to Form 5500 or Form 5500-EZ for the plan year in which the trust year ends. The fiduciary cannot file Schedule P separately. See the Schedule P instructions for more information.

Form 5310. If you terminate your plan and are the plan sponsor or plan administrator, you can file Form 5310, Application for Determination for Terminating Plan. Your application must be accompanied by the appropriate user fee and Form 8717, User Fee for Employee Plan Determination Letter Request.

More information. For more information about reporting requirements, see the forms and their instructions.

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