1. Your plan
Fill in the plan, then click Calculate. If the filing date is blank, today is used.
Result
Side by side
| Route | Amount | What it is |
|---|
By plan year
| Plan year end | Due | Days late | DFVC | IRS (up to) | DOL (up to) |
|---|
Steps to file
2. The figures (editable)
Written from memory of the published DFVC programme and the statute, not read from a live source. The DOL maximum is inflation-adjusted every year, so the number here may be out of date. Change any value and click Calculate again.
The model, and what it leaves out
- Due date is the last day of the seventh month after the plan year ends. Form 5558, filed by that date, extends it to the 15th of the tenth month. A date on a Saturday, Sunday or federal holiday moves to the next business day. A holiday on a Saturday is not moved to Friday.
- Days late are calendar days from the due date to the date you intend to file.
- DFVC is the per-day amount, capped per report, then capped per plan across all reports. Earlier unfiled years use their own normal due dates and no extension.
- IRS and DOL figures are statutory ceilings: the IRS per-day amount to its maximum per return, and the DOL per-day maximum with no overall cap. They are not predictions that any agency would assess them, and nothing here estimates that chance. Both are often reduced or waived on reasonable cause.
- Savings from DFVC are the exposure minus the DFVC cost. DFVC resolves DOL civil penalties; IRS penalties are separate, so the combined figure assumes no relief of any kind.
- Not checked: whether you already received an IRS or DOL notice (which can close the programme), late audit reports, late-filed Form 5558, the 80-120 participant rule, the exact participant and asset counts, state rules, and whether a plan is even covered by ERISA.
Common questions
When is Form 5500 due?
The Form 5500 series is due on the last day of the seventh month after the plan year ends: July 31 for a calendar-year plan. If that day is a Saturday, Sunday or federal holiday it moves to the next business day. Filing Form 5558 by the original due date extends it by two and a half months, to October 15 for a calendar-year plan.
What happens if I miss the Form 5500 deadline?
Two agencies can assess penalties: the IRS up to $250 a day to a maximum of $150,000 per return, and the DOL a civil penalty with a much higher per-day statutory maximum that is adjusted for inflation each year. Neither is automatic, but the exposure is real, and the DOL's Delinquent Filer Voluntary Compliance (DFVC) programme exists to let a filer pay a small fixed amount instead.
How much does the DFVC programme cost?
As published, $10 a day with a cap of $750 per late annual report and $1,500 per plan for a small plan (fewer than 100 participants), and $2,000 per report and $4,000 per plan for a large plan. These are the figures this page starts with; they are editable, and you should verify them against current DOL guidance.
Does the DFVC programme remove IRS penalties?
Not by itself. DFVC resolves DOL civil penalties for the reports it covers; the IRS assesses its own late-filing penalty separately, and often abates it for reasonable cause. The combined saving on this page assumes no relief of any kind, so it is a ceiling and not a forecast.
Does a one-participant plan have to file?
A one-participant plan files Form 5500-EZ only when its assets are more than $250,000 at the end of the plan year (or it is in its final year). At or under that, no return is due for that year. Check current IRS instructions for the threshold and the final-year rule.
What do I file and where?
Small plans usually file the short Form 5500-SF and large plans the full Form 5500 with schedules, both electronically through EFAST2, which needs a filing credential. A DFVC filing is made through EFAST2 with the programme's online penalty payment. A one-participant plan can file Form 5500-EZ on paper with the IRS or use the electronic 5500-SF.
Is this tax or legal advice?
No. It is arithmetic on the dates and rates in the editable list, with no estimate of whether any agency would assess a penalty. Confirm with the plan's adviser or the agency guidance before filing or paying anything.