The IRS has announced due dates for filing Form 8955-SSA, which replaces Schedule SSA (Form 5500), for the 2009 plan year and subsequent years. In the announcement the IRS also discusses the availability of Form 8955-SSA for the 2009 and 2010 plan years and provides filing relief for plan administrators who have submitted Schedule SSA for the 2009 plan year or are completing Schedule SSA for the 2009 and/or 2010 plan years.
The following matters are addressed in the announcement:
Availability of Form 8955-SSA
• The IRS anticipates making the Form 8955-SSA for the 2009 plan year available for filing shortly, although a date has not been announced.
• The 2010 Form 8955-SSA is being developed and is expected to be available for filing later this year.
• However, in an effort to expedite filings, the IRS is allowing plan administrators to report the 2010 Form 8955-SSA information on the 2009 Form 8955-SSA.
• The IRS has developed a voluntary electronic filing system for filing Form 8955-SSA which will be ready to accept filings when the form becomes available.
Filing due dates
• The Form 8955-SSA, like Schedule SSA, is due by the last day of the seventh month following the close of the plan year (plus extensions).
• Plan administrators are allowed additional time to file Form 8955-SSA for the 2009 plan year. The due date for filing Form 8955-SSA for the 2009 and 2010 plan years is the later of: (1) the due date that generally applies for filing the Form 8955-SSA for the 2010 plan year, and (2) August 1, 2011.
Form 5558 – Extension of Time to File
• Form 5558 may be used to apply for an extension of time to file Form 8955-SSA.
• The rules for filing for an extension of time to file Form 8955-SSA are the same as those that applied to Schedule SSA.
• The IRS has announced that it is revising Form 5558 to allow filers to apply for an extension of time for Form 8955-SSA and that the revised Form 5558 is expected to be available soon.
• The automatic extension of time to file until the due date of the employer's federal income tax return is also available for Form 8955-SSA.
Relief for submitted Schedule SSA
Plan administrators who have already submitted the old Schedule SSA to the IRS for the 2009 plan year and/or are in the process of completing the old Schedule SSA for the 2009 and/or the 2010 plan year., will be considered as having satisfied the reporting requirements, and no Form 8955-SSA is required to be filed for that year if the Schedule SSA is filed by April 20, 2011.
Notice of change for plans or administrators
Under Code Sec. 6057(b), administrators of plans subject to the vesting requirements of ERISA §203 are required to notify the Secretary of the Treasury of certain changes relating to the plans or plan administrators, such as any change in the name of the plan or in the name or address of the plan administrator. The changes are reported on a plan's Form 5500. According to the IRS neither the removal of the Schedule SSA from the Form 5500 nor the creation of Form 8955-SSA affect this requirement. A plan administrator should continue to report these types of changes on Form 5500 for the plan year in which the changes occur, according to the IRS.
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