IRS Simplifies Form 5300 with Electronic Filing

The IRS has revised its Form 5300, Application for Determination for Employee Benefit Plan and instructions – first to allow electronic submissions beginning June 1, 2022 and second to eliminate paper submissions after the end of the same month. Thus,

• Beginning June 1, 2022, a Form 5300 determination application can be submitted electronically at www.pay.gov.
• Beginning July 1, 2022, paper versions of Form 5300 submissions no longer will be accepted, except that Cycle A3 filers (permitted to submit from 2/1/16 to 1/31/17) are allowed to continue to use the prior version of Form 5300 (Rev. December 2013).

To use pay.gov, users first must establish an account and then use the site’s search feature to locate and follow the instructions to prepare and submit the electronic Form 5300.

• The IRS will no longer send a separate acknowledgement letter for Form 5300 submissions. Instead, it will send an email confirming that the submission was made successfully.
• Pay.gov will accept one additional PDF document of less than 15MB as part of the electronic submission. Larger items must be faxed PRIOR to making the electronic submission and must be accompanied by a fax coversheet containing specified identifying information.
• The current user fee for an electronically submitted Form 5300 is $2,700 (or $4,000 for multiple employer plans) if the plan does not qualify for the zero-dollar user fee specified in Notice 2017-1. The user fee is to be paid through pay.gov using a bank account, credit card, or debit card.

The electronic version of Form 5300 and its instructions were also revised in format; as was the information requested in the form, in response to the changes affecting individually designed plans described in Rev. Proc. 2016-37, 2016-29 I.R.B. 136, available at www.irs.gov/irb/2016-29_IRB/ar10.html, including:

• Eliminating five-year remedial amendment cycles,
• Generally limiting determination letter (“DL”) requests to initial plan qualification and qualification on plan termination,
• Requesting new information for defined benefit plans in connection with Notice 2015-49, 2015-30 I.R.B. 79, and
• Requiring applicants for a multiple employer plan to request a letter for the plan in the name of the controlling member.

Before completing the Form 5300, we recommend plan sponsors familiarize themselves with the new website, instructions and requested information to allow for an efficient application process.