Excerpt: In enacting Code §409A, Congress imposed strict deadlines on participant deferral elections made under a nonqualified plan. In general, a participant must make his/her election to defer before the beginning of the taxable year for which the compensation is payable. However, Code §409A contains a special timing rule for 'performance-based compensation.' Under the special rule, a participant can make a deferral election with respect to performance-based compensation as late as six[.]  MORE >>