austin3515

Hey now, easy there... No one's doing anything, just trying to learn how this all works. We;re coming down on getting the PTINs for everyone, but this was part of the thought process. I think TPA's all around the country are still trying to figure out if their employees are subject to these rules, so I don't feel like the question was too out of line... My question is really about what if the er makes a determination that she's not subject and then it comes to light that he was wrong. I personally think the answer to the question is quite important since at the end of the day the determination does involve judgment.

Let's say Susie Tech works for Joe TPA. Joe TPA does not have Susie Tech get a PTIN, and Susie Tech continues to prepare 5500's. Assuming she should have obtained a PTIN, who is in trouble? Joe TPA, Susie Tech or both?

Friendly discussion in the office: Owner takes a participant loan from the plan, under the plan's participant loan provisions. The loan proceeds get deposited directly to his personal chekcing account. The loan, so far, clearly qualifies for all of the PT exemtpion requirements. The question is, does a participant loan that is otherwise ok, become a PT merely because after the money is in their PERSONAL account, they loan money or invest money into their business for cash flow purposes. My opinion is that there is no PT, but my esteemed colleague disagrees...

We tried the letter and included the freeerisa 5500 demonstrating that it had beenc omplied with. We had the IRS on the phone and told them about the letter and they acknowledged the letter, but flat out told us the only to make it stop was the amended 5500 marking it as final. Your federal government hard at work... How they could not be on the same page on this is quite something.

I will certainly do that next time, but I had always been "taught" (I think) to merge plans on 1/1. But in this situation the ship has already sailed...

same exact situaiton... NEver come ujp before, but again, several people from the IRS told me the same thing

Big difference is that if two or three of you listen to a web-cast, if all three are ERPA's you need to by it 3 times.

BElieve me, you're preaching to the choir...

More I thought about it, my opinion is that because we merged the plans on 1/1 and didn't specify what time of day, that foir the entire day of 1/1 there was only that single merged plan. So it was at the stroke of midnight that it was merged. The best argumentt he DOL can make is that for one one millisecond there were two plans, and let's face it, that is splitting hairs...

Theior webinars are like $200 just for an hour and a half of CPE...

It's a DC plan, and they all told me, systematically, the only way to supress that letter is to mark the 5500 as final...

If in 2010 we find out that the EIN used in 2009 has changed (during 2010), what I've been told by 3 separate people at the IRS is that you need to: 1) Use the new EIN for the 2010 5500; 2) Indicate the prior EIN on line 4 of the 2010 5500 (i.e., last year this plan was repoted under the following EIN) 3) Here's the kicker: amend the 2009 filing to mark it as a final 5500. Without this 3rd item, they keep telling me that there is no way for their system to NOT look for a filing under a particular EIN if that form was not marked as final. If 3 people didn't tell me the same thing I wouldn't believe it… Has anyone else had a similar experience?

How do you find out about them?

I;m just a certificate holder (as opposed to fully licensed), so I'm really not legally allowed to do anything with it other than calling myself a CPA. The full license requires 40 hours of CPE a year, plus the annual registration is over $500, plus I need to get 30 hours of CPE in Accounting and Auditing before they;ll give me my license.

Do people think it is important to be an ERPA? Am I correct that I will probably not be allowed to assist in an audit, or even talk to the IRS abouta client's account without being an ERPA (i.e., will my Power of Attorney not be accepted without it?)?

Anyone have recommendations on how to get ERPA CPE done on the cheap?

I want to be an ERPA, but I'm concerned that the bill is HUGE for the CPE. Does anyone have a strategy to do it on the cheap?

Does anyone have any support, q&a's etc., for me to support the follow: If we merge two plans together on Januiary 1, 2011, may we treat the December 31, 2010 plan year as the final 5500 for the Plan that is being eliminated? I have heard Ian Dingwall (Chief Accountant at the DOL) say this on at least one occassion, but thought if I could find something in writing, that would be great. Thanks,

If they stop deferring mid-year then they wouldn't exceed the limits. What I laid out would set them on course to comply for the year as a whole, so if they stop short they will have done less than 5% on one deduction code and less than 5,500 on the other deduction code.

The issue is that one half of the limit is a percentage and the other half is a flat dollar amount. The easiest thing is to have two deduction buckets, one set up for the 5% of pay, and the other set up to hit $5,500 (perhaps $106 per week for 52 weeks).

Yes, you should get the 5% limit plus the catch-up. The 5% limit is a plan imposed limit and you're permitted to exceed plan imposed limits by the catch-up amounts. I would think if you asked your employer they would say this is OK. I'm pretty sure if catch-ups are allowed, that tney would be required to allow you to do what I'm suggesting, but I suppose that would only be relevant if they refuse you.

How can you roll a participant loan into an IRA? And usually, the loan is offset at termination of employment, regardless of what the platform provider says (check the document). And one would hope that a 1099 has been issued by now...

I'm thinking this: Did they receive indirect comp? Yes (obviously, otherwise there wouldn't be any technology limitations) Did they receive eligible indirect comp for which they received the required disclosures? Yes (because they disclosed that they couldn't disclose it). Weak, I know but if I dont fill the boxes out somethign like this, then I get a filing error.

How do I complete schedule c, in particular, Section 2 of Part I? I knoiw there was transitional relief for a good faith effort, which applies in this situaiton. (I posted this first in the 5500 "Department" but no one replied )

How do I complete schedule c, in particular, Section 2 of Part I? I knoiw there was transitional relief for a good faith effort, which applies in this situaiton.