Final 415 Regulations - Amendment Deadline

[J. Bringhurst]

To what extent are qualified plans (DB and DC) being amended for the final 415 regulations? Some have suggested that Cycle B plans must be amended by 12/31/07 (i.e., as also suggested by the 2006 Cumulative List) but that C, D and E plans have until the tax filing deadline for mandatory amendments (or until the end of the plan year in which a discretionary amendment is effective). We filed some Cycle B plans early in the year (before the final regulations were issued), so it seems as if a disconnect would occur if later filed plans must be amended by 12/31/07.

[Belgarath]

Unless I'm missing the boat, I'd say that no, an amendment wouldn't generally be required by then. The final 415 regs are effective for limitation years beginning on or after 7-1-07. The general amendment deadline is the due date of the employer's tax return, including extensions, for the tax year with or within which ends the first limitation year to which the new rules apply. So for a limitation year beginning 7-1-07 and ending 6-30-08, the earliest the amendment would generally be required would be 9-15-08, and it could be later than that.

I'll be interested to see what others think.