Form 5558 Employer/Plan name change

[pmacduff]

I'm certain this has an easy answer:

I have a client who changed their name and the plan name in 2013 (effective 01/01/2013).

EIN and all other data is the same (i.e. address, phone #, etc.)

Can I go ahead and use the new names on the 5558 extension, since the 5500 will indicate the name change when eventually filed?

I think it is ok because the filings are EIN driven, but then I got to "overthinking" and wasn't sure

Thank you in advance.

[Bird]

I'd definitely use the new name/# so it matches the actual filed return. (If I remember, that is...)

[Lou S.]

Yeah we used the old name one year by mistake (person preparing 5558s just missed the change) and then we had a small letter writing campaign to prove the 5558 was for the plan that was filed. Use the EIN/PN and Plan name you are going to file the 5500 under on the 5558.

[K2retire]

When I've used the new name on the extension, I've always received a notice of not filing for the old name.

[Peter Gulia]

Is there a limit on how many characters one can put in the relevant name field of the form?

A convention sometimes used for situations of this kind is "Newname fka Oldname".