Safe Harbor Method for Employee Elective Deferral Failures

"Employer did not withhold elective deferrals from 2016 Christmas bonus. Deferrals since the 2016 bonus have been correct (as far as we know). I am wondering whether employer can use Rev Proc 2016-51 Appendix, section .05(9) to correct. My concern is the notice requirement that requires notice be given not later than 45 days after the date on which correct deferrals begin. In my case, is 'the date on which correct deferrals begin' the first payroll after the bonus? If so, then we missed the 45 day deadline. Am I reading this correctly?"

(This topic was deleted accidentally. Could anybody repost the answers that were added to this topic before it was deleted, or chime in with other answers? Thanks!)

As quoted above, in order to fix the problem using the safe harbor method, you would have to have provided a notice 45 days after correct deferrals began, so in this case it appears the safe harbor method (no corrective QNEC for missed deferral) is not available. 

I coonsider the 45 day rule to be abhorrent in that it puts a plan sponsor that is lower on the compliance ladder in a better position than a pro-active, but not perfect, plan sponsor.  So, let's see how we can adjust the focus of the proverbial microscope... Is it reasonable to analyze what is really going on and come to the conclusion that the payroll system was not coded correctly in December in that it excluded bonuses?  I think most would agree with that statement.  In the interim, was the payroll system re-programmed?  Probably not.  So, even though the deferral amounts happened to be correct, had there been a bonus paid it would have resulted in an incorrect deferral.  Can it be argued that correct deferrals have not begun until the payroll system is re-programmed to include bonuses?  If so, your 45-day period hasn't begun, yet.  Just a thought.