plan never filed 5500 DFVCP

Referred to a 403(b) plan that was created in 1989 and has never filed a 5500.  Well under 100 participants.  I am not sure how far back any records go and what can be obtained.  

How far back can/should we go to correct via DFVCP? Also, is the DFVCP amount capped at $750 for non-profits no matter how many late filings?

Since this is a 403(b), I know that through the 2009 plan year, the information required on the 5500 was pretty limited.  I do not believe financial data was required.  Would this make 2010 plan year an acceptable starting point?

Thank you

If the plan was ERISA-governed, it had a Form 5500 requirement, however limited, for all years.

The delinquent-filer system will take any number of reports.

A year ago, a client with my sitting-at-the-computer help filed a quarter-century of reports under one $750 DFVCP payment.

It is an ERISA plan.  I am just not sure what records are available going back 30 years.  If records are incomplete, would you file a best estimate as to assets and participant counts?  Is that acceptable?

If the records are incomplete, it takes some tolerance and patience to reconstruct a plan’s financial statements.  I used the most recent information, which was fuller, and worked backwards—for some elements extrapolating an estimate based on the known amounts.  For example, if your knowns are opening and closing balances, contributions, and an absence of distributions, one can interpolate an investment gain or loss.  Or if an investment gain is known or sensibly estimated from mutual funds’ published information, one can extrapolate an opening or closing balance.  My client had records on contributions.

Whatever your client estimates is better than not reporting.

Our practice for 30+ years has been to file the last 7-8 years. We have never had a client questioned for doing that. On the other hand, the omission is open literally forever and there is no statute of limitations so there is some caveat emptor.

I had a project like this last year and spoke with someone at the DOL about it and was instructed to file all missing years, but be certain the last 3 were meticulous.

19 hours ago, Bob the Swimmer said:

Our practice for 30+ years has been to file the last 7-8 years. We have never had a client questioned for doing that. On the other hand, the omission is open literally forever and there is no statute of limitations so there is some caveat emptor.

Is there really no statute of limitations?  Would the IRS or DOL ever randomly go back 7+ years to audit a 5500?  I thought there was a 3 or 6 year period that they would not go beyond that for a 5500 or plan audit?

Don't believe they would, but few clients want to run that risk, which is still fairly remote.

On 5/22/2020 at 1:06 PM, Santo Gold said:

Is there really no statute of limitations?  Would the IRS or DOL ever randomly go back 7+ years to audit a 5500?  I thought there was a 3 or 6 year period that they would not go beyond that for a 5500 or plan audit?

 

Statute of limitations starts the day you file the Form.  That's the way I've always understood it.