Changing Fiscal and Plan year ends

I was just notified on Friday, that a client is changing their fiscal and plan year end from 9/30 to 12/31, effective 12/31/2019.     It's too late to prepare a 12/31/2019 5500, so do I  prepare a 9/30/2020 val and 5500 and then do a short plan year of 10/1/2020 to 12/31/2020?     Can I still amend the plan retroactively for a 12/31 fiscal and plan year end effective 12/31/2020? 

Thanks for your help

You can't change the plan year after the end of the plan year. So you're stuck with the 9/30/20 and 9/30/21 year ends.

Then you can have a short plan year from 10/1/21-12/31/21.

WCP

seconded

On 1/11/2021 at 12:05 PM, Bill Presson said:

You can't change the plan year after the end of the plan year. So you're stuck with the 9/30/20 and 9/30/21 year ends.

Clarification:  you can't change the plan year after the end of the short plan year (ie, 12/31 in this example).

BTW, if you want to show some consulting chops, you will ask the client why.  Sometimes, there can be good reasons to leave the plan year unchanged even when the company fiscal year changes.  (Asking why does not mean you are taking a position or being accusatory, just trying to help.)