"Although an employer makes matching contributions during the plan year pursuant to the plan document's formula, they only contribute half of the prescribed amount to the HCEs because the plan usually fails the ACP test and it's how the employer attempts to prevent refunds of the HCEs' match. The ACP test, though, still usually fails, even with such small allocations to the HCEs. Historically, they have corrected the failed test by making refunds just based on the small HCE matches. However, the new TPA is suggesting that the correction method must be based on the HCEs receiving enough additional matching allocations to satisfy the plan's formula before calculating the appropriate refunds. I know it's always a good idea to follow the provisions of the doc, but because this seems somewhat counterintuitive and perhaps may yield different results, I just wanted to double check that what the TPA is saying is the correct way to handle the failed test."

"This issue is the bane of my existence. A plan participant terminates on 12/26/2025 and receives a final paycheck on 1/3/2026. The paycheck is for hours worked in 2025. They don't work any hours in 2026. The plan is a safe harbor 3% non-elective plan. Are they an employee in 2026 who is includable and should receive contributions or because they aren't actively employed in 2026, do you treat them as not existing in 2026 for Plan purposes? The paycheck is $50. Do you allocate the $1.50 or do you just ignore it? What if the plan doesn't allocate contributions until into the next plan year (2027) and the participant already took their distribution. Do you actually have the Plan Sponsor fund that $1.50? Do you ask your plan sponsors to provide you any compensation someone in this scenario earned and pick it up in 2025? I believe the technically correct to the penny answer is they get the $1.50 in 2026, but what are you doing in actual practice? Do you have a threshold for what you pass on providing? Same scenario, but the plan is an ADP testing plan. Would you pull that person into your testing?"

"Participant wants taxes withheld on a 2025 excess deferral. The excess will be Code P. Is tax withholding applied to 2025 or 2026 tax return? Any citation would be helpful."

"My wife and I both opened separate solo 401(k) accounts for our respective sole proprietorship businesses. Mine in 2011, hers in 2016. We were each the only participants ever in the respective 401(k) plans. We were each the only participants in the respective businesses. There was no overlap and no involvement of one spouse in the other spouse's business or 401(k) plan. We both recently terminated our sole proprietorships, terminated our respective 401(k) plans, and zeroed out the balanced.... We both terminated our respective plans prior to the rollovers and we both have recently filed Final Form 5500-EZs in early 2026 on a short plan year. It was my wife's first-ever ('first and final') 5500-EZ filing because she always had a low balance, but I have been filing them since 2018, since I have been over $250,000 since then. · Only after the closures did we learn that we may have run afoul of IRS regulations because for several years while we were operating our 401(k) plans, we had minor children under the age of 21. Therefore, we were actually part of a 'controlled group' and my wife was obligated to file 5500-EZs for her plan for 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022.... As soon as we realized this, we also learned of the Rev. Proc. 2015-32 Penalty Relief program and put together a package including the $1,500 check to the U.S. Treasury; transmittal form 14704; and her delinquent 5500-EZ returns for those years.... My wife's first and final 5500-EZ short year filing was filed on Efast on February 10, 2026. The penalty relief application was sent by certified mail return receipt requested to the Ogden Utah location on Feb. 13, expected delivery date February 17 2026. · She has never been contacted by the IRS about any delinquent returns--no CP 403, no CP 406, definitely no CP 283.... [T]oday I noticed for the first time that the $1500 check was post dated 3/13/2026 rather than 2/13/2026....

"Our questions are: [1] What is the implication or possible impact, including any penalties or disqualifications, of including returns for 2023 and 2024 which were not actually required, and incorrectly including the 3H controlled group description code? [2] Will the IRS reject her application due to inadvertently post dating the check? She has plenty of funds in her checking account and the check will not bounce IF it is deposited by the IRS. Also, her checking account is with Chase and the internet indicates they don't care what the date is on the check, they will honor it even if post-dated. [3] What is the likely timeline on getting a CP 283? Will we at least get the CP 406 and 403 first? About how long will the penalty relief process take? [4] If the application is sent back to her for having a post-dated check and she has to re-submit, what are the odds an intervening CP 283 will be generated based on her filing of a first and final return and/or the penalty relief request? I.E. will that trigger an automatic, quick CP 283 before her penalty relief application can be processed and approved, skipping the 403 and 406? [5] Is there anything we should do about the post-dated check? Should we try to call the IRS office in Ogden Utah and explain the check is good and should be deposited and that the post-dating was a mistake? [6] Anything else she/we should be doing, or just sit tight for now? Any other advice or suggestions any of you have will be greatly appreciated."