IRS News Release IR-97-31

FOR RELEASE:  5/20/97                                 IR-97-31

   EMPLOYEE PLAN DEADLINES EXTENDED FOR MIDWEST DISASTER AREAS

     Washington -- The Internal Revenue Service and the U.S.
Department of Labor's Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration
have granted extensions to pension and other employee benefit
plans in the federal disaster areas of Minnesota, North Dakota
and South Dakota.  Plan administrators will have until June 30,
1997, to file required returns/reports.

     The extension applies to employee benefit plans, banks and
insurance companies located in the counties designated as federal
disaster areas.  It also applies to plan administrators located
outside the disaster areas who are unable to obtain the
information necessary for filing from service providers, banks,
or insurance companies whose operations are located in the
disaster areas.

     The agencies will not impose late filing or late payment
penalties for pension and employee benefit plan returns/reports
and related excise taxes due on or after April 15, 1997, if the
filing or payment occurs by June 30, 1997.  This would include,
for example, Form 5500 series reports and excise tax returns.

     To qualify for the extension, returns/reports must be marked
in red, bold print "'97 Floods" on the top center of the first
page.  The return/report of an employee benefit plan not located
within a designated disaster area must have an attachment
identifying the plan's service provider affected by the disaster
and the county in which the service provider is located.

     The IRS cannot administratively extend certain deadlines set
by law and these deadlines must be met:
  -- contributions to qualified employee benefit plans must be
     made by the due date of the return (with extensions) to be
     deductible on that return;
  -- contributions to pension plans under the minimum funding
     standards of Internal Revenue Code Section 412 must be made
     by the dates specified;
  -- a rollover to a qualified plan or individual retirement
     account (IRA) must be completed within 60 days of receipt of
     the distribution; and
  -- IRA contributions for 1996 must have been made by April 15,
     1997.