IRS Issues Draft 2018 Form 5500-EZ Instructions

IRS has issued a draft of the instructions for the Form 5500-EZ to be used in reporting concerning 2018. The IRS has done so in order to provide information to filers; the draft instructions are not to be used for actual filing.

What’s New

The IRS notes that there are two changes in the form since last year:

1. The title of Form 5500-EZ has been changed to match the purpose of the form to include both a one-participant retirement plan and a foreign plan. It is now Annual Return of a One-Participant (Owners/Partners and Their Spouses) Retirement Plan or a Foreign Plan.

2. The list of plan characteristics codes for line 8 of the Form 5500-EZ has been changed. The plan characteristics code 3D has been updated to reflect the IRS changes for the pre-approved plans under Revenue Procedure 2017-41.

The draft instructions include a variety of filing tips in order to reduce the possibility of correspondence and penalties:

• Use the online, fillable 2018 Form 5500-EZ on the IRS website. Complete and download the form to your computer to print and sign before mailing.
• Alternatively, use the official printed paper Form 5500-EZ that can be obtained from the IRS. The form is to be completed by hand, using only black or blue ink. The filer should be sure to enter information in the specific line fields provided and to sign and date the form before mailing.
• Approved software may be used, if it is available.
• Felt tip pens or other writing instruments that can cause signatures or data to bleed through to the other side of the paper may not be used. One-sided documents should have no markings on the blank side.
• Paper should be clean without glue or other sticky substances.
• Extraneous information such as arrows or notes on the form may not be submitted.
• Mail Form 5500-EZ for plan year 2018 is to be mailed to the IRS office in Ogden, Utah, to be processed.
• A one-participant plan or a foreign plan may elect to file Form 5500-SF, Short Form Annual Return/Report of Small Employee Benefit Plan, electronically with EFAST2 rather than filing a Form 5500-EZ on paper with the IRS.

Filing Date

The IRS reminds that like the Form 5500, the Form 5500-EZ is to be filed by the last day of the seventh calendar month after the end of the plan year that began in 2018. For most plans, that will be July 31, 2019.