Form 5500 is the annual return that US employee benefit plans, such as a 401(k), file to report the plan's finances, investments and operations. It's due on the last day of the seventh month after the plan year ends, which is 31 July for a calendar-year plan, and most plans file it electronically through the Labor Department's EFAST2 system.
If your business offers a retirement plan, the plan has its own annual filing, separate from your business tax return. A provider may prepare it for you, but the filing is the plan administrator's responsibility, so check who that is for your plan. Here's what the Department of Labor and the IRS say.
What Form 5500 is for
The Department of Labor, the IRS and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation built the Form 5500 Series together, so one filing meets the annual reporting rules under ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code. The IRS describes it as reporting the plan's qualification, financial condition, investments and operations. The Labor Department also calls it a disclosure document for plan participants: filed returns are public, apart from one-participant plans filed through EFAST2.
Which version you file
| Form | Who uses it | How it's filed |
|---|---|---|
| Form 5500 | Employee benefit plans generally, including large plans | Electronically through EFAST2 |
| Form 5500-SF | Small employee benefit plans that meet the eligibility rules in its instructions | Electronically through EFAST2 |
| Form 5500-EZ | One-participant plans (owners, partners and their spouses only) and certain foreign plans | EFAST2, or on paper with the IRS if you're not subject to e-filing |
Since 1 January 2021, you can't use the 5500-SF for a one-participant plan. Those plans must use the 5500-EZ. A separate form, the 8955-SSA, reports separated participants with vested benefits and goes straight to the IRS, not through EFAST2.
The one-participant plan rule that surprises solo owners
A one-participant plan covers only you, or you and your spouse, where you own the whole business, or only partners and their spouses in a partnership. The 5500-EZ instructions say you don't have to file for the 2025 plan year if the total assets of the plan, combined with all your other one-participant plans, don't exceed $250,000 at the end of the year, unless it's the plan's final year.
Here's the trap: the $250,000 test counts all your one-participant plans together. If the combined total goes over $250,000, you file a 5500-EZ for every one of them, including a small plan holding less than $250,000 on its own. And when you close a plan, you file a final return whatever its size.
If you're thinking of starting a plan, one related rule from the IRS page is worth knowing: under section 201 of the SECURE Act, an employer can adopt a plan by the due date of its tax return, including extensions, and elect to treat the plan as effective for that tax year. That plan then has its own first Form 5500 to file, so diary it the day you sign the paperwork.
Due date and the extension
| Item | Rule |
|---|---|
| Due date | Last day of the seventh month after the plan year ends |
| Calendar-year plan | 31 July |
| Extension | Form 5558, a one-time extension of up to 2.5 months, filed by the normal due date |
| Filing the extension | Through EFAST2 since 1 January 2025, or on paper with the IRS |
One Form 5558 can extend both the Form 5500 and the Form 8955-SSA for the same plan, and the IRS says no signature is needed on the extension. Keep a copy with the plan's records; you don't attach it to the return.
Penalties, as of October 2026
Late filing is expensive because two agencies can charge you. The IRS penalty, raised by the SECURE Act, is $250 per day, up to $150,000 for each late Form 5500 or 5500-EZ, plus interest. The Labor Department can charge penalties of up to $1,942 per day for each day a filing is overdue.
Both agencies run cheaper catch-up routes if you come forward before they find you:
| Program | Who it's for | Cost (as of October 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| DOL Delinquent Filer Voluntary Compliance (DFVC) | Small plans filing Form 5500 or 5500-SF late | $10 a day, capped at $750 per filing and $1,500 per plan ($750 per plan for a small plan run by a 501(c)(3) organization) |
| DOL DFVC | Large plans | Capped at $2,000 per filing and $4,000 per plan |
| IRS penalty relief for 5500-EZ late filers | One-participant and foreign plans | $500 per delinquent return, up to $1,500 per submission for the same plan |
One more detail from the DFVC page: if you got an extension but file after it runs out, penalties are calculated from the original due date, not the extended one.
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A yearly checklist for small employers
- Confirm your plan year end and diary the last day of the seventh month after it.
- Work out which form applies: 5500, 5500-SF or 5500-EZ.
- For one-participant plans, add up the assets of all of them at year end against the $250,000 test.
- Ask your provider whether they prepare and file it, and who signs; the duty stays with the plan administrator.
- File Form 5558 before the due date if you need more time.
- If you've missed years, use DFVC or the IRS relief program before a penalty notice arrives.
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My verdict
Form 5500 is a classic small-business blind spot: it isn't your tax return, so it slips through the cracks, and the penalties are brutal. Solo owners with a one-participant plan should watch the combined $250,000 line every year end. Everyone else should get written confirmation of who files it. And if you've fallen behind, the voluntary programs are far cheaper than waiting.
Frequently asked questions
What is Form 5500?
The annual return/report that US employee benefit plans file to meet ERISA and Internal Revenue Code reporting rules.
When is Form 5500 due?
The last day of the seventh month after the plan year ends, which is 31 July for a calendar-year plan.
Do I need to file Form 5500-EZ for my solo 401(k)?
Not for the 2025 plan year if all your one-participant plans together held $250,000 or less at year end, unless it's the plan's final year.
How do I get an extension for Form 5500?
File Form 5558 by the normal due date for a one-time extension of up to 2.5 months.
What is the IRS penalty for filing Form 5500 late?
$250 per day, up to $150,000 per late return, plus interest, as of October 2026.
What is the DFVC Program?
A Labor Department program that lets plan administrators file overdue Form 5500 returns and pay capped, lower penalties.
