IRS To Commence Pilot Program For Penalty Relief For Small Business Retirement Plans

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Written by Peter J. Scalise | Posted in IRS • Retirement • Small Business

On Thursday, May 22nd The Internal Revenue Service (hereinafter the “Service”) announced that it will begin a one-year pilot program in June to help small businesses with retirement plans that owe penalties for not filing reporting documents.

By filing current and prior year forms during this pilot program, small businesses can avoid penalties. The Service issued Rev. Proc. 2104-32 earlier this month describing the scope and application of the program. The Service indicated that it is also reaching out to certain small businesses that maintain retirement plans that may have been unaware that they had a filing requirement. The Service estimates that the new program will bring a significant number of small business owners into compliance with the reporting requirements.

As a caveat, it should be duly noted that Plan Administrators and sponsors who do not file an annual Form 5500 series return can face tax penalties of up to $15,000 per return. Those who have already been assessed a penalty for late filings are not eligible for this program. The program is open only to retirement plans that are generally maintained by certain small businesses, such as those in an owner-spouse arrangement or eligible partnership.

In connection to the scope and application of the program, multiple late retirement plan returns may be included in a single submission. If a retirement plan has delinquent returns for more than one plan year, penalty relief may be available for all of these returns. Similarly, delinquent returns for more than one plan may be included in a single penalty relief request. No filing fee will be charged during the pilot program.

In accordance with Circular 230 Disclosure

Peter J. Scalise

Peter J. Scalise serves as the Federal Tax Credits & Incentives Practice Leader for Prager Metis CPAs, LLC a member of The Prager Metis International Group. Peter is a highly distinguished BIG 4 Alumni Tax Practice Leader and has approximately twenty years of progressive public accounting experience developing, managing and leading multi-million dollar tax advisory practices on both a regional and national level.

Peter is a highly acclaimed thought leader in the fields of accounting and taxation with deep subject matter expertise in connection to designing, implementing and defending sustainable methodologies for specialty tax incentives including, but not limited to, research tax incentives; orphan drug credits; therapeutic discovery credits; accounting methods and periods; energy tax incentives in connection to green building envelope efficiency and benchmarking, solar energy, bio energies, fuel cells, wind turbines, micro turbines, and geothermal systems; and comprehensive fixed asset analysis incorporating principles of construction tax planning, cost segregation analysis and the final treasury regulations governing tangible property.

Peter is a renowned keynote speaker and an extensively published author on specialty tax incentives, tax controversy matters, and legislative updates from Capitol Hill for NAREIT, AGRION, USGBC, AICPA, ASTP, NATP, ABA, AIA, and TEI. Peter serves as a member of the Tax Faculty for CPAacademy, iShade and TaxConnections University (“TCU”). Peter serves on both the Board of Directors and Board of Editors for The American Society of Tax Professionals (“ASTP”) and is the Founding President and Chairman of The Northeastern Region Tax Roundtable.