Form 5558 Electronic Filing Postponed Until 2025

The IRS has announced that it is postponing electronic filing of the Form 5558, Application for Extension of Time to File Certain Employee Plan Returns, through the Department of Labor's (DOL) EFAST 2 system until Jan. 1, 2025. 

The IRS attributes this to administrative issues concerning EFAST-2. That system is the electronic means by which the Form 5500 is filed with the DOL. 

The Form 

The Form 5558 is used to apply for a one-time extension of time to file the following forms (up to 2½ months after the normal due date for Form 5500s or Form 8955-SSA): 

• Form 8955-SSA, Annual Registration Statement Identifying Separated Participants With Deferred Vested Benefits; and 
• The Form 5500 Series:
• Form 5500, Annual Return/Report of Employee Benefit Plan;
• Form 5500-SF, Short Form Annual Return/Report of Small Employee Benefit Plan; and
• Form 5500-EZ, Annual Return of One-Participant (Owners and Their Spouses) Retirement Plan). 

Filing the Form 

The IRS had stated on its website that beginning Jan. 1, 2024, the Form 5558 could be filed electronically or on paper. However, in December, Kizzy Gaul, chair of the ASPPA Government Affairs Committee and a Director of Benefits Advisory and Compliance at WTW, in remarks to ASPPA Connect said that it appeared that the DOL had communicated to third-party software developers that electronic filing of the Form 5558 would not be available by that date after all. Certain third-party software developers are approved to program software to interface with the EFAST2 web-based filing system for filing the Form 5500 series.  

At that time, the IRS had not changed the information on its websites concerning how the Form 5558 is to be filed. It has now done so. 

The ARA View

In a Dec. 5, 2022 letter to the IRS, the American Retirement Association (ARA) had expressed strong support for the electronic submission of Form 5558 via EFAST2. It sent the letter in response to a request for comments from the IRS regarding proposed revisions to the form to allow for such electronic filing.

“In an increasingly computerized society, filers recognize the efficiencies and effectiveness of electronic filing,” wrote ARA Chief Executive Officer Brian Graff and ARA Chief Counsel Allison Wielobob in the letter. They continued, “Because the Form 5500 filing process requires certain employers and service providers to electronically file, it is a natural step for the IRS to allow those same filers to electronically file the Form 5558.” 

What This Means

The IRS announcement means that for plan filings concerning the 2023 plan year that are due in 2024, plan sponsors and plan administrators should continue to use a paper Form 5558.