Applicable plan sponsors must file Form 5500-series returns on the last day of the seventh month after their plan year ends. As a result, calendar-year plans generally must file by July 31 of this year (reporting on the 2020 plan year). (Keep in mind, though that the actual due date will be August 2, 2021, since July 31 falls on a Saturday.) Plans may request a two-and-a-half-month extension to file by submitting Form 5558, Application for Extension of Time to File Certain Employee Plan Returns, by that plan’s original due date.
As a reminder, group health plans sponsored by a governmental or church entity aren’t required to file a Form 5500, as those plans aren’t subject to ERISA. Additionally, unfunded, insured or combination unfunded and insured health plans with fewer than 100 participants on the first day of the plan year are also exempt from the filing.
