IRS to Mail 401(k) Compliance Questionnaires
February 4, 2010
(PLANSPONSOR.com) – New York accounting firm Eisner LLP has issued a warning
that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will begin sending questionnaires to
401(k) sponsors to gather information about their level of compliance with
applicable tax rules.
According to Eisner’s alert,
the tax agency expects to begin in March to mail the questions dealing with deferral rates, eligibility standards, and compliance with
nondiscrimination tests.
The IRS is
expected to mail several thousand of the documents to plans around the country
to help make certain it reaches a representative sample of U.S. 401(k) plans.
After
collection the survey responses, Eisner said, the IRS is expected to issue a
report on its findings and to develop strategies to deal with any noncompliance
trends reflected in the data.
Other
IRS reviews have shown significant 401(k) noncompliance from a lack of internal
controls at the plan sponsor.
According to the alert, the IRS has typically conducted routine Form 5500 audits and reviews of
filings for its voluntary compliance program, the Employee Plans Compliance
Resolution System (EPCRS). The program, generally, allows a plan sponsor to
correct noncompliance issues related to their plan by disclosing the errors to
the IRS and paying a set filing fee.
Fred Schneyer
editors@plansponsor.com