Feds Grant Form 5500 Filing Relief Due to Isabel

>The US Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) announced the extension to file a 5500 or 5500-EZ for companies hit by property damage, destruction and power outages from the storm that bull-dozed its way through Southern and Mid-Atlantic states leaving hundreds of thousands of customers in the dark.

>Affected companies who were required to file their Form 5500 on or between September 18, 2003 and November 18, 2003 now have until November 18, 2003 to get it in.

>The extension applies to plan administrators, employers and other entities located in areas directly affected as identified in IRS’s Tax Relief at    www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=113066,00.html .   The extension also applies to filers located outside the affected areas who were unable to obtain the necessary information from service providers, banks or insurance companies whose operations were directly affected by the hurricane.

Filers entitled to this extension should check Part 1, Box D, on the Form 5500 or Part 1, Box B on Form 5500-EZ, and attach a statement labeled “Hurricane Isabel 2003” explaining the basis for the extension being claimed under this relief. Filers who have additional questions may contact the EFAST Help Line at (866) 463-3278.