Form 5500 due date calculator: when is your welfare plan filing due?
Enter your plan year end, your participant count and how the plan is funded to see the due date, the extended due date and whether you have to file at all. Built for HR teams that carry a health plan and need the date on the calendar before it passes. Missed a deadline? See Form 5500 late filing penalties and how the Form 5558 extension works.
Find the due date and check the small-plan exemption.
Change any field and the dates update as you type.
The last day of the plan year, such as December 31 for a calendar-year plan.
Covered employees, COBRA participants and covered retirees. Do not count dependents.
Your filing dates
A planning estimate, not legal advice. Federal holidays can move a due date. Check the result with your plan administrator or filing vendor.
When is the Form 5500 due?
A welfare plan files the Form 5500 by the last day of the seventh month after the plan year ends. A calendar-year plan files by July 31. If that day is a weekend or a federal holiday, the due date moves to the next business day. A Form 5558 filed by the original due date adds two and a half months, which moves a calendar-year plan to October 15.
Who has to file?
A group health plan with 100 or more participants at the start of the plan year files a Form 5500. A smaller plan that is fully insured, unfunded or a mix of the two is exempt from filing. A plan funded through a trust files whatever its size. Participants include covered employees, COBRA participants and covered retirees, and exclude dependents.
Common questions
Does the extension come automatically?
No. The filer has to submit Form 5558 on or before the original due date. Our extension page explains the steps.
What happens if we file late?
The Department of Labor can assess penalties for each day a required return is late, and the IRS can assess its own. The Delinquent Filer Program lets a filer pay a reduced penalty to come current. See our penalty pages for examples.
Does the small-plan exemption cover the summary plan description?
No. The exemption is from the filing only. A plan that is exempt from the Form 5500 still has to give participants a summary plan description.
Who prepares the filing?
Many carriers do not file for a health plan, so the employer or its benefits partner usually does. Ask who owns the filing and when the data is due, well before the date.
Laws and rules referenced
29 U.S.C. § 1024(a), 29 C.F.R. § 2520.104a-5 and 29 C.F.R. § 2520.104-20 — Annual report (Form 5500) due seven months after plan year end; small unfunded or insured welfare plans (under 100 participants) are exempt from filing.
This tool gives estimates for education, not tax or legal advice. Rules change, so confirm your situation with a qualified advisor.
Talk to us about your Form 5500
Book a 30-minute call and we will confirm whether you file, who prepares it and how to keep the date off your late list. Visit us at 41000 Woodward Avenue, Suite 350 East, Bloomfield Hills, MI 48304, or call 248.370.8853.
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