(a) Excise tax returns required in electronic form. Any employer or individual required to file an excise tax return on Form 5330, Return of Excise Taxes Related to Employee Benefit Plans, under § 54.6011-1 of this chapter must file the excise tax return electronically if the filer is required by the Internal Revenue Code or regulations to file at least 10 returns of any type during the calendar year that the Form 5330 is due. The Commissioner may direct the type of electronic filing and may also exempt certain returns from the electronic-filing requirements of this section through revenue procedures, publications, forms, instructions, or other guidance, including postings on the IRS.gov website. Returns filed electronically must be made in accordance with the applicable revenue procedures, publications, forms, instructions, or other guidance.
(b) Exclusions from electronic-filing requirements—(1) Waivers. The Commissioner may grant waivers of the requirements of this section in cases of undue hardship. One principal factor in determining hardship will be the amount, if any, by which the cost of filing the return electronically in accordance with this section exceeds the cost of filing the return on paper. A request for a waiver must be made in accordance with applicable IRS revenue procedures, publications, forms, instructions, or other guidance, including postings to the IRS.gov website. The waiver request will specify the type of filing (that is, a return required under § 54.6011-1 of this chapter) and the period to which it applies.
(2) Exemptions. The Commissioner may provide exemptions from the requirements of this section to promote effective and efficient tax administration. A submission claiming an exemption must be made in accordance with applicable IRS revenue procedures, publications, forms, instructions, or other guidance, including postings to the IRS.gov website.
(3) Additional exclusion. If the IRS's systems do not support electronic filing, taxpayers will not be required to file electronically.
(c) Failure to file. If a filer required to file the Form 5330 fails to file the report electronically when required to do so by this section, the filer has failed to file the report. See generally section 6651(a)(1) for the penalty for the failure to file a tax return or to pay tax. For general rules relating to the failure to file a tax return or to pay tax, see the regulations under 26 CFR 301.6651-1 (Regulations on Procedure and Administration).
(d) Meaning of terms. The following definitions apply for purposes of this section:
(1) Magnetic media or electronic form. The terms magnetic media or electronic form mean any media or form permitted under applicable regulations, revenue procedures, or publications. These generally include electronic filing, as well as magnetic tape, tape cartridge, diskette, and other media specifically permitted under the applicable regulations, procedures, publications, forms, instructions, or other guidance.
(2) Calculating the number of returns a filer is required to file—(i) In general. For purposes of this section, a filer is required to file at least 10 returns during a calendar year if the filer is required to file at least 10 returns of any type, including information returns (for example, Forms W-2 and Forms 1099), income tax returns, employment tax returns, and excise tax returns.
(ii) Definition of filer. For purposes of this section, the term filer means the person required to report the tax on the Form 5330. For general rules on who is required to report the tax on the Form 5330, see the Instructions to the Form 5330.
(e) Example. The following example illustrates the provisions of paragraph (d)(2) of this section:
(1) In 2023, Employer A (the plan sponsor and plan administrator of Plan B) is required to file Form 5330 for its nondeductible contribution under section 4972 to Plan B. During the 2024 calendar year, Employer A is required to file 20 returns (including 19 Forms 1099-R Distributions From Pensions, Annuities, Retirement, Profit-Sharing Plans, IRAs, Insurance Contracts, etc., and one Form 5500 series, Annual Return/Report of the Employee Benefit Plan). Plan B's plan year is the calendar year. Because Employer A is required to file at least 10 returns during the 2024 calendar year, Employer A must file the 2023 Form 5330 for Plan B electronically.
(2) [Reserved]
(f) Applicability date. The rules of this section apply to any Form 5330 required to be filed for taxable years ending on or after December 31, 2023.
The preliminary Code is a preliminary release of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the "Code") by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel and is subject to further revision before it is released again as a final version. The source of the preliminary Code used in TouchTax is available here: https://uscode.house.gov/download/download.shtml. The Code is a consolidation and codification by subject matter of the general and permanent laws of the U.S. prepared by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel of the U.S. House of Representatives. The Treasury Regulations are a codification of the general and permanent rules published in the Federal Register by the departments and agencies of the federal government. The version of the Treasury Regulations available within TouchTax is part of the Electronic Code of Federal Regulations which is not an official legal edition of the Code of Federal Regulations but is an editorial compilation of CFR material and Federal Register amendments produced by the National Archives and Records Administration's Office of the Federal Register (OFR) and the Government Publishing Office. The source of the CFR used in TouchTax is available here: https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/ECFR/title-26. Those using TouchTax for legal research should verify their results against the printed versions of the Code and Treasury Regulations. TouchTax is copyright 2024 by Com-Lab (Mobile). Learn more at http://touchtax.edrich.de.