Tools / Form 5500 deadline

When is this plan’s Form 5500 due?

The last day of the 7th month after the plan year ends, or about 2 1/2 months later with Form 5558. Enter the plan year end and this works out both, moved for weekends and federal holidays.

Add a filing date and it shows the days late and the penalty under the Department of Labor’s Delinquent Filer Voluntary Compliance Program. Nothing you enter leaves your browser.

The last day of the plan year being reported, or of a short plan year.

Was Form 5558 filed on time?

On or before the original due date. A late Form 5558 extends nothing.

Optional. If it falls after the deadline, the result shows the days late and the penalty under the Department of Labor’s Delinquent Filer Voluntary Compliance Program.

Plan size, for the penalty cap
Plan year ending December 31, 2025
Original due dateJuly 31, 2026
Friday. The last day of the 7th calendar month after the plan year ends.
Extended due date, with Form 5558October 15, 2026
Thursday. The 15th day of the 3rd month after the original due date, about 2 1/2 months later.
Your deadlineJuly 31, 2026
The original due date. Filing Form 5558 by then would move it to the extended date.

Weekend and federal holiday dates move to the next business day under the Form 5500 instructions. Read more: Form 5500 deadlines and Form 5558 extensions.

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How is the due date worked out?

  1. Original due date. The last day of the 7th calendar month after the plan year ends. A short plan year is due on the last day of the 7th month after the short year ends.
  2. Extended due date. A Form 5558 filed on or before the original due date is approved automatically to the 15th day of the 3rd month after that date. July 31 becomes October 15.
  3. Weekends and holidays. If either date falls on a Saturday, Sunday or federal holiday, the return may be filed on the next day that is not one. The extended date is counted from the unadjusted original date, so a July 31 that falls on a Saturday still extends to October 15.
  4. Days late. Counted from the original due date itself, because the DFVC Program measures lateness “without regard to any extensions”. The weekend roll decides whether a filing was on time; it does not move the date the count starts from.

What does the DFVC Program charge?

$10 for each day late, capped. The figures below were checked against the Department of Labor’s program page on November 3, 2026.

PlanPer returnPer plan, several years
Small plan$750$1,500
Small plan sponsored by a 501(c)(3), including 403(b)$750$750
Large plan$2,000$4,000

The penalty is paid by the plan administrator personally, not from plan assets. Participation does not remove IRS or PBGC penalties. For the full picture, see Form 5500 deadlines and Form 5558 extensions, and for whether the plan files large or small, the audit requirement checker.

Sources
  1. DOL: 2025 Instructions for Form 5500, Section 2, When To File, including Short Years, the weekend and federal holiday note and Extension of Time To File Using Form 5558 (PDF p. 4)
  2. IRS: Form 5558 (Rev. January 2025), automatic approval to the 15th day of the 3rd month after the normal due date, and filing through EFAST2
  3. DOL: Delinquent Filer Voluntary Compliance Program, penalty amounts and caps
  4. DFVC Program notice, 78 FR 6135 (January 29, 2013), section 3.03(b): $10 a day from the due date, without regard to any extensions
  5. 5 U.S.C. 6103, federal holidays and their Saturday and Sunday observance

Last reviewed November 3, 2026. Penalty amounts are rechecked every January.

Questions people ask about this

When is Form 5500 due?

By the last day of the 7th calendar month after the plan year ends. For a calendar year plan that is July 31 of the following year. A short plan year is due on the last day of the 7th month after the short year ends. If the date falls on a Saturday, Sunday or federal holiday, the return may be filed on the next business day.

How long does Form 5558 extend the Form 5500 deadline?

To the 15th day of the 3rd month after the normal due date, which the instructions describe as up to 2 1/2 months. A calendar year plan moves from July 31 to October 15. The Form 5558 must be filed on or before the normal due date, and a timely, complete form is approved automatically.

How is the DFVCP penalty for a late Form 5500 calculated?

$10 for each day the return is filed after the date it was due, counted without regard to any extension. A small plan is capped at $750 per return and $1,500 per plan when several years are filed together; a large plan at $2,000 per return and $4,000 per plan. A small plan sponsored by a 501(c)(3) organization, 403(b) plans included, is capped at $750 for the whole submission.