2002 Tax Help Archives  

Instructions for Form 5500-EZ (Revised 2002) 2002 Tax Year

Annual Return of One-Participant (Owners and Their Spouses) Retirement Plan

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This is archived information that pertains only to the 2002 Tax Year. If you
are looking for information for the current tax year, go to the Tax Prep Help Area.

Schedules

  • Actuaries of defined benefit plans subject to the minimum funding standards for this plan year must complete Schedule B (Form 5500), Actuarial Information, and attach it to Form 5500-EZ. See the instructions for Schedule B (Form 5500).
  • Schedule E (Form 5500), ESOP Annual Information, is required for all pension benefit plans with ESOP benefits. For additional information, see the instructions for Schedule E (Form 5500).
  • Schedule P (Form 5500), Annual Return of Fiduciary of Employee Benefit Trust, can be filed as an attachment to Form 5500-EZ for a one-participant plan that is funded by a trust by any trustee or custodian to start the running of the statute of limitations for the trust. See the instructions for Schedule P (Form 5500).

Definitions

Organizations defined in Affiliated Service Group or Controlled Group of Corporations and a Group of Trades or Businesses Under Common Control must file Form 5500 rather than Form 5500-EZ.

Affiliated Service Group

In general, two or more businesses may be an affiliated service group if:

  1. one or more of the businesses (or the shareholders, officers, or highly compensated employees of one or more of the businesses) has an ownership interest in any of the other businesses, and
  2. any of the businesses provide services to any of the other businesses (or the businesses are associated to provide services to third parties). If this applies to your business, read the rest of this definition for more details.

Section 414(m)(2) defines an affiliated service group as a group consisting of a service organization (referred to below as the first service organization (FSO)) and:

  1. A service organization (A-ORG) that is a shareholder or partner in the FSO and that regularly performs services for the FSO or is regularly associated with the FSO in performing services for third persons and/or
  2. Any other organization (B-ORG) if:
    1. A significant portion of the business of that organization consists of performing services for the FSO or A-ORG of a type historically performed by employees in the service field of the FSO or A-ORG, and
    2. 10% or more of the interest of the B-ORG is held by persons who are officers, highly compensated employees, or owners of the FSO or A-ORG.

An affiliated service group also includes a group consisting of:

  1. an organization whose principal business is performing management functions on a regular and continuous basis for another organization (or one organization and other related organizations), and
  2. the organization (and related organizations) for which such functions are performed. See section 414(m)(5).

Controlled Group of Corporations and a Group of Trades or Businesses under Common Control

These are corporations or unincorporated businesses in which there is common ownership by one or more individuals or persons. See sections 414(b) and 414(c).

Leased Employee

Under section 414(n), a leased employee provides employee services for you that are performed under your primary direction and control, the individual provides services on a substantially full-time basis for at least a year, and the services are provided pursuant to an agreement between you and a leasing organization.

Disqualified Person

Generally, a disqualified person in the case of a sole proprietorship or partnership includes you, your partners, your relatives and your partner's relatives, and other businesses in which you, your partners, or the partnership have an interest. In the case of a corporation, another corporation in which your corporation has an interest may be a disqualified person.

Specifically, the term disqualified person means:

  1. Any fiduciary (including, but not limited to, any administrator, officer, trustee, or custodian), or counsel;
  2. A person providing services to the plan;
  3. An employer any of whose employees are covered by the plan;
  4. An employee organization any of whose members are covered by the plan;
  5. An owner, direct or indirect, of 50% or more of:
    1. the combined voting power of all classes of stock entitled to vote or the total value of shares of all classes of stock of a corporation,
    2. the capital interest or the profits interest of a partnership, or
    3. the beneficial interest of a trust or unincorporated enterprise, which is an employer or an employee organization described in paragraph 3 or 4;
  6. A relative of any individual, described in paragraph 1, 2, 3, or 5;
  7. A corporation, partnership, or trust or estate of which (or in which) 50% or more of:
    1. the combined voting power of all classes of stock entitled to vote or the total value of shares of all classes of stock of such corporation,
    2. the capital interest or profits interest of such partnership, or
    3. the beneficial interest of such trust or estate is owned directly or indirectly, or held by persons described in paragraph 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5;
  8. An officer, director (or an individual having power or responsibilities similar to those of officers or directors), or a 10% or more shareholder, directly or indirectly, of a person described in paragraph 3, 4, 5, or 7; or
  9. A 10% or more (directly or indirectly in capital or profits) partner or joint venturer of a person described in paragraph 3, 4, 5, or 7.

Specific Instructions

Information at the Top of the Form

Check box A(1) if this is the first filing for this plan. Do not check this box if you have ever filed for this plan, even if it was a different form (e.g., Form 5500).

Check box A(2) if you have already filed for the 2002 plan year and are now filing an amended return to correct errors and/or omissions on the previously filed return.

Check box A(3) if all assets under the plan(s) (including insurance/annuity contracts) have been distributed to the participants and beneficiaries or distributed to another plan. The final plan year is the year in which distribution of all plan assets is completed.

Check box A(4) if this form is filed for a period of less than 12 months. Show the dates at the top of the form.

Line 1a. Enter the formal name of the plan or sufficient information to identify the plan.

Line 1b. Enter the three-digit number the employer assigned to the plan. Plans should be numbered consecutively starting with 001.

Once a plan number is used for a plan, it must be used as the plan number for all future filings of returns for the plan, and this number may not be used for any other plan even after the plan is terminated.

Line 1c. Enter the date the plan first became effective.

Line 2a. Each row of boxes on the hand print forms is designed to contain specific information regarding the employer. Please limit your response to the information required in each row of boxes as specified below:

  1. Enter in the first two rows of boxes labeled 1) the name of the employer.
  2. Enter in row 2) any "in care of (C/O)" name.
  3. Enter in row 3) the street address. A post office box number may be entered if the Post Office does not deliver mail to the employer's street address.
  4. Enter in row 4) the name of the city.
  5. Enter in row 5) the two character abbreviation of the U.S. state or possession and zip code.
  6. Enter in row 6) the foreign routing code, if applicable. Leave row 5), U.S. state and zip code, blank if entering information in rows 6) and 7).
  7. Enter in row 7) the foreign country, if applicable.
  8. Enter in row 8) the "doing business as (D/B/A)" or trade name of the employer if different from the name entered in 1).
  9. Enter in the rows of boxes labeled 9) any second address. Use only a street address, not a P.O. box, here. A P.O. box may be entered only in row 3).

Line 2b. Enter the employer's nine-digit employer identification number (EIN). For example, 00-1234567. Do not enter your Social Security Number.

Employers who do not have an EIN should apply for one on Form SS-4, Application for Employer Identification Number, as soon as possible. You can obtain Form SS-4 by calling 1-800-TAX-FORM (1-800-829-3676) or at the IRS website at www.irs.gov. The PWBA does not issue EINs.

Note. Although EINs for funds (trusts or custodial accounts) associated with plans are generally not required to be furnished on the Form 5500, 5500-EZ or schedules (except on Schedule P (Form 5500)), the IRS will issue EINs for such funds for other reporting purposes. EINs may be obtained by filing Form SS-4 as explained above.

Line 2d. Enter the six-digit business code that best describes the nature of the plan sponsor's business from the list of business codes on pages 7, 8, and 9.

Line 3a. Each row of boxes on the hand print forms is designed to contain specific information regarding the plan administrator. Please limit your response to the information required in each row of boxes as specified below:

  1. Enter in the first two rows of boxes labeled 1) the name of the plan administrator unless the administrator is the employer identified in line 2. If this is the case, enter the word "same" on line 3a and leave the remainder of line 3a, and all of lines 3b and 3c blank.
  2. Enter in row 2) any "in care of (C/O)" name.
  3. Enter in row 3) the street address. A post office box number may be entered if the Post Office does not deliver mail to the administrator's street address.
  4. Enter in row 4) the name of the city.
  5. Enter in row 5) the two character abbreviation of the U.S. state or possession and zip code.
  6. Enter in rows 6) and 7) the foreign routing code and foreign country, if applicable. Leave row 5), U.S. state and zip code, blank if entering information in rows 6) and 7).

Line 3b. Enter the plan administrator's nine-digit EIN. A plan administrator must have an EIN for Form 5500-EZ reporting purposes. If the plan administrator does not have an EIN, apply for one as explained in the instructions for line 2b.

Line 4. If the employer's name and/or EIN have changed since the last return was filed for this plan, enter the employer's name, EIN, and the plan number as it appeared on the last return filed for this plan.

Line 5. (Optional) You may use this line to designate the person or entity that is principally responsible for the preparation of the annual return.

Line 5a. Each row of boxes on the hand print forms is designed to contain specific information regarding the preparer. Please limit your response to the information required in each row of boxes as specified below:

  1. If the person who prepared the annual return is not the employer named in line 2a or the plan administrator named in line 3a, you may name the person in the first two rows of boxes labeled 1).
  2. Enter in row 2) the street address. If the Post Office does not deliver mail to the street address and the preparer has a P.O. box, enter the box number.
  3. Enter in row 3) the name of the city.
  4. Enter in row 4) the two character abbreviation of the U.S. state or possession and zip code.
  5. Enter in rows 5) and 6) the foreign routing code and foreign country, if applicable. Leave row 4), U.S. state and zip code, blank if entering information in rows 5) and 6).

Line 6. Check one box on this line. Profit-sharing, employee stock ownership (ESOP), stock bonus, and money purchase pension plans are types of defined contribution plans. A defined contribution plan is a plan that provides for an individual account for each participant and for benefits based solely on the amount in such account. If a plan is not a defined contribution plan, it is a defined benefit plan.

Line 6a. Check this box if the plan is a defined benefit plan other than an insurance contract plan described in section 412(i) (see line 6b). Any defined benefit pension plan subject to the minimum funding standards must complete and attach Schedule B (Form 5500) to this form. All defined benefit pension plans are subject to the minimum funding standards, except certain insurance contract plans described in section 412(i), church plans, governmental plans, and certain other plans described in section 412(h).

Line 6b. Check this box if the plan is an insurance contract plan described in section 412(i). For a defined benefit pension plan, check either box 6a or box 6b.

Line 6c. If this is a defined contribution plan for which a waived funding deficiency is being amortized in the current plan year, attach Schedule B (Form 5500) to this form. Complete only lines 3, 8a, 9, and 10 of Schedule B. An enrolled actuary does not have to sign the Schedule B under these circumstances.

Line 7a. If this plan is a master/prototype plan, enter the latest opinion letter number issued for the master/prototype plan. If this plan is a regional prototype plan, enter the latest notification letter number issued for the regional prototype plan. Leave line 7a blank if this plan is not a master/prototype plan or a regional prototype plan.

Line 7b. Check box (1) if you, or you and your spouse together, own 100% of the business which maintains the plan, and the business is unincorporated. Check box (2) if you are a partner in the partnership which maintains the plan. Check box (3) if you, or you and your spouse jointly, own 100% of the shares of the corporation which maintains the plan.

Line 8b. File a separate Form 5500-EZ for each plan if you have two or more one-participant plans with combined total plan assets that exceeded $100,000 at the end of any plan year beginning on or after January 1, 1994.

Line 9. In general, distributions received by participants from any qualified plan prior to attainment of age 59�, death, or disability will be subject to a 10% tax on the amount of the distributions (in addition to the income tax owed on the amount distributed). In addition, individuals generally must begin to receive distributions from qualified plans by April 1 of the calendar year following the calendar year in which they reach age 70�.

For more details on early distributions and excess accumulations in qualified retirement plans, see Pub. 560, Retirement Plans for Small Business, and Pub. 590, Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs). In addition, Form 5329, Additional Taxes on Qualified Plans (Including IRAs) and Other Tax-Favored Accounts, contains detailed information on how to report any excise tax or additional income tax in connection with your plan. These publications and the form can be downloaded at the IRS website (www.irs.gov).

Line 10. Do not include transfers received or rollovers received from other plans on lines 10b and 10c. Those should be included on line 11a.

Line 10b. Enter the total cash contributions received by the plan during the year and the contributions owed to the plan at the end of the plan year including contributions for administrative expenses.

Line 10d. Enter the total plan distributions made to participants or beneficiaries (including those distributions that are rolled over, whether or not in a direct transfer under section 401(a)(31)). If distributions include securities or other property, include the current value of the securities or other property at the date these assets were distributed. For distributions of insurance or annuity contracts to participants, enter the cash value of the contract when distributed.

Also report on line 10d a participant loan that is included in line 11a, column (a) (total plan assets - beginning of year) and that has been deemed distributed during the plan year or any prior year under the provisions of section 72(p) and Treasury Regulations section 1.72(p)-1 provided both of the following circumstances apply:

  • Under the plan, the participant loan is treated as a directed investment solely of the participant's individual account; and
  • As of the end of the plan year, the participant is not continuing repayment under the loan.

If either of these circumstances does not apply, a deemed distribution of a participant loan should not be reported on line 10d. Instead, the current value of the participant loan (including interest accruing thereon after the deemed distribution) should be included on line 11a, column (b) (plan assets - end of year) and on line 12e (participant loans), without regard to the occurrence of a deemed distribution.

Note. Although certain participant loans that are deemed distributions are to be reported on line 10d and are not to be reported as an asset thereafter, they are still considered outstanding loans and are not treated as actual distributions for certain purposes. See Q&As 12 and 19 of Regulations section 1.72(p)-1.

Line 10e. Enter the total plan distributions made during the year attributable to employee contributions or other basis under the plan.

Line 10f. Enter the amount of assets transferred (under section 414(l)) from this plan to another plan, if any. Do not include rollovers or direct transfers under section 401(a)(31) included on line 10d.

Line 10g. Include rollovers, direct transfers under section 401(a)(31), transfers under section 414(l), and net income received by the plan for the year. Do not include unrealized gains or losses.

Line 11a. Total plan assets includes rollovers and transfers received from other plans, and unrealized gains and losses such as appreciation/depreciation in assets.

Note. Do not include in column (b) a participant loan that has been deemed distributed if the loan has been reported on line 10d in accordance with the instructions for line 10d.

Line 11b. Do not include the value of future distributions that will be made to participants.

Line 12a. Enter the value of the plan's participation in a partnership or joint venture.

Line 12b. The term employer real property means real property (and related personal property) that is leased to an employer of employees covered by the plan, or to an affiliate of such employer. For purposes of determining the time at which a plan acquires employer real property for purposes of this line, such property shall be deemed to be acquired by the plan on the date on which the plan acquires the property or on the date on which the lease to the employer (or affiliate) is entered into, whichever is later.

Line 12d. An employer security is any security issued by an employer (including affiliates) of employees covered by the plan. These may include common stocks, preferred stocks, bonds, zero coupon bonds, debentures, convertible debentures, notes and commercial paper.

Line 12e. Enter on this line all loans to participants including residential mortgage loans that are subject to section 72(p). Include the sum of the value of the unpaid principal balances, plus accrued but unpaid interest, if any, for participant loans made under an individual account plan with investment experience segregated for each account made in accordance with 29 CFR 2550.408b-1 and which are secured solely by a portion of the participant's vested accrued benefit. When applicable, combine this amount with the current value of any other participant loans.

Note. Do not include on line 12e a participant loan that has been deemed distributed if the loan has been reported on line 10d in accordance with the instructions for line 10d.

After a participant loan that has been deemed distributed is reported on line 10d, it is no longer to be reported as an asset unless the participant resumes repayment under the loan in a later year. However, such a loan (including interest accruing thereon after the deemed distribution) that has not been repaid is still considered outstanding for purposes of applying section 72(p)(2)(A) to determine the maximum amount of subsequent loans. The loan is also considered outstanding for other purposes, such as the qualification requirements of section 401(a), including, for example, the determination of top-heavy status under section 416. See Q&As 12 and 19 of Regulations section 1.72(p)-1.

Line 12f. Enter all loans made by the plan except participant loans reported on line 12e. These include loans for construction, securities loans, mortgage loans (either by making or participating in the loans directly or by purchasing loans originated by a third party), and other miscellaneous loans. Include on this line residential mortgage loans that are not subject to section 72(p).

Line 12g. Include all property that has concrete existence and is capable of being processed, such as goods, wares, merchandise, furniture, machines, equipment, animals, automobiles, etc. This includes collectibles, such as works of art, rugs, antiques, metals, gems, stamps, coins, alcoholic beverages, musical instruments, and historical objects (documents, clothes, etc.). Do not include the value of a plan's interest in property reported on lines 12a through 12f, or intangible property, such as patents, copyrights, goodwill, franchises, notes, mortgages, stocks, claims, interests, or other property that embodies intellectual or legal rights.

Line 13. Section 4975 prohibits certain transactions between a plan and any disqualified person and imposes an excise tax on each prohibited transaction.

The section 4975 tax is paid with the filing of Form 5330, Return of Excise Taxes Related to Employee Benefit Plans. References to disqualified person transactions refer to all such transactions, not only those that are prohibited.

See Definitions on page 3 for the meaning of disqualified person.

Line 14b. Count your spouse and your partners' spouses only if they work in the business and benefit under the plan.

Line 14c. Your plan meets the minimum coverage requirements of section 410(b), for purposes of Form 5500-EZ, if the employees of your business (other than those benefiting under the plan) are:

  1. Covered by a collective-bargaining agreement, under which retirement benefits were subject to good-faith bargaining,
  2. Nonresident aliens who receive no earned income from you that constitutes income from sources within the United States, or
  3. Not eligible because they do not meet the plan's minimum age or years-of-service requirements.

Note. You cannot use Form 5500-EZ if you have employees covered by another plan and this one-participant plan relies on that plan to meet the minimum coverage requirements. Use Form 5500 instead.

Line 15b. A qualified joint and survivor annuity is an immediate annuity for the life of the participant, with a survivor annuity for the life of the spouse that is not less than 50% of, and is not greater than 100% of, the amount of the annuity that is payable during the joint lives of the participant and the spouse. The qualified joint and survivor annuity may be provided either by the purchase of an annuity contract from an insurance company or directly from the plan's trust. See section 417(b).

Privacy Act and Paperwork Reduction Act Notice.� We ask for the information on this form to carry out the Internal Revenue laws of the United States. This form is required to be filed under section 6058(a) of the Internal Revenue Code. Section 6109 requires you to provide your taxpayer identification number (SSN or EIN). If you fail to provide this information in a timely manner, you may be liable for penalties and interest. Section 6104(b) makes the information contained in this form publicly available. Therefore, the information will be given to anyone who asks for it and may be given to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), Department of Justice for civil and criminal litigation, and cities, states and the District of Columbia for use in administering their tax laws.

You are not required to provide the information requested on a form that is subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act unless the form displays a valid OMB control number. Books or records relating to a form or its instructions must be retained as long as their contents may become material in the administration of ERISA or the Internal Revenue Code. Generally, the Form 5500 series return/reports and some of the related schedules are open to public inspection.

The time needed to complete and file this form will vary depending on individual circumstances. The estimated average time is:

Recordkeeping 18 hr., 10 min.
Learning about the law or the form 2 hr., 13 min.
Preparing the form 4 hr., 29 min.
Copying, assembling, and sending the form 32 min.

If you have comments concerning the accuracy of these time estimates or suggestions for making this form simpler, we would be happy to hear from you. You can write to the Tax Forms Committee, Western Area Distribution Center, Rancho Cordova, CA 95743-0001. Do not send this form to this address. Instead, see Where To File on page 2.

Codes for Principal Business

Codes for Principal Business

Paper & Paper Product

Paper & Paper Product

Landscape Architecture Services

Landscape Architecture Services

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