IRS penalty relief after DFVCP — Notice 2014-35 and Rev. Proc. 2015-32

A Form 5500 is filed once through EFAST2, but it satisfies two statutes. ERISA §104 gives the DOL authority to assess up to $2,739 per day for a late or missing report (the January 2025 inflation adjustment under 29 CFR 2575.3; the DOL made no adjustment for 2026, and the figure is re-indexed each January). For retirement plans, IRC §6058 and §6047(e) give the IRS authority to assess its own penalty under IRC §6652(e): $250 per day, capped at $150,000 per return, after the SECURE Act (§403, effective for returns due after December 31, 2019) multiplied the prior $25 / $15,000 figures by ten.

The DOL's Delinquent Filer Voluntary Compliance Program (DFVCP) replaces the daily DOL penalty with a fee of $10 per day, capped at $750 per filing and $1,500 per plan for small plans (under 100 participants) or $2,000 and $4,000 for large plans. Eligibility and mechanics are covered in DFVCP eligibility and the DFVCP cure timeline.

The DFVCP fee does not, on its own, bind the IRS. The IRS relief is granted separately by IRS Notice 2014-35, and it is automatic only if the notice's conditions are met.

Notice 2014-35 (May 2014) states that the IRS will not impose the §6652(d)(1) and §6652(e) penalties on a late Form 5500-series return where the plan administrator:

• is eligible for and satisfies every requirement of the DFVCP for the late year, including the fee payment, and
• files a paper Form 8955-SSA with the IRS for the same year, if the plan had separated participants with deferred vested benefits to report, by the later of 30 calendar days after the DFVCP filing is complete or December 1, 2014. For any filing made today, that means 30 days after the DFVCP submission.

There is no IRS application, fee, or letter to request. The DOL shares DFVCP participation data with the IRS. If a CP 283 penalty notice arrives for a year already resolved through the DFVCP, the IRS page says to respond with the DFVCP confirmation and payment receipt.

The relief covers plans subject to Title I of ERISA that are required to file a Form 5500 or 5500-SF. It does not extend to Form 5500-EZ filers or to plans that file a 5500-SF in place of an EZ because they have no common-law employees; those are not Title I plans and are covered by the separate program below.

Form 8955-SSA is the annual registration statement listing participants who left with a deferred vested benefit. It is a retirement-plan form; health and welfare plans never file it. It goes to the IRS, not through EFAST2, and ordinarily it may be filed electronically. Under Notice 2014-35 a late 8955-SSA submitted for relief must be:

• filed on paper with the IRS at the address in the form instructions (an electronic 8955-SSA does not qualify for the relief);
• marked in Part I, line C (the “special extension” box) with “DFVC” entered in the description space; and
• received within 30 calendar days after the DFVCP filing is complete.

The penalty this step relieves is IRC §6652(d)(1): $10 per participant per day, capped at $50,000 per statement (also a SECURE Act §403 amount). A plan with 200 separated vested participants reaches the cap in 25 days, so the paper filing is not a formality.

One-participant plans (an owner, or owners and spouses, with no other employees) and certain foreign plans are not subject to Title I. They file Form 5500-EZ and cannot use the DFVCP. For them the IRS created a separate program, piloted in 2014 under Rev. Proc. 2014-32 and made permanent by Rev. Proc. 2015-32 (effective June 3, 2015). Its terms, as of the IRS program page in October 2026:

• Fee: $500 per delinquent return, capped at $1,500 per plan per submission, paid by check to the United States Treasury.
• Each late return is filed on paper on the Form 5500-EZ for the year in question, with the notation “Delinquent Return Submitted under Rev. Proc. 2015-32, Eligible for Penalty Relief” in red at the top of the first page. Electronically filed returns do not qualify.
• A completed Form 14704 transmittal is attached to the front of the submission. One submission can cover several years of the same plan.
• Returns for which the IRS has already issued a CP 283 penalty notice are excluded; the remaining route is a reasonable-cause request in response to that notice.

The DOL does not accept EZ filings, and the IRS program does not accept Title I plans. Sort the plan into the right box before paying either fee.

1. Confirm the plan is Title I. Any plan with at least one common-law employee participant is. Owner-only plans are not.
2. Confirm DFVCP eligibility. The plan must not have received a DOL written notice of failure to file for that year. A late-filing notice from the IRS (CP 283) does not disqualify the plan from the DFVCP.
3. File the late Form 5500 or 5500-SF through EFAST2 using the form for the plan year that is late (EFAST2 serves prior-year forms), and check the DFVC Program box in Part I, line D.
4. Pay the DFVCP fee through the DOL's online calculator and payment portal, or by check with the DFVCP transmittal. Save the confirmation.
5. Within 30 days, mail the paper Form 8955-SSA for each late year (retirement plans only), Part I line C marked “DFVC.”
6. Keep the packet. DFVCP confirmation, fee receipt, EFAST2 acknowledgment, and the 8955-SSA mailing proof are the response to any later CP 283.

• Plan type identified: Title I (DFVCP + Notice 2014-35) or non-Title I (Rev. Proc. 2015-32).
• Every late plan year listed, including years a prior TPA said were “handled.”
• No DOL written notice of failure to file on hand for those years.
• Late returns filed through EFAST2 with the DFVCP box checked (Title I).
• DFVCP fee paid and receipt saved.
• Paper Form 8955-SSA mailed within 30 days, line C marked “DFVC” (retirement plans).
• For 5500-EZ plans: paper returns with the red notation, Form 14704, and the $500-per-return check.
• Audit report and schedules attached where the late year's plan size required them.

• Run every welfare plan the sponsor has ever filed through the penalty check to find continuity gaps, then ask the retirement recordkeeper to run the same years.
• For each gap, confirm whether a DOL notice has already been issued; if not, the DFVCP is open and the cost is the capped fee.
• Calendar the 30-day Form 8955-SSA deadline the day the DFVCP submission is confirmed.
• Do not pay a Rev. Proc. 2015-32 fee for any plan that has a non-owner employee; that plan's IRS relief is already included in the DFVCP.