Delinquent Filer Voluntary Compliance Program

DFVCP is for voluntary late annual-report compliance. EBSA describes the program as a way for plan administrators to submit overdue annual reports while paying lower civil penalties. For ROBS sponsors, the useful lane is narrow: file each delinquent ERISA Form 5500 or Form 5500-SF through EFAST2, mark the DFVC Program box, then calculate and pay the reduced DOL penalty online before DOL sends written notice of the failure.^[S1][S2][S3]

The program does not certify that the ROBS stock purchase was prudent, that employer stock was valued correctly, that employees were offered participation, that a prohibited transaction was corrected, or that the plan remains qualified. Those issues belong in separate fiduciary, EPCRS, valuation, participant-account, Form 5330, tax-return or counsel-led correction lanes.^{[S5][S8][S9][S10][S11]}

The central ROBS misconception is that the annual filing disappears because the company began as an owner-funded startup. The IRS says many ROBS sponsors were incorrectly told the one-participant Form 5500-EZ exception applied. In a ROBS arrangement, the plan uses rollover assets to buy C corporation stock; the IRS states the plan, through its company-stock investment, rather than the individual, owns the trade or business, so the annual Form 5500 is still required.^[S8]

Owner-only exemptions still have limits. A non-ERISA owner-only plan may have a separate Form 5500-EZ lane, but employees, eligible employees, participant deferrals, allocations, terminated participants with vested benefits, employer stock, plan termination and final-return years can change the filing analysis. A dissolved, inactive or failed ROBS corporation still needs a plan-year-by-plan-year reconstruction before deciding whether the filing is missing, late, final, amended or never required.^{[S3][S4][S7][S8]}

Late and inaccurate are different problems. DFVCP reduces DOL penalties for delinquent annual reports. It does not supply missing Schedule H, Schedule I, Schedule R, Schedule C, Schedule G, accountant reports, appraisals, stock ledgers, payroll records or participant-account data. If the filed return used the wrong EIN, wrong plan number, wrong plan year, unsupported employer-stock value or missing audit attachment, the correction is not just a DFVCP payment.^{[S1][S2][S3][S8][S9]}

Use EFAST2 first. File a Form 5500 or 5500-SF for each year relief is requested, with the DFVC Program box marked in Part I. Do not file Form 8955-SSA through EFAST2; if it is required for separated participants with deferred vested benefits, file it directly with the IRS under the IRS relief instructions.^[S1][S2][S5]

After filing, use the DFVCP calculator and online payment system. DOL says applicants must pay online and that paper submissions and paper payments are no longer accepted. Keep the accepted EFAST2 status, payment confirmation, signed return, schedules, workpapers, valuation support and any IRS Form 8955-SSA proof with the permanent plan file.^[S1][S2][S3]

The basic DFVCP penalty is $10 per day, calculated from the original filing due date. If an extension existed but the return was filed after the extension period, DOL still calculates from the original due date. Current caps are $750 per filing and $1,500 per plan for small plans, $2,000 per filing and $4,000 per plan for large plans, with a $750 per-plan cap for a small plan sponsored by a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization.^[S1]

Top-hat plan statements, apprenticeship and training plan notices and Form M-1 late filings use a flat $750 penalty in the DOL DFVCP materials. These categories are separate from a ROBS qualified plan's Form 5500 or Form 5500-SF correction, but they matter when a sponsor has another benefit arrangement or MEWA-related filing in the same organization.^[S1]

Multiple-year treatment is per plan, not per owner. Calculate each delinquent annual report at $10 per day from the original due date, apply the per-filing cap, add the capped annual amounts for that plan, then apply the per-plan cap. Do not add IRS, PBGC, valuation, audit and participant-restoration amounts into the DOL DFVCP cap; those are different obligations.^{[S1][S5][S10][S11]}

IRS relief for DFVCP filers is conditional. The IRS generally waives late Form 5500-series penalties when the filer satisfies DOL DFVCP, and also files any required paper Form 8955-SSA directly with the IRS for separated participants with deferred vested benefits. Eligible returns are Title I ERISA retirement plans that must file Form 5500-series returns and are eligible for DOL DFVCP; the IRS separately excludes Form 5500-EZ and owner-only plans from that DFVCP-linked relief lane.^[S5]

For the Form 8955-SSA part of IRS Notice 2014-35 relief, the IRS says electronic Form 8955-SSA filings are not eligible. The paper form must check Part I, line C, Special extension, enter DFVC in the line C description, and be mailed to the IRS address in the Form 8955-SSA instructions by the later of 30 calendar days after completing the DFVC filing or December 1, 2014. That December 1, 2014 date is part of the Notice 2014-35 relief condition, not a general current Form 8955-SSA deadline; ordinary Form 8955-SSA instructions still govern current filing obligations outside that relief lane.^[S5]

ROBS-specific tax and qualification issues remain separate. A missing Form 5500 may appear alongside failure to file Form 1120, unsupported employer-stock valuation, discriminatory amendments, missing participant rights, prohibited transactions or excise-tax questions. DFVCP and the IRS Form 8955-SSA relief condition do not cure those issues, and it does not substitute for participant-account restoration, auditor work or counsel analysis.^{[S8][S9][S11]}

These five examples are reproducible arithmetic and chronology screens. They assume DFVCP eligibility where stated and do not predict agency action, audit results, IRS relief, PBGC relief, plan qualification, valuation acceptance or fiduciary correction.

Keep a correction packet for each plan year: plan document and amendments, sponsor EIN, plan EIN if used, three-digit plan number, signed return, EFAST2 accepted status, DFVCP payment receipt, schedules, audit report if required, valuation support, participant census, payroll and deferral records, Form 8955-SSA proof and any amended-return explanation. If a year was already accepted but wrong, use amended-return mechanics rather than treating the same year as a missing return.^[S2][S3][S5]

Use the right adviser before filing when records are incomplete or facts are conflicted. A TPA or recordkeeper can rebuild plan data. A CPA can reconcile payroll, corporate returns and Form 8955-SSA facts. An independent auditor may be required for a large plan. A qualified appraiser should support employer stock or asset values. ERISA counsel should handle notice timing, fiduciary breach, prohibited-transaction, investigation, subpoena, dissolved-business and participant-loss issues.^{[S3][S8][S9][S10][S12]}

Use these answers to separate DFVCP penalty relief from ROBS qualification, fiduciary correction, tax relief and missing-accounting work.

Research ledger: docs/research/delinquent-filer-voluntary-compliance-program-research-ledger.json. Sources were checked Aug. 12, 2026. Official sources establish current federal program mechanics; they do not determine any plan's filing obligation, notice posture, ROBS compliance, tax liability, valuation or correction eligibility.

1. S1. U.S. Department of Labor EBSA: Delinquent Filer Voluntary Compliance ProgramUsed for DFVCP eligibility, EFAST2-before-payment order, online payment, $10 per day rate, small-plan, large-plan, top-hat, apprenticeship and M-1 caps. Limit: DOL relief only; the page says DFVCP does not waive all DOL annual-reporting civil penalties and does not relieve Internal Revenue Code or PBGC penalties.
2. S2. U.S. Department of Labor: Welcome - EFAST2 FilingUsed for EFAST2 portal, electronic filing, filing status checks, public filings and credentials. Limit: Portal mechanics and credentials can change.
3. S3. DOL, IRS and PBGC: 2025 Instructions for Form 5500Used for who must file, electronic filing, required schedules, amended/final returns, signatures, filing status, penalties and large-plan audit attachment context. Limit: Use the form-year instructions and version-selection tool for each delinquent year.
4. S4. Internal Revenue Service: Form 5500 CornerUsed for Form 5500-series purpose, filing deadlines, one-participant and foreign plan lanes, IRS penalty context. Limit: IRS page; DOL DFVCP mechanics remain on EBSA materials.
5. S5. Internal Revenue Service: IRS penalty relief for DOL DFVC filers of late annual reportsUsed for IRS Notice 2014-35 relief conditions for DFVCP filers, paper Form 8955-SSA marking and mailing timing, eligible ERISA returns and excluded Form 5500-EZ or owner-only plans. Limit: Notice 2014-35 relief is conditional and does not replace ordinary current Form 8955-SSA filing instructions or deadlines.
6. S6. Internal Revenue Service: Penalty relief program for Form 5500-EZ late filersUsed for separate IRS relief lane for eligible one-participant and foreign plan Form 5500-EZ late filers. Limit: Not DFVCP; unavailable after a CP 283 penalty notice for the overdue year.
7. S7. Internal Revenue Service: 2025 Instructions for Form 5500-EZUsed for one-participant and foreign plan definition, $250,000 threshold and final-return filing trigger. Limit: ROBS-specific owner-only assumptions must be checked against IRS ROBS guidance.
8. S8. Internal Revenue Service: Rollovers as Business Start-Ups Compliance ProjectUsed for ROBS annual Form 5500 misconception, plan ownership of the trade or business, stock valuation, participant and corporate-return issues. Limit: IRS compliance project page is not a DOL penalty-relief program.
9. S9. Internal Revenue Service: EP ROBS guidelines memorandumUsed for ROBS formation sequence, employer-stock valuation, discrimination and prohibited-transaction examination concerns. Limit: Exam guidelines, not a correction approval or relief procedure.
10. S10. Office of the Law Revision Counsel: ERISA section 502Used for DOL civil penalty authority for annual reporting failures. Limit: Statutory maximums are separate from DFVCP reduced penalties.
11. S11. Office of the Law Revision Counsel: Internal Revenue Code section 6652Used for IRS annual-reporting penalty boundary. Limit: IRS relief depends on IRS conditions.
12. S12. Electronic Code of Federal Regulations: 29 CFR 2560.502c-2Used for DOL annual-reporting civil penalty assessment regulation. Limit: Regulation supports penalty authority, not voluntary program eligibility.