ROBS Form 5500 Costs: Filing Fees, Admin Charges, and Quote Questions

A ROBS plan normally needs annual retirement-plan reporting. IRS ROBS guidance specifically says promoters were wrong to tell some sponsors that the one-participant filing exception applied to the ROBS arrangement it describes; because the plan owns company stock, the annual Form 5500 is still required for that arrangement.^[1][7] That does not mean every file uses the same form in every year. The form path, schedules, audit requirement, final-return status, and correction path depend on current instructions and plan facts.^[4][5][6]

For cost purposes, treat the bill as three separate lanes. Routine annual service may already be included in a provider’s monthly or annual administration fee. Conditional event work can be separately priced when facts change. Missed or defective filings create exposure: penalties, reduced-penalty submissions, notice responses, and professional time to rebuild records.^[8][9][10]

Sources were reopened on July 31, 2026. Provider pages establish only each provider’s published price and stated scope as of that review; they do not prove transaction-specific eligibility, audit outcome, or fiduciary prudence.

The usual ROBS cost conversation starts with Form 5500 because IRS ROBS project findings identify nonfiling as a recurring issue and reject the one-participant exception for the described ROBS structure.^[7] Form 5500-SF has small-plan conditions and, under the 2025 short-form instructions, cannot be used if the plan held employer securities at any time during the year.^[5] Form 5500-EZ is for one-participant and certain foreign plans, with its own $250,000 threshold and final-year rules; it should not be used for a ROBS plan unless the plan’s facts and ERISA status support that conclusion under current instructions.^[1][6][7]

Form 5500 and 5500-SF filings are filed electronically through EFAST2. EFAST2 also lets users file Form 5500-EZ electronically and file Form 5558 for extensions.^[1][2][3] The normal due date is the last day of the seventh month after plan year-end, July 31 for a calendar-year plan, and Form 5558 can generally extend the filing window.^[1][4][5][6]

A provider can prepare the return, but the owner-side file still matters. Guidant’s service page states that the owner is legally the plan administrator, that Guidant prepares the Form 5500, and that the plan sponsor must digitally sign and submit it. That is a provider-specific statement, but it matches the broader point: service providers do not erase sponsor, administrator, signer, and record-retention duties.^[4][6][11]

Routine annual work is not merely typing numbers into a form. A ROBS provider may need financial statements, plan asset records, payroll and census data, employee contribution records, valuation support for employer stock, testing information, and owner signature steps before the filing can be completed.^{[4][11][13][14]}

Ask when the provider opens the annual maintenance cycle, what documents are required, and when the provider will file an extension. Guidant’s administration page says it asks annually for balance sheet and profit-and-loss statements, employee census information such as Social Security number, date of birth, date of hire, hours worked, contributions, gross salary, and investment-management statements if contributions are made.^[11] Other providers may request the same categories in different formats.

The practical risk is timing. Treat late books, incomplete census data, payroll-reconciliation problems, employee eligibility changes, amendments, and prior-year amended filings as quote questions rather than assumed inclusions. The reviewed sources support the document categories, filing and amendment mechanics, correction lanes, and provider-stated scopes, but the actual charge depends on the written engagement.^{[4][5][8][11][13][14]}

Audit costs are separate from ordinary preparation unless the written engagement says otherwise. The Form 5500 instructions require accountant-report attachments for plans that cross the large-plan reporting/audit line unless an exception applies; the Form 5500-SF instructions include a small-plan audit-waiver condition.^[4][5] A provider’s “audit assistance” can mean coordination or legal support, not the independent qualified public accountant’s fee. Quote it separately.

Late and defective filings also sit outside the routine lane. DOL DFVCP lets eligible Title I plan administrators file overdue annual reports through EFAST2 and pay reduced civil penalties; for Form 5500 filers, the page lists $10 per day with small-plan caps of $750 per filing and $1,500 per plan.^[8] IRS may provide related relief for eligible DOL DFVCP filers, while Form 5500-EZ has a separate IRS program with $500 per delinquent return and a $1,500 same-plan cap.^[9][10] Broader operational errors may require separate plan-correction work rather than only a late annual report.

Quote comparison should identify the service recipient before deciding who pays, but a quote is not a legal allocation conclusion for a particular plan. Use the payer question to separate plan-administration functions, such as annual reporting and testing, from adjacent corporate, acquisition, lender, owner personal tax, or sale-planning work. The invoice, plan document, fiduciary file, and engagement letter should be reviewed before plan assets are used.^{[4][11][13][14]}

That boundary matters because several provider packages include adjacent services. FranFund’s TPA price includes Form 5500, 1099-R, Form 945, annual fair market value support, audit assistance, amendments, notices, and transaction documentation.^[13] My Solo 401k’s annual fee includes Form 5500 preparation, participant additions, 1099-R reporting, valuation support, amendments, participant statement review, contributions, vesting, and testing for the first 10 participants.^[14] A lower or higher quote may simply include a different set of services.

Normalize quotes before comparing dollar amounts. Two providers can both say “Form 5500 included” while one includes only draft preparation and another includes census review, testing, annual valuation support, signer support, accepted-status follow-up, Summary Annual Report preparation, participant additions, and notice help.

1. Ask the provider to identify the assumed form path and the facts supporting it.
2. Request a written scope showing routine annual work, conditional event work, audit support, correction work, and final-year work separately.
3. Get the document calendar: when books, census, valuation support, payroll data, participant statements, and owner signature are due.
4. Ask for the EFAST2 accepted-status process, not only a promise that the return will be prepared.
5. If a prior year is missing or wrong, ask for a late/amended filing plan before approving the current-year engagement.

1. 1. IRS Form 5500 corner

   IRS and agency overview of Form 5500-series annual returns, who files, EFAST2 filing, due date, Form 5558 extension, one-participant plan limits, Form 5500-EZ relief, and current IRC 6058 penalty amount. Page last reviewed or updated July 20, 2026.

2. 2. DOL EBSA Form 5500 Series

   DOL explanation that Form 5500 is a compliance, research, and disclosure tool; EFAST2 electronic filing for Form 5500 and 5500-SF; Form 5500-EZ electronic and paper paths; and 2025 form/instruction links.

3. 3. EFAST2 welcome page

   Official EFAST2 page confirming the government system lets filers file, find, and learn about Forms 5500, 5500-SF, 5500-EZ, Form 5558, and Form PR; 2025 forms were released January 1, 2026; and Form 5558 electronic filing is available.

4. 4. 2025 Instructions for Form 5500

   Official instructions for Form 5500 filing duties, signatures, schedules, amended and final returns, electronic filing, accountant report attachment for large plans, and annual report obligations.

5. 5. 2025 Instructions for Form 5500-SF

   Official short-form instructions for small-plan eligibility, participant limits, audit waiver, no-employer-securities condition, EFAST2 filing, Form 5558 extension, and amended filing mechanics.

6. 6. 2025 Instructions for Form 5500-EZ

   Official one-participant and foreign-plan instructions for the $250,000 asset threshold, final-year filing, Form 5558 and automatic tax-return-extension mechanics, signature records, and $250-per-day/$150,000 penalty.

7. 7. IRS ROBS compliance project

   IRS ROBS project describing the ROBS stock-purchase structure, Form 5500/Form 1120 nonfiling findings, recordkeeping and information-reporting questions, valuation issues, and the warning that the one-participant filing exception does not apply to the described ROBS plan.

8. 8. DOL DFVCP

   DOL reduced-penalty program for overdue Title I annual reports, including EFAST2 filing, online payment, eligibility limits, $10-per-day calculation, small-plan caps of $750 per filing and $1,500 per plan, and large-plan caps.

9. 9. IRS penalty relief for DOL DFVC filers

   IRS relief for eligible Title I Form 5500 and Form 5500-SF filers who satisfy DOL DFVCP and related conditions. Current penalty dollars are checked against the IRS Form 5500 corner and 2025 instructions.

10. 10. IRS Form 5500-EZ late-filer relief

    IRS separate late-filer program for eligible Form 5500-EZ filers, including Form 14704, $500 per delinquent return, $1,500 same-plan cap, and exclusion after a CP 283 notice for that year.

11. 11. Guidant 401(k) Plan Administration

    Guidant-published starting price of $149 per month, stated Form 5500 preparation, annual compliance review/testing, Summary Annual Report, Statement of Value, no extra-cost valuation, owner signature and filing responsibility, annual document/data requests, final Form 5500 support, and audit-protection statements.

12. 12. Guidant pricing

    Guidant-published pricing page listing 401(k) Business Financing starting at $5,495 and 401(k) Plan Administration starting at $149 per month, with business valuation listed in administration scope.

13. 13. FranFund pricing

    FranFund-published $4,995 setup fee and $165/month TPA fee, with TPA scope including preparation and filing of annual plan Form 5500, 1099-R, Form 945, annual fair market value support, audit assistance, amendments/restatements, employee census review, notices, and transaction documentation.

14. 14. My Solo 401k Financial pricing

    My Solo 401k-published $3,000 setup fee including first 12 months of compliance support, $899 annual fee starting 12 months later for first 10 participants, $75 per additional participant, and annual fee scope including Form 5500 preparation and annual routine corporation valuation.