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ROBS Business-Sale Checklist

Use this checklist to organize a ROBS business-sale workstream before and after closing. It distinguishes asset sales, corporate stock sales, plan-owned employer-stock sales or redemptions, mergers or equity reorganizations, mixed structures, proceeds recipients, plan/company/owner boundaries, and post-sale plan paths.

No network submission, sensitive-data storage, URL reads, cookies, fetch, uploads, downloads, print flow, clipboard, email, names, prices, amounts, identifiers, account numbers, buyer documents, deal terms, tax data, or document text. This checklist code does not read or write cookies or browser storage; entered facts remain in current page memory, while unrelated site/runtime cookies may exist.

Direct answer

A ROBS business sale is a transaction-coordination problem, not a single approval event. Start by documenting what is sold, who owns it, who receives consideration, whether the plan owns employer stock, which fiduciary and related-party reviews are needed, and what happens to the plan after closing. [1] [3] [4] [6] [7] [8]

Build a business-sale workstream map

Do not enter names, price, amounts, account numbers, EINs, SSNs, buyer documents, deal terms, addresses, tax data, or uploaded text. Use high-level facts and safe locators only.

This checklist code does not read or write cookies or browser storage. Entered facts remain in current page memory until reset, refresh, or navigation; unrelated site/runtime cookies may still exist.

Choose current transaction stage; unknown keeps phase follow-up active.

Choose asset sale, corporate stock sale, plan-owned stock sale/redemption, merger, mixed, or unknown.

Choose relationship at high level only; do not enter names.

Choose active, frozen, termination in process, termination complete, or unknown.

Choose who receives consideration: corporation, plan trust, individual, multiple, or unknown.

Choose Yes if the plan owns or may own employer stock.

Choose Yes if employees or plan participants are affected.

Choose Yes if buyer assumes employees or plan obligations.

Choose Yes only when current independent valuation evidence is located outside this tool.

Choose Yes only when fiduciary/conflict review is documented.

Choose Yes only when corporate approvals are documented.

Choose Yes only when plan documents have been reviewed for sale facts.

Choose Yes when transaction documents distinguish assets, stock, proceeds, and obligations.

Choose Yes if lender, lien, UCC, SBA, or guarantee release work remains.

Choose Yes when Form 8594 and allocation applicability are coordinated.

Choose Yes if final payroll, contributions, or allocations remain outstanding.

Choose Yes if participant loan facts remain outstanding.

Choose Yes only when proceeds recipient and custody path are confirmed.

Choose Yes if distribution is contemplated.

Choose Yes only when rollover, withholding, and reporting facts are coordinated.

Choose Yes when tax, state, securities, benefit plan, and transaction specialists are engaged.

Choose whether business continues, winds down, or remains unknown.

Choose continue, freeze, terminate, undecided, or unknown.

Optional ISO date YYYY-MM-DD only; no deadline calculation.

No network submission, sensitive data, fetch, upload, download, print workflow, clipboard, email, URL reads, or storage. This checklist code does not read/write cookies or browser storage; entered facts stay in current page memory. Other site/runtime cookies may exist.

Browser-local result

Readiness counts, not a score

Applicable
18
Ready
0
Missing refs
0
N/A
0

Ready requires a safe evidence locator. N/A requires a reason when manually selected. Counts exclude N/A and do not verify or approve legality, price, fairness, tax treatment, valuation, financing, distribution, plan termination, or closing.

Structure/ownership map

Review the structure/ownership map tasks below and keep each status tied to a safe outside evidence locator or a non-sensitive N/A reason.

robs-sale-01 · Transaction workstream

Classify asset, corporate-stock, plan-owned-stock, merger, mixed, or unknown structure

Owner: Owner with M&A counsel/CPA/ERISA counsel

Why: Sale treatment depends first on what is sold and who sells it: business assets, corporate stock, plan-owned employer stock, merger equity, or a mixed transaction.

Warning: Do not use this tool to approve the structure, price, tax result, securities treatment, or plan transaction.

Evidence: Non-sensitive structure memo locator

Next: Get counsel to document the structure before closing documents are relied on.

Choose task readiness. Ready requires a safe outside evidence locator; manual N/A requires a non-sensitive reason.

Non-sensitive structure memo locator

Buyer/related-party screen

Review the buyer/related-party screen tasks below and keep each status tied to a safe outside evidence locator or a non-sensitive N/A reason.

robs-sale-02 · ERISA prohibited transaction

Screen buyer relationship and party-in-interest conflicts

Owner: ERISA counsel/fiduciary

Unknown follow-up

Why: ERISA section 3(14) defines parties in interest; IRS prohibited-transaction materials require careful review of transactions involving disqualified persons or parties in interest.

Warning: Related buyers do not automatically fail this checklist, but a missing conflict review blocks readiness.

Evidence: Related-party and party-in-interest review locator

Next: Escalate employee, family, owner-related, plan, fiduciary, or management buyer facts.

Choose task readiness. Ready requires a safe outside evidence locator; manual N/A requires a non-sensitive reason.

Related-party and party-in-interest review locator

Valuation/fairness and fiduciary process

Review the valuation/fairness and fiduciary process tasks below and keep each status tied to a safe outside evidence locator or a non-sensitive N/A reason.

robs-sale-03 · DOL fiduciary

Document current independent valuation and fiduciary process

Owner: Plan fiduciary/appraiser

Unknown follow-up

Why: DOL fiduciary materials require prudence and conflict controls; employer-security transactions involving parties in interest require fair-market-value and no-sales-commission conditions.

Warning: The checklist never concludes fair value, fairness, adequate consideration, or fiduciary prudence.

Evidence: Valuation and fiduciary-process locator

Next: Retain current valuation support and professional fiduciary review.

Choose task readiness. Ready requires a safe outside evidence locator; manual N/A requires a non-sensitive reason.

Valuation and fiduciary-process locator

Board/shareholder/plan authorization boundary

Review the board/shareholder/plan authorization boundary tasks below and keep each status tied to a safe outside evidence locator or a non-sensitive N/A reason.

robs-sale-04 · Transaction workstream

Separate corporate approvals from plan fiduciary or trustee action

Owner: Corporate counsel/ERISA counsel

Unknown follow-up

Why: The IRS ROBS project treats the corporation, plan, stock purchase, Form 1120, Form 5500, valuation, and prohibited-transaction issues as separate compliance areas.

Warning: Corporate approval does not authorize a plan distribution or plan-owned stock sale by itself.

Evidence: Approval matrix locator

Next: Map board, shareholder, plan sponsor, trustee, fiduciary, custodian, lender, and participant approvals separately.

Choose task readiness. Ready requires a safe outside evidence locator; manual N/A requires a non-sensitive reason.

Approval matrix locator

Purchase agreement schedules and ROBS stock treatment

Review the purchase agreement schedules and robs stock treatment tasks below and keep each status tied to a safe outside evidence locator or a non-sensitive N/A reason.

robs-sale-05 · Transaction workstream

Ensure deal documents distinguish assets, shares, plan stock, proceeds, and obligations

Owner: M&A counsel/ERISA counsel

Unknown follow-up

Why: Business sale documents should identify what transfers and who receives consideration; ROBS adds plan-owned employer-stock and plan/corporate boundary questions.

Warning: Do not paste purchase terms, prices, buyer names, account data, or documents into this tool.

Evidence: Purchase agreement ROBS schedule locator

Next: Use safe locators for schedules showing ownership, assets, liabilities, stock, plan treatment, and proceeds path.

Choose task readiness. Ready requires a safe outside evidence locator; manual N/A requires a non-sensitive reason.

Purchase agreement ROBS schedule locator

Asset/liability/IP/contracts/employees/benefits allocation

Review the asset/liability/ip/contracts/employees/benefits allocation tasks below and keep each status tied to a safe outside evidence locator or a non-sensitive N/A reason.

robs-sale-06 · Transaction workstream

Map transferred assets, retained liabilities, IP, contracts, employees, and benefit obligations

Owner: M&A counsel/HR/benefits counsel

Unknown follow-up

Why: IRS business-closing guidance separates final tax, payroll, and business steps; sale documents must separately handle assets, contracts, employees, and obligations.

Warning: This is not buyer diligence, contract drafting, benefits-plan assumption advice, or employee notice advice.

Evidence: Allocation and assumption schedule locator

Next: Keep privacy-safe schedule locators and specialist owner names only.

Choose task readiness. Ready requires a safe outside evidence locator; manual N/A requires a non-sensitive reason.

Allocation and assumption schedule locator

Plan-owned stock transfer/redemption and custody path

Review the plan-owned stock transfer/redemption and custody path tasks below and keep each status tied to a safe outside evidence locator or a non-sensitive N/A reason.

robs-sale-07 · IRS ROBS

Coordinate plan-owned employer-stock sale, redemption, cancellation, or custody path

Owner: Plan fiduciary/custodian/appraiser

Unknown follow-up

Why: IRS plan-asset and ROBS materials treat employer stock as a plan investment and valuation/prohibited-transaction review point.

Warning: Do not determine redemption price, legality, exemption availability, or tax treatment here.

Evidence: Plan stock transfer/redemption custody locator

Next: Escalate plan-owned stock treatment to ERISA counsel, appraiser, CPA, and custodian before close.

Choose task readiness. Ready requires a safe outside evidence locator; manual N/A requires a non-sensitive reason.

Plan stock transfer/redemption custody locator

Proceeds recipient/cash flow boundary

Review the proceeds recipient/cash flow boundary tasks below and keep each status tied to a safe outside evidence locator or a non-sensitive N/A reason.

robs-sale-08 · IRS tax/forms

Confirm whether consideration goes to corporation, plan trust, individual, or multiple recipients

Owner: CPA/ERISA counsel/custodian

Unknown follow-up

Why: Sale proceeds follow the seller and instrument: asset-sale proceeds generally belong to the selling corporation; plan-owned stock proceeds belong to the plan trust unless another reviewed structure applies.

Warning: Do not route plan proceeds to an individual or corporate proceeds to a plan without documented professional review.

Evidence: Proceeds recipient and custody flow locator

Next: Trace consideration recipient, bank/custody destination, and post-close restrictions without amounts.

Choose task readiness. Ready requires a safe outside evidence locator; manual N/A requires a non-sensitive reason.

Proceeds recipient and custody flow locator

Payroll/contribution reconciliation

Review the payroll/contribution reconciliation tasks below and keep each status tied to a safe outside evidence locator or a non-sensitive N/A reason.

robs-sale-09 · IRS ROBS

Reconcile final payroll, contributions, allocations, and employee census

Owner: TPA/payroll/CPA

Unknown follow-up

Why: The IRS ROBS project flags Form 5500 and ongoing plan compliance; sale or closure can leave payroll, contribution, allocation, and participant facts unresolved.

Warning: Do not mark plan or closing ready while final payroll or contributions are outstanding.

Evidence: Payroll contribution reconciliation locator

Next: Have payroll, TPA, and CPA reconcile final payroll and plan contribution facts.

Choose task readiness. Ready requires a safe outside evidence locator; manual N/A requires a non-sensitive reason.

Payroll contribution reconciliation locator

Participant rights/notices

Review the participant rights/notices tasks below and keep each status tied to a safe outside evidence locator or a non-sensitive N/A reason.

robs-sale-10 · DOL fiduciary

Coordinate participant rights, notices, access, and records

Owner: TPA/ERISA counsel

Unknown follow-up

Why: Fiduciary responsibilities continue through plan changes, service-provider monitoring, participant communications, and record retention.

Warning: This tool does not prepare notices, authorize distributions, or decide successor-plan consequences.

Evidence: Participant rights and notice locator

Next: Map required participant communications and account-access responsibilities.

Choose task readiness. Ready requires a safe outside evidence locator; manual N/A requires a non-sensitive reason.

Participant rights and notice locator

Loans/distributions/no personal diversion

Review the loans/distributions/no personal diversion tasks below and keep each status tied to a safe outside evidence locator or a non-sensitive N/A reason.

robs-sale-11 · ERISA prohibited transaction

Separate participant loans, contemplated distributions, rollovers, withholding, and personal diversion controls

Owner: TPA/CPA/ERISA counsel

Unknown follow-up

Why: IRS prohibited-transaction rules and qualified-plan distribution rules require plan assets to stay within permitted plan paths until a valid distribution or rollover is administered.

Warning: Do not treat sale proceeds as personal money merely because the owner sponsored the ROBS company.

Evidence: Loans distribution and no-diversion locator

Next: Coordinate loans, distributions, rollover notices, withholding/reporting, and cash controls.

Choose task readiness. Ready requires a safe outside evidence locator; manual N/A requires a non-sensitive reason.

Loans distribution and no-diversion locator

Tax allocation/Form 8594 and returns

Review the tax allocation/form 8594 and returns tasks below and keep each status tied to a safe outside evidence locator or a non-sensitive N/A reason.

robs-sale-12 · IRS tax/forms

Coordinate allocation, Form 8594 applicability, and federal/state returns

Owner: CPA/tax counsel

Unknown follow-up

Why: IRS Form 8594 is used by buyer and seller to report an applicable asset acquisition under section 1060; IRS sale and closing resources route final returns and business tax issues to separate processes.

Warning: This tool does not calculate tax, allocation, basis, gain, withholding, or state tax.

Evidence: Tax allocation Form 8594 and return locator

Next: Have CPA/tax counsel decide Form 8594 applicability and return responsibilities.

Choose task readiness. Ready requires a safe outside evidence locator; manual N/A requires a non-sensitive reason.

Tax allocation Form 8594 and return locator

Lender/UCC/guarantee releases

Review the lender/ucc/guarantee releases tasks below and keep each status tied to a safe outside evidence locator or a non-sensitive N/A reason.

robs-sale-13 · SEC/SBA boundary

Locate lender payoff, lien, UCC, and guarantee release workstream

Owner: Lender counsel/borrower counsel

Unknown follow-up

Why: SBA 7(a) materials state borrowers work directly with lenders and existing borrowers use the SBA Loan Portal only for SBA-purchased loans; liens and guarantees remain lender-controlled deal workstreams.

Warning: This does not approve financing, payoff, lien release, guaranty release, or SBA consent.

Evidence: Lender lien payoff release locator

Next: Use lender-safe locator only; no loan numbers, amounts, or guarantor names.

Choose task readiness. Ready requires a safe outside evidence locator; manual N/A requires a non-sensitive reason.

Lender lien payoff release locator

Diligence/data room privacy-safe locator only

Review the diligence/data room privacy-safe locator only tasks below and keep each status tied to a safe outside evidence locator or a non-sensitive N/A reason.

robs-sale-14 · Transaction workstream

Record data-room category locators without sensitive content

Owner: Deal team

Why: A sale workstream needs organized evidence, but this browser-local tool should only point to where evidence is stored outside the page.

Warning: Never enter buyer documents, names, price, amount, account, EIN, SSN, contracts, terms, or uploaded text.

Evidence: Privacy-safe data room index locator

Next: Use categories such as counsel folder, board packet tab, TPA portal folder, or closing checklist line.

Choose task readiness. Ready requires a safe outside evidence locator; manual N/A requires a non-sensitive reason.

Privacy-safe data room index locator

Regulatory/state/securities/licensing/third-party consents

Review the regulatory/state/securities/licensing/third-party consents tasks below and keep each status tied to a safe outside evidence locator or a non-sensitive N/A reason.

robs-sale-15 · SEC/SBA boundary

Identify securities, state, license, franchise, landlord, vendor, and consent boundaries

Owner: M&A counsel/state counsel

Unknown follow-up

Why: SEC small-business resources are the appropriate boundary for securities-offering questions; state, licensing, franchise, and third-party consent issues are fact-specific.

Warning: This tool does not decide securities registration exemptions, license transfer, franchise approval, or consent sufficiency.

Evidence: Regulatory consent locator

Next: Ask counsel to classify securities, state, licensing, franchise, and consent workstreams.

Choose task readiness. Ready requires a safe outside evidence locator; manual N/A requires a non-sensitive reason.

Regulatory consent locator

Closing statement/reconciliation

Review the closing statement/reconciliation tasks below and keep each status tied to a safe outside evidence locator or a non-sensitive N/A reason.

robs-sale-16 · Transaction workstream

Reconcile closing statement to ownership, custody, liabilities, and records

Owner: M&A counsel/CPA/custodian

Unknown follow-up

Why: Closing statements should reconcile who sold what, who received what, which liabilities stayed or transferred, and which records support post-close duties.

Warning: No amounts, wire details, escrow accounts, names, or terms belong in this tool.

Evidence: Closing reconciliation locator

Next: Use safe locator for final closing statement and reconciliation owner.

Choose task readiness. Ready requires a safe outside evidence locator; manual N/A requires a non-sensitive reason.

Closing reconciliation locator

Post-close plan continuation/termination decision

Review the post-close plan continuation/termination decision tasks below and keep each status tied to a safe outside evidence locator or a non-sensitive N/A reason.

robs-sale-17 · DOL fiduciary

Document whether the plan continues, freezes, terminates, or remains undecided

Owner: Plan sponsor/ERISA counsel/TPA

Unknown follow-up

Why: A sale does not by itself terminate the qualified plan; post-sale plan administration, freeze, successor-plan, or termination decisions need separate review.

Warning: This checklist is not the plan-termination checklist and does not complete a termination workstream.

Evidence: Post-close plan path locator

Next: Route termination to the Plan-Termination Checklist after sale facts are mapped.

Choose task readiness. Ready requires a safe outside evidence locator; manual N/A requires a non-sensitive reason.

Post-close plan path locator

Record retention/access/residual obligations

Review the record retention/access/residual obligations tasks below and keep each status tied to a safe outside evidence locator or a non-sensitive N/A reason.

robs-sale-18 · DOL fiduciary

Assign post-close record access, residual obligations, and professional owner

Owner: Company/plan record custodian

Why: Fiduciaries and sponsors need records for plan actions, participant rights, tax returns, valuation, stock treatment, consents, releases, and residual obligations after closing.

Warning: Do not let provider, custodian, data-room, or company access vanish at close.

Evidence: Record access and residual obligation locator

Next: Name the post-close owner for plan, corporate, tax, valuation, loan, consent, participant, and closing records.

Choose task readiness. Ready requires a safe outside evidence locator; manual N/A requires a non-sensitive reason.

Record access and residual obligation locator

Buyer and structure decision tree

Classify the deal before assigning tasks: asset sale, corporate stock sale, plan-owned employer-stock sale or redemption, merger or reorganization, mixed, or unknown. An asset sale normally starts with company assets and liabilities. A corporate stock sale starts with company shares. A plan-owned stock sale or redemption starts with the plan trust as seller or redeemed shareholder. Mixed structures require the boundaries to be written down before proceeds move. [7] [8]

  • If assets are sold, identify corporate proceeds, retained liabilities, employees, contracts, IP, taxes, lender releases, and plan path.
  • If corporate stock is sold, identify the stock seller, whether the plan sells any shares, whether the corporation is redeeming shares, and why the corporation itself is or is not receiving proceeds.
  • If the plan sells or redeems employer stock, confirm plan ownership, valuation support, fiduciary review, custody path, prohibited-transaction analysis, and participant-rights effects. [2] [3] [6]
  • If the buyer is family, management, employee, owner-related, plan-related, or fiduciary-related, treat conflict review as a required workstream, not an optional cleanup item. [5]

Phased workflow

Use the tool by phase: exploring, LOI and diligence, structure agreed, documenting, pre-closing, closed, and post-closing. Unknown facts stay visible as follow-up instead of being turned into stale auto N/A.

  • Exploring: map possible structures, sensitive-data boundaries, specialists, and red flags without entering price or buyer terms.
  • LOI/diligence: assign safe locators for plan stock, ownership, payroll, participant, lender, tax allocation, and consent workstreams.
  • Structure agreed and documenting: reconcile purchase agreement schedules to ownership, assets, proceeds recipient, custody path, fiduciary review, and specialist owners.
  • Pre-closing and closed: verify approvals, valuation, custody, lender releases, participant rights, payroll/contribution reconciliation, tax allocation, and post-close plan path.
  • Post-closing: preserve records, residual obligations, plan continuation/freeze/termination decision, distributions only through professional administration, and final returns or filings outside this tool.

Examples of common ROBS sale patterns

These examples show how the checklist changes by structure without deciding legality, price, tax, fairness, valuation, financing approval, or closing readiness.

  • Asset sale: corporation sells selected assets, plan may still own company stock after closing, and the post-sale plan path may be continue, freeze, termination review, or unknown.
  • Outside buyer stock sale: identify whether the individual, plan trust, or multiple holders sell shares; corporate approvals and proceeds recipient must match the stock seller.
  • Employee or management buyer: related-party, fiduciary, securities, benefit-plan, and participant-rights questions should be escalated even when business continuity looks operationally simple.
  • Redemption or plan-owned stock sale: plan-owned stock, independent valuation, fiduciary conflict review, custody path, no personal diversion, and distribution coordination are central.
  • Unknown or mixed structure: keep structure, recipient, custody, tax allocation, securities, lender, and post-sale plan path as active follow-up until specialists classify them.

Red flags this checklist is designed to surface

Stop treating the workstream as ready when the tool reports contradictions. The warning is a fact mismatch, not a legal conclusion.

  • Asset sale with the plan trust as sole consideration recipient.
  • Corporate stock sale with the corporation as sole stock-sale recipient absent redemption or mixed documentation.
  • Plan-owned stock transaction while plan ownership is marked no.
  • Related buyer with conflict review marked no.
  • Closed or post-closing status without current valuation, approvals, or proceeds custody path.
  • Distribution contemplated while recipient, custody, or post-sale plan path remains unknown.
  • Plan termination complete while the plan still owns employer stock.
  • Business winds down while plan continuation is selected without a documented path.

Questions for ERISA counsel, TPA, custodian, M&A counsel, CPA, appraiser, lender, and state counsel

Use these questions to route the right facts to the right professional instead of asking one advisor to sign off on every dimension.

  • ERISA counsel: Does the buyer relationship, plan-owned stock treatment, fiduciary process, prohibited-transaction analysis, participant rights, or distribution plan require escalation?
  • TPA: Which participant, loan, payroll, contribution, plan-document, notice, Form 5500, and post-sale administration facts remain open?
  • Custodian: Where will plan-owned stock proceeds or other plan assets be held, and what evidence shows custody and no personal diversion?
  • M&A counsel: Do the purchase agreement schedules distinguish assets, shares, liabilities, employees, contracts, IP, proceeds, consents, releases, and residual obligations?
  • CPA/tax counsel: Is Form 8594 applicable, which returns are required, how are final payroll and corporate tax responsibilities assigned, and what state tax issues are outside this tool? [8] [9]
  • Appraiser: What current valuation scope supports the transaction-level employer-stock decision, and what limitations should fiduciaries understand?
  • Lender/state/securities counsel: Which liens, UCC filings, SBA servicing steps, personal guarantees, licenses, state filings, franchise approvals, or securities questions need written resolution? [10] [11]

Definitions

Asset sale
Transaction where the company sells business assets rather than the shareholder selling shares.
Corporate stock sale
Transaction where shareholders sell corporate shares; the seller may be an individual, plan trust, or multiple holders.
Plan-owned stock redemption
Company buys or redeems employer stock held by the plan trust, requiring valuation, fiduciary, tax, and custody review.
Safe locator
A folder, portal tab, binder section, or checklist line pointing to evidence outside this tool without sensitive content.

Source proximity, authorship, date, disclosure, privacy, and related links

Source proximity favors official IRS, DOL, SEC, and SBA materials for the rule boundaries. Authorship follows the site writer profile: evidence-led education by Dennis Shirshikov, not individualized legal, tax, fiduciary, valuation, securities, financing, or closing advice. Published and modified date: August 14, 2026. Disclosure: this is an educational tool and not a provider, buyer, lender, appraiser, CPA, attorney, custodian, or TPA endorsement. Privacy: this checklist code does not read or write cookies or browser storage, does not submit or fetch data, and keeps entered facts in current page memory until reset, refresh, or navigation. Unrelated site/runtime cookies may still exist.

1. IRS ROBS Compliance Project

Official IRS source checked August 14, 2026. It identifies ROBS stock purchases, stock valuation, prohibited transactions, Form 5500/Form 1120, and adverse-tax-consequence issues as compliance-check concerns.

Open source

2. IRS Retirement topics: Plan assets

Official IRS source checked August 14, 2026. It describes qualified-plan investment rules, employer-stock limits by plan type, fair-market-value valuation of plan assets, and prohibited-transaction risk.

Open source

3. IRS Retirement topics: Prohibited transactions

Official IRS source checked August 14, 2026. It defines prohibited transactions between a retirement plan and a disqualified person and lists sale, exchange, leasing, lending, credit, services, facilities, plan-asset use, fiduciary self-dealing, and fiduciary-consideration categories.

Open source

4. DOL Meeting Your Fiduciary Responsibilities

Official DOL publication checked August 14, 2026. It describes fiduciary prudence, service-provider monitoring, participant communications, conflicts, prohibited transactions, parties in interest, and employer-security transaction conditions such as fair-market value and no sales commission.

Open source

5. ERISA section 3 definitions

Official U.S. Code source checked August 14, 2026. It defines party in interest, fiduciary, employer, participant, beneficiary, adequate consideration, and related plan terms used in conflict screens.

Open source

6. ERISA section 406 prohibited transactions

Official U.S. Code source checked August 14, 2026. It lists prohibited transactions between a plan and party in interest and fiduciary self-dealing/conflict prohibitions.

Open source

7. IRS Sale of a business

Official IRS resource checked August 14, 2026. It supports asset sale, stock sale, consideration, residual allocation, and tax-classification boundaries.

Open source

8. IRS Form 8594

Official IRS source checked August 14, 2026. It says buyer and seller use Form 8594 for applicable asset acquisitions involving goodwill or going-concern value and purchaser basis determined by amount paid.

Open source

9. IRS Closing a business

Official IRS source checked August 14, 2026. It supports final returns, payroll tax steps, EIN/tax account actions, and other business-closing tasks separate from plan administration.

Open source

10. SEC small business resources

Official SEC small-business resource verified in Chromium on August 14, 2026 after the reader tool received HTTP 403. It is used only as a broad securities boundary and counsel-routing source; this checklist does not decide securities status.

Open source

11. SBA 7(a) loans

Official SBA source checked August 14, 2026. It states borrowers work directly with lenders, existing borrowers use SBA Loan Portal only for SBA-purchased 7(a) loans, and other borrowers continue payment management outside that portal; lender lien, UCC, payoff, and guarantee release details remain lender-controlled workstreams.

Open source

Related tools and articles

Use these related pages for adjacent sale, proceeds, stock, valuation, prohibited-transaction, document, audit, termination, and rollover workstreams.