Form 5500-EZ — Annual Return of A One-Participant (Owners/Partners and Their Spouses) Retirement Plan or A Foreign Plan

What is Form 5500-EZ?

Form 5500-EZ is the annual return for a one-participant retirement plan: a defined benefit, profit-sharing or money purchase plan (other than an ESOP) that covers only you, or you and your spouse, when you own the whole business, or only partners and their spouses. It is also filed by foreign plans maintained outside the United States primarily for nonresident aliens. Most people meet it through a solo 401(k), also called an individual 401(k).

Not every plan has to file each year. The 2025 instructions say a one-participant plan doesn't file for 2025 if its assets, together with all the employer's other one-participant plans, were $250,000 or less at the end of the plan year. The exception is the plan's final year, when every plan files to show its assets have been distributed. The return is due by the last day of the 7th month after the plan year ends, which is July 31 for a calendar-year plan. The instructions put the late-filing penalty at $250 a day, up to $150,000 per plan year.

FileIt asks for each line in plain language, adds up lines 6c and 11d for you, turns the plan characteristic codes you tick into line 8, and prints everything into the IRS's own PDF. It saves the return in your vault for you to print, sign and mail to the IRS in Ogden, Utah.

Who needs to fill out Form 5500-EZ?

• Self-employed people and business owners with a solo 401(k), profit-sharing or defined benefit plan that covers only themselves, or themselves and their spouse.
• Partnerships whose plan covers only the partners, or partners and their spouses. A 2% S corporation shareholder is treated as a partner.
• Employers maintaining a foreign plan, outside the U.S. primarily for nonresident aliens, that must file under section 6058(a).
• Not for plans with common-law employees beyond the owners and spouses. Those file Form 5500 or 5500-SF with the Department of Labor.

When to use Form 5500-EZ

• Every year in which the plan's assets, combined with the employer's other one-participant plans, exceed $250,000 at the end of the plan year.
• In the plan's final year, when all assets have been distributed or transferred, whatever the balance.
• To correct an earlier return for the same plan year (an amended return).
• To catch up on missed years under the IRS Late Filer Penalty Relief Program (box D). Those returns must go on paper with Form 14704.

What you need before you start

• The plan's formal name, three-digit plan number (usually 001) and effective date, from the plan document.
• The employer's name, EIN (not an SSN), address, phone number and six-digit business code.
• Participant counts at the beginning and end of the year.
• Plan assets and liabilities at the beginning and end of the year, from your year-end account statements, in whole dollars.
• Contributions for the year: employer contributions, your own deferrals, and rollovers.
• Any participant loan balance, and, for a pre-approved plan, the Opinion Letter date and serial number from your plan provider.

What’s on Form 5500-EZ

The 2025 edition has 2 pages. FileIt asks for it in 10 parts, and it is signed by Employer or plan administrator:

1. Part I: Plan year and type of returnEmployer or plan administrator
2. Part II, line 1: The planEmployer or plan administrator
3. Part II, line 2: The employerEmployer or plan administrator
4. Part II, line 3: Plan administratorEmployer or plan administrator
5. Part II, line 4: Name, EIN or plan name changed since the last returnEmployer or plan administrator
6. Part II, line 5: ParticipantsEmployer or plan administrator
7. Part III: Financial informationEmployer or plan administrator
8. Part IV, line 8: Plan characteristicsEmployer or plan administrator
9. Part V: Compliance and funding questionsEmployer or plan administrator
10. SignatureEmployer or plan administrator

How to fill out Form 5500-EZ, step by step

1 Part I: Plan year and type of return

Enter the plan year's start and end dates. Check first return, amended, final return or short plan year as they apply. Check an extension box if you're filing under Form 5558, the automatic extension tied to the employer's income tax return, or a special extension the IRS announced. Boxes C, D and E are for foreign plans, the Late Filer Penalty Relief Program, and plans adopted retroactively under SECURE Act section 201.

2 Line 1: The plan

Give the plan's formal name, its three-digit plan number and the date it first became effective. The instructions say to number plans from 001 and keep a number with its plan for good, even after the plan ends.

3 Lines 2 and 3: Employer and plan administrator

Enter the employer's name, trade name, any in-care-of name, mailing address, EIN, phone number and business code. If the employer is also the plan administrator, which is typical for a solo plan, line 3a just says "Same" and the rest of line 3 stays blank.

4 Line 4: Changes since the last return

Only if the employer's name, EIN or the plan name changed since the last return. Enter them as they appeared on that return.

5 Line 5: Participants

Count total and active participants at the beginning and end of the year, and anyone who left employment with less than 100% vested benefits. For a solo 401(k) covering an owner and spouse, this is usually 1 or 2.

6 Lines 6 and 7: Financial information

Enter total assets and liabilities at the beginning and end of the plan year. Beginning figures must match last year's end-of-year figures. Line 6c (net assets) is 6a minus 6b. Line 7 reports contributions received or receivable from the employer (7a), from participants such as your elective deferrals (7b), and others including rollovers (7c). Use whole dollars.

7 Line 8: Plan characteristics

Enter the two-character codes from the instructions' list that describe the plan. Don't leave it blank. A typical solo 401(k) uses 2E (profit-sharing), 2J (401(k) feature) and 3B (covers self-employed individuals), and often 3D (pre-approved plan).

8 Lines 9–12: Compliance and funding

Say whether there were participant loans, and give the year-end balance. Answer whether it's a defined benefit plan subject to minimum funding (line 10) or a defined contribution plan subject to section 412 (line 11, generally money purchase plans), and complete 10a or 11a–11e if so. Line 12 asks for the Opinion Letter date and serial number if you adopted a pre-approved plan.

9 Signature

The employer or plan administrator signs and dates page 2 and prints their name.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Not filing in the final plan year because assets were under $250,000. Every plan files for its final year.
• Forgetting to count all of the employer's one-participant plans together against the $250,000 threshold.
• Beginning-of-year figures that don't match last year's end-of-year figures.
• Entering cents. The instructions say whole dollars only.
• Leaving line 8 blank.
• Entering the owner's Social Security number instead of the employer's EIN on line 2b.
• Filing on paper when the filer must file electronically because it files 10 or more returns of any type in the calendar year.

After you fill it out

Print the return, sign and date page 2, and mail it to: Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Ogden, UT 84201-0020. A private delivery service uses the Ogden Submission Processing Center street address given in the instructions. Alternatively you can file Form 5500-EZ electronically through the Department of Labor's EFAST2 system, which is mandatory for filers who must file 10 or more returns of any type during the calendar year.

Keep a copy with the plan's records, along with any Form 5558 or income tax extension you relied on, and Schedule SB for a defined benefit plan. FileIt keeps the filled return in your vault. The form says it is open to public inspection.

Mark the next due date: the last day of the 7th month after the next plan year ends.

Form 5500-EZ: frequently asked questions

Official sources

• Blank form (PDF), published by Internal Revenue Service (IRS): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f5500ez.pdf
• Official instructions and guidance: https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-5500-ez
• Edition shown on this page: 2025 (OMB 1545-1610) (checked 2026-09-28).

FileIt is not affiliated with or endorsed by Internal Revenue Service (IRS) or any government. This page explains the form in general terms and is not legal, tax or immigration advice. Always read the official instructions, and check that you are using the edition the recipient accepts. Page last reviewed 2026-09-28.

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