IRS and Treasury Seek Comment on Pension Reporting, Burden Surveys, and Excise Tax Forms

Administrative Watch: IRS Reviews Compliance Burdens

The IRS and Treasury are soliciting public feedback on information collections related to employee benefit plans, taxpayer burden surveys, and excise taxes. These notices confirm the continued compliance weight on businesses and individuals, with over 3 million collective burden hours under review. Comments on the collections are due March 31, 2026, except for the collection on Excise Taxes, with comments due March 2, 2026.

Pension Plans: The 2.6 Million Hour Workload

The IRS is seeking to extend its information collection related to employee benefit plans, specifically concerning compliance with both the Internal Revenue Code and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). ERISA governs employer-sponsored retirement plans and sets minimum standards for participation, vesting, funding, and reporting.

The IRS uses these forms to assess whether a qualified retirement plan adheres to the requirements under the Internal Revenue Code or whether the plan warrants an audit for compliance.

• No Change: The IRS notice indicates "no change" to the previously approved information collection. This means the existing requirements and processes remain in place.
• Extension: The current action is an extension of a currently approved collection, maintaining the status quo for reporting requirements.
• Massive Impact: The reporting requirements affect a substantial number of entities, as evidenced by the estimated figures:
  • 1,706,419 estimated responses.
  • 2,674,140 estimated total annual burden hours, reflecting the significant time investment required for compliance.

The specific forms involved in this collection are:

• Form 5500: "Annual Return/Report of Employee Benefit Plan," is an annual information return filed to report information concerning employee benefit plans and Direct Filing Entities.
• Form 5500-SF: A simplified annual reporting form for use by certain small pension and welfare benefit plans.
• Form 5500-EZ: An annual return filed by one-participant plans and foreign plans not subject to the requirements of section 104(a) of ERISA, requiring them to file information for certain plans of deferred compensation.
• Form 5558: Used to apply for a one-time extension of time to file the Form 5500 series and the Form 8955–SSA.

Measuring the Pain: Updating the Taxpayer Burden Model

The IRS is seeking public comment on revisions to its Taxpayer Burden Surveys, critical tools used to validate the IRS Taxpayer Burden Model. This model provides estimates of taxpayer compliance burden, vital for fulfilling obligations under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). The PRA, codified as 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A), aims to minimize the reporting burden on the public.

The surveys are being updated to reflect changes in tax law, increased software usage, increased efficiency of such software, changes in tax preparation regulations, the increased use of electronic filing, and the behavioral response of taxpayers to the tax system.

The agency is collecting the following data, along with the estimated associated costs:

• Individual Taxpayers: 30,000 responses, totaling 9,900 hours, at a monetized cost of $323,334.
• ITB–A (Individual Taxpayers—Amended Returns): 3,500 responses, totaling 1,075 hours, at a monetized cost of $35,110.
• ITB–L (Individual Taxpayers—Late Filers): 7,000 responses, totaling 1,505 hours, at a monetized cost of $70,219.
• Business Taxpayer Burden (BTBS & BTBL): 12,500 responses, totaling 4,125 hours, at a monetized cost of $134,723.
• Tax-Exempt Organization (TEB): 12,000 responses, totaling 3,600 hours, at a monetized cost of $117,576.
• TEB 990–N: 900 responses, totaling 265 hours, at a monetized cost of $8,655.
• Information Returns (IRBS): 10,000 responses, totaling 3,300 hours, at a monetized cost of $107,778.
• Employer Reporting Burden (ERB): 3,750 responses, totaling 1,238 hours, at a monetized cost of $40,417.
• Trust/Estate Income (TEIT–T & TEIT–E): 13,500 responses, totaling 3.975 hours, at a monetized cost of $129,824.
• Excise Tax (EXT): 3,000 responses, totaling 950 hours, at a monetized cost of $31,027.
• Estate Transfer Tax (ETT): 3,150 responses, totaling 998 hours, at a monetized cost of $32,578.
• Gift Transfer Tax (GTT): 7,500 responses, totaling 2,375 hours, at a monetized cost of $77,568.
• Retirement Plan Burden (RPB): 6,150 responses, totaling 1,948 hours, at a monetized cost of $63,605.
• Individual Taxpayers, Enforcement (ITB–E): 5,000 responses, totaling 1,650 hours, at a monetized cost of $53,889.
• Business Compliance (BCBS & BCBL): 8,875 responses, totaling 2,929 hours, at a monetized cost of $95,653.
• Special Studies—Individual Taxpayers: 37,500 responses, totaling 12,375 hours, at a monetized cost of $404,168.
• Special Studies—Entities: 37,500 responses, totaling 12,375 hours, at a monetized cost of $404,168.

These surveys validate the IRS Taxpayer Burden Model, which is used to estimate compliance burden for all taxpayers, including those filing forms associated with OMB numbers 1545–0074, 1545–0123, and 1545–0047.

Excise Tax Reporting: Quarterly Revisions

Building on the review of general compliance burdens, the IRS is also scrutinizing the specific requirements for excise tax reporting. The Department of Treasury will submit an information collection request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regarding Form 720, Quarterly Federal Excise Tax Return. A notice was published to this effect, inviting public comment, with submissions due by March 2, 2026. This deadline is notable as it's slightly ahead of the typical end-of-month deadline.

Form 720 is crucial for remitting excise taxes levied under various provisions, including Section 4081, which imposes tax on gasoline, petroleum products, and motor and aviation fuels. These taxes are considered "excise taxes," which are taxes paid on specific goods or activities. The related Form 6627 is used to calculate the environmental tax on petroleum, ozone-depleting chemicals (ODCs), imported products using ODCs, and the floor stocks tax on ODCs. This form is filed in conjunction with Form 720.

• Forms Affected: 720, 720–X (for adjustments), and 6627.
• Taxpayers Affected: Businesses and other for-profit organizations subject to federal excise tax.
• Burden: The IRS estimates that 206,700 respondents spend a total of 3,105,408 hours annually completing these forms, which highlights the substantial compliance burden associated with excise tax reporting.

How to Comment

The IRS and the Department of the Treasury seek public input on these proposed information collections. Interested parties are encouraged to submit comments to ensure their views are considered.

• General Instructions: All comments should be received on or before March 31, 2026, to be assured of consideration, except for comments regarding the Quarterly Federal Excise Tax Return (Forms 720, 720–X, and 6627) which are due by March 2, 2026. Comments should not include confidential information, as all submissions will become a matter of public record.

• Comments for IRS Notices (Employee Benefit Plans and Taxpayer Burden Surveys):

  • Addressee: Direct all written comments to Andres Garcia, Internal Revenue Service, Room 6526, 1111 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20224.
  • Email: Alternatively, comments may be submitted via email to pra.comments@irs.gov.
  • Subject Line: Include the relevant OMB Control Number in the subject line of the message:
    • For the Annual Return/Report of Employee Benefit Plan (Forms 5500 series), include ‘‘OMB Control No. 1545–1610’’.
    • For the IRS Taxpayer Burden Surveys, include ‘‘OMB Number: 1545–2212’’.

• Comments for Treasury Notice (Quarterly Federal Excise Tax Return):

  • Online Submission: Written comments and recommendations should be sent via www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain.
  • Search Instructions: Locate the specific information collection by selecting ‘‘Currently under 30-day Review—Open for Public Comments’’ or by using the search function.
  • Alternative Contact: Copies of the submissions may be obtained from Spencer W. Clark by emailing PRA@treasury.gov or calling (202) 927–5331.