Treasury Regulations · 26 CFR
§ 1.401(l)-2. Permitted disparity for defined contribution plans.
Regulation text, no changes From the eCFR, current as of October 15, 2026. The eCFR is an authoritative but unofficial editorial compilation of the Code of Federal Regulations; the official text is the annual CFR on govinfo. Compare it with this section on ecfr.gov (external site) or the official annual CFR on govinfo (external site).
Regulation under 26 U.S.C. § 401(l)
Cite as 26 CFR § 1.401(l)-2
At a glance
Read from the text and its source citation. Not part of the regulation.
- Status
- In the current eCFR
- Issued
- September 19, 1991 by T.D. 8359
- Last amended
- September 3, 1993 by T.D. 8486
- Issued under
- 26 U.S.C. § 401(l)
- Length
- 1,869 words · about 8 min to read
- Cross-references
- cites 5 Code sections and 4 regulations; cited by 7
| If the integration level | The 5.7 percent factor in the maximum excess allowance is reduced to— | |
|---|---|---|
| Is more than | But not more than | |
| Greater of $10,000 or 20% of taxable wage base | 80% of taxable wage base | 4.3% |
| 80% of taxable wage base | Amount less than taxable wage base | 5.4% |
Employer X maintains a profit-sharing plan with the calendar year as its plan year. For the 1989 plan year, the plan provides that the account of each employee who has plan year compensation in excess of the taxable wage base in effect at the beginning of the plan year will receive an allocation for the plan year of 5.7 percent of plan year compensation in excess of the taxable wage base. The plan provides that no allocation will be made to the account of any employee for the plan year with respect to plan year compensation not in excess of the taxable wage base. The maximum excess allowance is exceeded for the 1989 plan year because the excess contribution percentage (5.7 percent) for the plan year exceeds the base contribution percentage (0 percent) for the plan year by more than the lesser of the base contribution percentage (0 percent) or the percentage determined under paragraph (b)(2)(ii) of this section (5.7 percent) for the plan year.
Employer Y maintains a money purchase pension plan with the calendar year as its plan year. For the 1990 plan year, the plan provides that the account of each employee will receive an allocation of 5 percent of the employee's plan year compensation up to the taxable wage base in effect at the beginning of the plan year plus an allocation of 10 percent of the employee's plan year compensation in excess of the taxable wage base. The maximum excess allowance is not exceeded for the plan year because the excess contribution percentage (10 percent) for the plan year does not exceed the base contribution percentage (5 percent) for the plan year by more than the lesser of the base contribution percentage (5 percent) or the percentage determined under paragraph (b)(2)(ii) of this section (5.7 percent) for the plan year.
Assume the same facts as in Example 2, except that the plan provides that, with respect to plan year compensation in excess of the taxable wage base, the account of each employee will receive an allocation for the plan year of 12 percent of such compensation. The maximum excess allowance is exceeded for the plan year because the excess contribution percentage (12 percent) for the plan year exceeds the base contribution percentage (5 percent) for the plan year by more than the lesser of the base contribution percentage (5 percent) or the percentage determined under paragraph (b)(2)(ii) of this section (5.7 percent) for the plan year.
Employer Z maintains a money purchase pension plan with a plan year beginning July 1 and ending June 30. The taxable wage base for the 1990 calendar year is $51,300 and the taxable wage base for the 1991 calendar year is $53,400. For the plan year beginning July 1, 1990, and ending June 30, 1991, the plan provides that the account of each employee will receive an allocation of 4 percent of the employee's plan year compensation up to $53,400 plus an allocation of 6 percent of the employee's plan year compensation in excess of $53,400. Although the excess contribution percentage (6 percent) for the plan year does not exceed the base contribution percentage (4 percent) for the plan year by more than the lesser of the base contribution percentage (4 percent) or the percentage determined under paragraph (b)(2)(ii) of this section (5.7 percent), the plan does not satisfy paragraph (a)(5) of this section because the integration level of $53,400 exceeds the maximum permitted integration level of $51,300 (the taxable wage base in effect as of the beginning of the plan year).
Assume the same facts as in Example 4, except that for the plan year beginning July 1, 1990, and ending June 30, 1991, the plan provides that the account of each employee will receive an allocation of 5 percent of the employee's plan year compensation up to $30,000 plus an allocation of 9 percent of the employee's plan year compensation in excess of $30,000. The integration level of $30,000 is 58 percent of the taxable wage base of $51,300 for the 1990 calendar year. The maximum excess allowance is not exceeded for the plan year because the excess contribution percentage (9 percent) for the plan year does not exceed the base contribution percentage (5 percent) for the plan year by more than the lesser of the base contribution percentage (5 percent) or the percentage determined under paragraphs (b)(2)(ii) and (d) of this section (4.3 percent) for the plan year.
[T.D. 8359, 56 FR 47621, Sept. 19, 1991; 57 FR 10818, 10951, Mar. 31, 1992, as amended by T.D. 8486, 58 FR 46832, Sept. 3, 1993]
Cross-references
Computed from the citations in the text of 26 CFR.
Code sections it cites
- § 401 Qualified pension, profit-sharing, and stock bonus plans
- § 3111 Rate of tax
- § 3221 Rate of tax
- § 1401 Rate of tax
- § 414 Definitions and special rules
Regulations it cites
- § 1.401(a)(4)-2 Nondiscrimination in amount of employer contributions under a defined contribution plan.
- § 1.401(a)(4)-8 Cross-testing.
- § 1.401(l)-5 Overall permitted disparity limits.
- § 1.401(a)(4)-12 Definitions.
Cited by 7 other regulations
- § 1.401(a)(4)-2 Nondiscrimination in amount of employer contributions under a defined contribution plan.
- § 1.401(a)(4)-7 Imputation of permitted disparity.
- § 1.401(a)(4)-8 Cross-testing.
- § 1.401(l)-0 Table of contents.
- § 1.401(l)-1 Permitted disparity in employer-provided contributions or benefits.
- § 1.401(l)-4 Special rules for railroad plans.
- § 1.401(l)-5 Overall permitted disparity limits.
Amendment history
From the source citation at the end of the section, newest first. T.D. is a Treasury decision; FR is the Federal Register.
- Amended by T.D. 8486 (58 FR 46832)
- Date not givenAmended (57 FR 10818)
- Issued by T.D. 8359 (56 FR 47621)
Where it sits in 26 CFR
- Subchapter A Income tax
- Part 1 Income taxes
Nearby sections
- § 1.141-0 Table of contents.
- § 1.401(k)-6 Definitions.
- § 1.401(l)-0 Table of contents.
- § 1.401(l)-1 Permitted disparity in employer-provided contributions or benefits.
- § 1.401(l)-2 Permitted disparity for defined contribution plans.
- § 1.401(l)-3 Permitted disparity for defined benefit plans.
- § 1.401(l)-4 Special rules for railroad plans.
- § 1.401(l)-5 Overall permitted disparity limits.
- § 1.401(l)-6 Effective dates and transition rules.