Part 4 of a 5-Part Series of the New DOL Form T-1
- Part 1: Is My Union Required to File?
- Part 2: My Union Needs to File – When Is It Due?
- Part 3: The “Questions” Page – We’ve Got Answers
- Part 5: Who and What – Reporting Officers and Employees
The Form T-1 includes two schedules used to capture transactions meeting certain criteria; they are very similar to Form LM-2 schedules 14-19. Schedule 1 is used to report individually identified receipts, and Schedule 2 is used to report individually identified disbursements.
Receipts must be reported on Schedule 1 for either (1) any individual receipt of $10,000 or more or (2) total receipts from any single entity or individual that aggregate to $10,000 or more. However, there are exceptions:
- Receipts derived from pension, health or other benefit contributions that are provided pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement covering such contributions do not need to be included on Schedule 1.
- Receipts from the sale or redemption of investments that are promptly reinvested should not be included on Schedule 1.
Disbursements must be reported on Schedule 2 using the same approach as Schedule 1: for either (1) any individual disbursement of $10,000 or more; or (2) total disbursements to any single entity or individual that aggregate to $10,000 or more. However, there are exceptions:
- Benefit payments from the trust to a plan participant or beneficiary do not need to be reported if the detailed basis on which such payments are to be made is specified in a written agreement.
- Disbursements to officers and employees of the trust who received more than $10,000 from the trust should be reported in Schedule 3, and need not also be reported in Schedule 2.
The guidance for credit card disbursements is the same as the Form LM-2: the individual credit card charges, not the bill payment to the credit card company, are used to determine what may or may not need to be reported. Any refunds to the credit card are to be reported as receipt, not netted with disbursements unless the refund occurs on the same statement as the original charge. If the refund is large enough to be individually identified on Schedule 1, column C must indicate that it is a refund of disbursement, and must identify the disbursement by date and amount.
There are also provisions for reporting confidential information, as defined in the Form T-1 instructions (e.g., information that would expose the labor organization’s prospective organizing strategy, information that would provide a tactical advantage to other parties in contract negotiations, etc.).
If such circumstances preclude reporting of certain information, use Item 25 (Additional Information) to note each schedule from which any itemized receipts or disbursements were excluded. The notation must describe the general types of information that were omitted from the schedule, but the name of the payer/payee, date, and amount of the transaction(s) is not required.
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Author: Ashleigh Hall, CPA | [email protected]
Labor Organization Practice Group
