Contribution year
Generally, the contribution year is the period that:
- begins on the 61st day of a year, the last 10 months (March to December) of the tax year (ordinarily March 2nd to December 31st of the tax year)
- ends on the 60th day of the following year (ordinarily January 1st to March 1st of the following year)
However, the start of a "contribution year" depends on whether the end of the previous contribution year falls on Saturday or Sunday. In such cases, the preceding contribution year ends on the first business day that follows that Saturday or Sunday, and the start of the current contribution year begins on the day after that first business day.
| Tax year | 1st contribution period | 2nd contribution period |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | March 3rd, 2015 to December 31st, 2015 | January 1st, 2016 to February 29th, 2016 |
| 2016 | March 1st, 2016 to December 31st, 2016 | January 1st, 2017 to March 1st, 2017 |
| 2017 | March 2nd, 2017 to December 31st, 2017 | January 1st, 2018 to March 1st, 2018 |
| 2018 | March 2nd, 2018 to December 31st, 2018 | January 1st, 2019 to March 1st, 2019 |
| 2019 | March 2nd, 2019 to December 31st, 2019 | January 1st, 2020 to March 2nd, 2020 |
| 2020 | March 3rd, 2020 to December 31st, 2020 | January 1st, 2021 to March 1st, 2021 |
Example
For the 2020 contribution year which begins on the 61st day of 2020 (March 3rd) and ends on the 60th day of 2021 (March 1, 2021), each record for a particular contributor to a particular plan would provide a breakdown of the total contributions made during the following periods: March 3, 2020 to December 31, 2020; and January 1, 2021 to March 1, 2021.
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