Federal Credit for Small Employer Pension Plan Startup Costs

Credit for Small Employer Pension Plan Startup Costs
Form 8881 (Rev. December 2025)
8881

Form
(Rev. December 2025)
Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service

Credits for Small Employer Pension Plan Startup Costs,
Contributions, Auto-Enrollment, and Military Spouse Participation

OMB No. 1545-1810

Attach to your tax return.
Go to www.irs.gov/Form8881 for instructions and the latest information.

Attachment
Sequence No. 130
Identifying number

Name(s) shown on return

Part I
Small Employer Pension Plan Startup Costs Credit and Contributions Credit
Section 1—Small Employer Pension Plan Startup Costs Credit
A
1
2
3
4
5

Enter the number of qualifying employees. See instructions
Qualified startup costs incurred during the tax year . . . . . . . . .
1
Employers with 1–50 employees enter the amount from line 1. Employers with 51–100 employees
enter 50% (0.50) of line 1
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Enter the number of employees eligible to participate in the pension plan. See instructions.
x $250 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Enter the greater of $500 or the amount from line 3 (Do not enter more than $5,000) . . . . . .
Enter the smaller of line 2 or line 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
If you are NOT calculating the credit for employer contributions, go to line 7. All others, go to line 6a.

2
3
4
5

Section 2—Small Employer Contributions Credit
6a

Enter the number of employees from the preceding tax year. See instructions

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b Enter employer contributions made to the plan, but don’t include (i) elective deferrals, (ii) contributions
made to employees whose wages paid to the employee were in excess of $105,000, and (iii) any
amount of contributions to an employee to whom you made contributions of more than $1,000 . .

6a

6b

c

For employees for whom you made matching and nonelective contributions of more than $1,000 (and
who are not disqualified because they meet 6b(ii) above), see the instructions for information on how
to determine the amount to enter on line 6c. If you do not make these types of contributions, enter -0d Add lines 6b and 6c . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
If the number of employees entered on line 6a is 50 or less, enter the amount from line 6d on line 6f. If
the number of employees entered on line 6a is 51–100, continue to line 6e(1).
e (1) Subtract 50 (50.0) from the number of employees entered on line 6a . . . . . . . . .
(2) Multiply line 6e(1) by 2% (0.02) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(3) Multiply line 6e(2) by line 6d . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(4) Subtract line 6e(3) from line 6d . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
f If you did NOT complete line 6e, enter the amount from line 6d. If you completed line 6e, enter the
amount from line 6e(4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
g Applicable percentages. See instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
• If this is treated as the first or second year of the plan, enter the amount from line 6f.
• If this is treated as the third year of the plan, multiply line 6f by 75% (0.75).
• If this is treated as the fourth year of the plan, multiply line 6f by 50% (0.50).
• If this is treated as the fifth year of the plan, multiply the amount on line 6f by 25% (0.25).

6c
6d

6e(1)
6e(2)
6e(3)
6e(4)
6f
6g

Section 3—Total Credits from Part I
7
8

Small employer pension plan startup costs credit and small employer contributions credit from
partnerships and S corporations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Add lines 5, 6g, and 7. Partnerships and S corporations, report this amount on Schedule K. All others,
report this amount on Form 3800, Part III, line 1j . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Part II
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8

Small Employer Auto-Enrollment Credit

Enter $500 if an auto-enrollment option is provided for retirement savings. See instructions . . . .
Small employer auto-enrollment credit from partnerships and S corporations . . . . . . . .
Add lines 9 and 10. Partnerships and S corporations, report this amount on Schedule K. All others,
report this amount on Form 3800, Part III, line 1dd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Part III

7

Small Employer Military Spouse Participation Credit

Caution: You can’t claim the credit if you had more than 100 employees in the preceding tax year.
Enter the number of military spouse employees participating in an eligible plan. See instructions.
x $200 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Amount of contributions paid by employer for each eligible military spouse employee. Do not enter
more than $300 per employee. See instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Small employer military spouse participation credit from partnerships and S corporations . . . .
Add lines 12, 13, and 14. Partnerships and S corporations, report this amount on Schedule K. All
others, report this amount on Form 3800, Part III, line 1ee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

For Paperwork Reduction Act Notice, see separate instructions.

Cat. No. 33435N

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Form 8881 (Rev. 12-2025) Created 12/3/25