Controlled group
Two or more businesses connected through common ownership and treated as one employer for retirement plan testing.
Definition
A controlled group is a parent-subsidiary group, brother-sister group, or combined group of businesses meeting IRC Section 414(b) and (c) ownership tests. Plans of a controlled group are aggregated for coverage, nondiscrimination, and combined-asset testing. A Solo 401(k) sponsor in a controlled group may lose one-participant status because of related-employer employees.