Author: tonynova
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Checklist of health care planning issues for financial advisers
This checklist of health care planning issues is meant for financial advisers to consider in 2016 planning: Millions of Americans people who bought their own coverage outside the exchange do not have “minimal essential coverage” (even though they think they do). This has implications for tax preparers as well as financial advisers. Millions of Americans…
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How to change the tax reporting of employer health insurance payments
There is a ‘wrong way’ and a ‘right way’ to report a change in employee health insurance payments to avoid payroll tax liability problems Case 1: The wrong way to change employer reporting of health insurance Tom works for ABC Inc. at a salary of $50,000. ABC has no health insurance plan but agreed to reimburse…
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Employer health insurance payments are not wages
Employer-paid health insurance may not be included in employee wages. Doing so, even in error, does not alleviate the employer from possible excise taxes under ACA. This errant accounting practice also creates additional employer tax penalty liabilities for improper reporting of wages. This afternoon I attended a continuing professional education webinar where a fabulous tax expert…
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Explaining the Health Insurance Penalty
Accountants and tax preparers complain that they have been put in the position of enforcing the Affordable Care Act’s insurance mandate without compensation or training as health insurance agents. They are absolutely correct and this system has produced in some bizarre results. This was illustrated when one accountant wrote to me “I have clients that…
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Still have W2s and 1099s to file?
Today is the day that your 2015 W2 and 1099 forms should be in the mail. This year (2015) the IRS penalties for non-filers is increased. For most small businesses this has become an automated online accounting service that hardly requires any additional effort. If you are reading this and still haven’t met this requirement,…
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20 Rules for Operating a Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA)
Update for 2018: Please see “2018: The year for a Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA)” Update December 10, 2017: I published an annotated copy of IRS proposed regulations for Qualified Small Employer Health Reimbursement Arrangements (QSEHRAs) that should be followed with 2018 QSEHRAs. It makes sense to view this as an additional option and not a replacement…
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More on health insurance without a social security number
Despite the convincing documentation that the federal government has produced – these sources that I cite over and over in my publications – a woman tonight insisted that health insurance companies require a social security number to enroll. Of course I can’t speak for every insurance company under every circumstance. But I can say that…
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“How do I get health insurance?”
Perhaps I should not be so shocked that now only days before the close of 2016 open enrollment season I am still receiving calls from individuals asking basic questions like “How do I get health insurance?” This blog post is simply an outline of the telephone conversation that follows in this situation. Our conversation starts with an…
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Bankruptcy of an Uber driver
I just read a financial planning article about the bankruptcy of an Uber driver who was involved in an auto accident and his personal auto insurance denied coverage because he did not have a commercial auto insurance or ride-share type of policy. Apparently the carrier can do that and withstand the related legal challenges. It…