Category: Employee Benefits
-
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…
-
“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…
-
Unique church employee health plan
I received an interesting telephone call today from a woman who is working or designing an employee health plan for her small employer, a church. I have helped set up benefit plans (mostly the old-fashioned reimbursement type plans that are no longer allowed today under the Affordable Care Act) for many small churches and so…
-
“Watcha gonna do?” – Tax professionals look at ACA compliance
How should a tax preparer handle suspected ACA penalties for small businesses? This post is inspired by the recent frustration expressed by an accountant who is a Facebook friend. My friend commented on one of my posts that even after a substantial investment of his time to learn and apply provisions of the Affordable Care act,…
-
Quick Summary of Small Business Health Plan Informational Tax Filing Requirements for 2015
This post summarizes the new filing requirements under IRC 6065. This post pertains to only to small business employers with more than 1 but less than 50 employees covered by a health plan that either reimburses the cost of individual insurance or insurance other than employer-sponsored group health insurance or reimburses the cost of uninsured health benefits outside…
-
Is my small business required to file Form 1095?
Form 1095 is a new informational tax return that is a requirement incorporated into of the Affordable Care Act. Some small businesses are required to file it for the first time this season. There are three types of Form 1095: 1095A from a Health Insurance Marketplace 1095B usually from an employer (the form discussed below…
-
Changing opinions on small business health plan penalty taxes
Section 4980D small business excise taxes on Form 8928: which penalty applies? My article about Section 4980D excise tax penalties (NJ CPA magazine article on 4980D penalties) was written late last summer summer (in 2015) but published last week (in 2016). The risk of print media in a fast-paced topic like tax procedure is that it can…
-
Three tips for wage tax do-it-yourselfers
Here are three tips if you prepare your own W2 and 1099 forms for your small business: The first tip is that there is no need to purchase the stock forms from an office supply store. The forms are available for free from IRS at https://www.irs.gov/Businesses/Online-Ordering-for-Information-Returns-and-Employer-Returns . The second tip is don’t do this again! If you…
-
S-Corporation owner/employee health insurance
Tax treatment of health insurance for owner/employees of S-Corporations has always been, and continues to be, a confusing issue. The controlling authority is Rev. Proc. 2014-41 that provides guidance to compute the business deduction (IRC §162) for health insurance costs for self-employed individuals and the premium tax credit allowed under (IRC§ 36B). IRS Notice 2015-17 provides assurance…
-
4980D Small Business Excise Tax Liability
This is the original submitted version of the article published by New Jersey CPA magazine under the same title in the January 2016 edition. The published version was slightly shortened to meet space requirements in the print publication. Background The Affordable Care Act adds Section 9815 to the Internal Revenue Code that requires employer-provided health plans…