Category: Employee Benefits
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New way to pay student loans – tax free!
I’ve been practicing in the employee benefits field for 37 years and I can’t remember being as surprised as I was reading IRS Private Letter Ruling 201833012 released on last Friday. Never before has there been any tax advantage to student loan payments (typically made to an outside financial company) through connection with an employer plan.…
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HRA for spouse of business owner?
(This inform is not updated to reflect 2019 proposed regulations so should be presumed to be partially obsolete). Can a business with only one employee – the spouse of the sole proprietor – be eligible for a Health Reimbursement Arrangement? I can not give that assurance but at least one popular tax speaker says that…
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2018 Changes to Employee Benefit Plans
This article lists the primary changes triggered by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that have an impact on employee benefit plans. They are listed here roughly in the order of impact on small business employers. For example, health benefits changes and work-related travel changes at the top of the list impacts most businesses, whereas…
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More Q&As on the Qualified Small Employer Health Reimbursement Arrangement (QSERHA)
(This inform is not updated to reflect 2019 proposed regulations so should be presumed to be partially obsolete). I normally offer a free mini-consultation by telephone for prospective clients1. This allows us to get to know each other, prove that value provided will exceed the costs incurred, and lower risks of misunderstanding and miscommunication. But…
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Sample deferred compensation plan
Following is an annotated copy of the model truck language for a deferred compensation plan under Rev. Proc. 92-64. TRUST UNDER ____ PLAN OPTIONAL (a) THIS AGREEMENT MADE THIS ___ DAY OF ___, BY AND BETWEEN ____ (COMPANY) AND ____ (TRUSTEE); OPTIONAL (b) WHEREAS, COMPANY HAS ADOPTED THE NONQUALIFIED DEFERRED COMPENSATION PLAN(S) AS LISTED IN…
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2018: The year for a Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA)
(This inform is not updated to reflect 2019 proposed regulations so should be presumed to be partially obsolete). Summary: Small businesses with middle-income employees may use a Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA) to help cover out-of-pocket medical costs or individual insurance premiums as one of the easiest ways to cut 2018 taxes at minimal administrative and setup…
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Unreimbursed partnership expenses revisited
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act triggers changes to the tax treatment of unreimbursed partnership expenses for 2018. Partnerships should revisit their policies to ensure that partners and employees maximize tax savings under the new law. Under former law a partner could deduct the expenses of the partnership on his or her individual income tax…
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Home office deduction for employees in 2018
See this blog post “Five tax deductions you will miss this year” for other deductions eliminated in 2018. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act now in effect for 2018 no longer allows for employee1 home office deductions. This is a significant tax change that, according to the IRS, adds up to billion lost deductions, and increased…
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Overview of post-ACA federal health insurance law affecting small businesses
After the sweeping changes brought by the Affordable Care Act of 2010 that were phased in over the following several years, these federal actions then further molded small business health benefit plans: IRS Notice 2013-54 – restrictions on employer health care reimbursements not coordinated with ACA insurance plans. IRS Notice 2015-17 – restricts an employer…
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The latest on small business health plans
With all of the tax hubbub lately small business owners and their advisors have had a tough time keeping up with all of the changes. Small business health plans have evolved through a rapid succession of changes over the past year and a half. Yet relatively few employers have taken the time to sort through…