Employee benefits

TOPICS / TAX

January 1, 2023

The rise of the cash balance pension plan

Become familiar with this hybrid type of pension plan and its advantages for the right businesses.

December 15, 2022

Automatic extension provided for furnishing health coverage statements

Final regulations provide an automatic extension of time for providers of minimum essential coverage to furnish statements to individuals regarding their coverage.

October 21, 2022

Retirement account inflation adjustments issued for 2023

The IRS issued the retirement account inflation adjustments for 2023, including the maximum contribution amounts for 401(k) plans and IRAs.

October 11, 2022

Final regulations adopt ‘family-friendly’ health care affordability test

Previous regulations had based the affordability of employer-offered coverage for family members on the cost of an employee’s self-only coverage.

May 20, 2022

Ukraine aid eligible for leave-based donations programs

Employees may exclude from gross income the value of leave donated to their employers funding payments to relieve victims of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

April 29, 2022

Inflation boosts HSA amounts for 2023

Health savings account maximum contributions, along with minimum deductibles and maximum out-of-pocket expenses of accompanying high-deductible health plans, will be higher next year.

April 5, 2022

Proposed regulations revise premium tax credit’s affordability test

The existing benchmark of self-only coverage “unduly weakens” the purpose of the Affordable Care Act, the IRS and Treasury say, noting a presidential executive order to strengthen and protect the act.

March 30, 2022

‘SECURE 2.0’ would further expand retirement savings options

Legislation augmenting the SECURE Act of 2019 now goes to the Senate after passing the House.

March 25, 2022

IRS reproposes unified plan rule exception for multiple-employer plans

Proposed regulations provide an exception from the “unified plan rule” for multiple-employer plans consistent with the SECURE Act and give guidance on how to implement the exception.

February 23, 2022

Proposed regulations update RMDs for SECURE Act changes

The regulations governing required minimum distributions from retirement plans would be updated to reflect various recent statutory changes under proposed regulations released on Wednesday.

December 17, 2021

Standard mileage rates to go up in 2022

The IRS issued the annual update of the mileage rate taxpayers may use to compute their deductible automobile costs.

December 1, 2021

Qualified sick and family leave wage reporting

The IRS provides guidelines to employers for showing these wages on Form W-2.

December 1, 2021

Line items

Private tax debt collection contracts awarded … New per diem travel rates … Regs. authorize collection of excess sick and family leave credits

November 23, 2021

Automatic extension for furnishing health coverage statements proposed

Proposed regulations would permanently allow an automatic extension for furnishing health care Forms 1095-B and 1095-C and would also specify that Medicaid services to test for and diagnose COVID-19 are not “minimum essential coverage.”

November 4, 2021

IRS makes retirement account inflation adjustments for 2022

The IRS issued the adjusted ceilings, thresholds, and limitations for various retirement plans and individual retirement accounts for 2022.

September 8, 2021

Guidance issued on 2021 qualified sick and family leave wage reporting

Information reporting on Form W-2 or a separate statement allows self-employed taxpayers to claim qualified sick leave and qualified family leave equivalent credits.

July 27, 2021

COBRA premium assistance credit clarified further

The IRS has supplemented its guidance on COBRA premium payment assistance and the corresponding business tax credit under the American Rescue Plan Act.

July 1, 2021

Certified professional employer organizations: The first four years

Learn about the important role some CPAs play in the success of the IRS’s certified professional employer organizations program.

June 17, 2021

Supreme Court lets health care law stand

The US Supreme Court held that Texas and several other states lacked standing to sue over the constitutionality of the Sec. 5000A mandate that requires individuals to obtain minimum essential health coverage. The decision leaves the Affordable Care Act in place.

May 19, 2021

COBRA premium assistance credit under ARPA clarified

The IRS answered questions concerning COBRA continuation coverage premium assistance and the corresponding tax credit that employers, plan administrators, and insurers may claim under the American Rescue Plan Act.

FROM THIS MONTH'S ISSUE

Clean data faster using Excel’s REGEX functions

Excel’s REGEX functions provide a simpler, flexible solution to text-cleaning tasks, reducing the need to combine multiple functions when cleaning imported data. This JofA Technology Q&A article shows the way with step-by-step instructions and a video walkthrough.