The Internal Revenue Service issued new rules on the tax treatment of smart cards and debit cards used to purchase transportation for employees.
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TOPICS / TAX
Employee benefits
Defined contribution plans can offer deferred annuities to older participants
Under guidance released on Friday, qualified defined contribution plans will be allowed to provide lifetime income to plan participants by offering funds including deferred annuities among their assets, even if some of the funds are available only to older plan participants (Notice 2014-66). In the notice, the IRS explained how
Tax relief for small employer retirement plans
To avoid the expense of establishing a retirement plan, many small employers have left their employees on their own when it comes to saving for retirement. However, the small employer pension plan startup costs credit under Sec. 45E alleviates some of the burden by allowing a credit for establishing a
Federal courts disagree on premium tax credits through federal exchanges
The IRS will continue processing credit claims despite one circuit’s decision overruling a key Affordable Care Act provision. The appellate courts for the D.C. Circuit and the Fourth Circuit issued conflicting decisions on July 22 regarding the availability of the Sec. 36B premium tax credit for taxpayers who purchase health
Vision, dental, and long-term-care benefits qualify as limited excepted benefits under new IRS rules
Dental, vision, and long-term-care benefits will qualify as excepted benefits under final regulations issued by the IRS (T.D. 9697). Excepted benefits are not subject to certain health reform requirements enacted as part of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), P.L. 104-191, and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care
Doctors lack standing to challenge delay of employer mandate
The Seventh Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a suit objecting to the IRS’s decision to delay imposing the Sec. 4980H employer mandate penalty until 2015 (Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, Inc., No. 14-2123 (7th Cir. 9/19/14), aff’g No. 13-C-1214 (E.D. Wis. 3/18/14)). Under Sec. 4980H, an applicable large employer
Changes proposed to allocation rules for rollovers
The IRS says it has become aware that some plan providers have been treating disbursements from retirement plans that contain both pretax and after-tax contributions as a single distribution of the aggregate disbursement amount, rather than as separate distributions, as required by the regulations. In proposed regulations issued on Thursday
IRS announces proposed changes to cafeteria plan elections and lookback period
The IRS issued two notices on Thursday, proposing to change the rules for when a taxpayer can revoke health care coverage in a cafeteria plan and enroll in a plan on the Health Insurance Marketplace exchanges, and how to measure the lookback period for determining who is a full-time employee
Regulations update hybrid defined benefit plan rules
On Monday, the IRS released final and proposed regulations providing guidance on so-called hybrid defined benefit pension plans (T.D. 9693 and REG-111839-13). The regulations deal with changes made by the Pension Protection Act of 2006, P.L. 109-280, and the Worker, Retiree, and Employer Recovery Act of 2008, P.L. 110-458. The
ERISA: 40 years later
The 40th anniversary of ERISA’s enactment is a good time to look back at the problems with pensions that the legislation was intended to solve, and the problems that face today’s and tomorrow’s retirees, who increasingly must provide for their own retirement.
High-functioning firms
High-functioning firms have leadership teams that assess situations, develop strategies, and make and execute decisions with relative ease, speed, and success. Others, however, function with a drag that pulls against their momentum, causing the business of leading, managing, and executing to take longer and produce less-than-stellar results. High-functioning firms seem
The Sec. 4980H assessable payment for large employers
Know your business’s responsibilities under the Affordable Care Act.
Health care reform essentials
New health care regulations create many challenges and opportunities for businesses. Here are 10 things CPAs should know about the new rules to help the businesses they serve make wise decisions.
Guidance issued on application of Windsor to retirement plans
Qualified plans must recognize same-sex marriages after the Windsor decision and must be amended, if need be, to make them conform to the results of that decision. Under guidance issued by the IRS, administrators of qualified retirement plans must recognize the same-sex spouses of legally married participants as of June
Regulations provide guidance for small-employer premium tax credit
The IRS issued final regulations on the Sec. 45R credit for small employers that offer health insurance coverage for employees (T.D. 9672). The regulations provide guidance on how to determine full-time-equivalent employees (FTEs) and average annual wages, how to calculate the credit, and what is a “qualifying arrangement” for purposes
New rules allow one-month orientation period before 90-day health plan waiting period begins
The IRS, the Labor Department, and the Department of Health and Human Services jointly issued final regulations (REG-122706-12) governing the maximum length of time an employee orientation period can last consistent with the 90-day waiting period under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, P.L. 111-148, which prohibits employers from
Final rules govern tax treatment of distributions to pay accident or health insurance premiums
On Friday, the IRS finalized regulations that provide that distributions from qualified retirement plans to pay accident or health insurance premiums are taxable unless a statutory exclusion applies (T.D. 9665). However, arrangements where amounts are used to pay premiums for disability insurance to replace retirement plan contributions in the event
Businesses lagging in preparation for new health care laws
Many U.S. employers are lacking in preparation for—and awareness of—new health care laws, according to a survey. More than one-third (36%) of more than 800 corporate decision-makers said they are not very familiar with the requirements of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, P.L. 111-148, according to a survey
IRS provides simplified employer health care coverage reporting
The IRS released final regulations to implement simplified reporting requirements of employers to report health care coverage information under Secs. 6055 and 6056 starting in 2015 (T.D. 9660 and T.D. 9661). Sec. 6055 requires providers of minimum essential coverage and providers of coverage through an employer’s group health plan to
IRS delays health coverage mandate another year for midsize employers
The IRS in February delayed the so-called shared-responsibility requirement under Sec. 4980H for employers who have 50 to 99 full-time-equivalent employees (FTEs) in 2014. These employers will now have until 2016 to offer health care coverage to their employees or be subject to the shared-responsibility penalty. However, these employers will
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