403(b) Plan Sponsors Can Mitigate Risk By Taking Proactive Steps Under New EPCRS Guidance
Legendary UCLA Men’s Basketball Coach John Wooden once asked, “If you don’t have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?” If you sponsor a 403(b) plan, the IRS may have helped answer this question for you. In our prior blog, we highlighted the new Employee Plans Compliance Resolution …
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Plan Sponsors Have Greater Opportunities to Correct Errors Under New EPCRS
Do you sponsor a qualified retirement plan? If you’re a tax-exempt or governmental employer, do you sponsor a 403(b) plan? If you answered yes to either of these questions, you know that despite having the best administrative procedures in place, it is easy to make mistakes with respect to the plan. If the IRS were to catch these mistakes on audit, it has the potential to disqualify the plan.
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Code Section 162(m) Guidance Issued Regarding Deductibility of Dividends and Dividend Equivalents in Equity Awards
The IRS recently issued an important ruling on whether dividends and dividend equivalents related to restricted stock and restricted stock units (“RSUs”) can be treated as performance-based compensation for purposes of Code Section 162(m).
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$2,500 FSA Limits: Employers with Non-Calendar Year Plans Can Breathe a Sigh of Relief
In a recent blog, we discussed the need for employers with non-calendar year health FSAs to act now to implement the new $2,500 FSA limits imposed under health care reform. Thankfully, recent IRS guidance eliminates these concerns.
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Implementing $2,500 FSA Limits for Non-Calendar Year Plans – Start Now
Beginning January 1, 2013, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“PPACA”) requires plan sponsors to limit pre-tax health flexible spending account (“FSA”) contributions to no more than $2,500 per calendar year. There are currently no limits on health FSA contributions. This change is anticipated to be a revenue-raiser, because the new limit is lower than most existing plan-imposed pre-tax FSA contribution limits, and affected employees will pay taxes on more of their salary.
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Lifetime Income Choices: It’s All About Pension Risk Management and Allocation of Risk
The Treasury has announced proposed regulations and rulings regarding lifetime income choices. This guidance presumes that employers want to adopt more pension risk by providing more annuity options in their defined contribution and defined benefit retirement plans.
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Health care compliance Form 8928 excise tax self-reporting requirements: Have you done your due diligence for 2011 and determined the due date for your return, if required?
While conducting a health care reform webinar recently, we received questions that suggested the need to remind employers sponsoring group health care plans about their self-reporting obligations, and significant potential exposure to excise taxes.
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New Procedures for Filing Determination Letter Applications—Less Work Now, but More Problems Later?
Several important changes will take effect in the determination letter program beginning in 2012. The IRS has stated that these changes are intended to (1) reduce the burden on employers for filing determination letter applications (and in some cases, eliminate the need to file an application) and (2) reduce the time it takes for the IRS to process determination letter applications.
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Annual Bonuses for 2011 Paid in 2012: Tax Planning Opportunities for Employers
Are you able to accrue and deduct annual bonuses for a 2011 performance period in 2011, despite the fact that an employee is required to be employed through the payment date in 2012 in order to receive the bonus? A few years ago, the IRS issued guidance that strongly suggested the answer was no, the deduction could not be taken in 2011.
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Health Care Shared Responsibility’s Missing Link – Reconciliation With The Employer
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) shared responsibility provisions require speculation about whether health care coverage will be affordable for an individual. Whether affordable coverage was available, whether an individual was eligible for a premium credit, and whether an employer was subject to penalties, cannot be determined until after the individual files a personal tax return.
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