By Porter Wright on The Form 5310 Application for Determination for Terminating Plan instructions, updated in December 2013, added an odd and time-consuming new requirement, “Submit proof that any rollovers or asset transfers received [during the year of plan termination and five prior plan years] were from a qualified plan or IRA (for example, DL [determination letter] and timely … Continue Reading
By Greg Daugherty on Legend had it at my law school that one day, a lost student walked into a torts class and asked the professor if this class was wills, trusts, and estates. The torts professor replied, “We haven’t gotten that far yet.” A dry sense of humor on the professor’s part? Perhaps. His point, however, was that … Continue Reading
By Greg Daugherty on Clients frequently ask us if severance payments are subject to tax withholding. The answer is that they clearly are subject to income tax withholding, but there has always been some ambiguity about the circumstances in which they are subject to FICA tax withholding. The IRS has always taken the position that severance payments are not subject to … Continue Reading
By Greg Daugherty on As complex as the Internal Revenue Code is, many people still assume that the rules contain a great deal of specificity and precision, perhaps because of the mathematical nature of calculating taxes. They often are surprised to learn that the Code leaves a lot of room for discretion and subjectivity. A great example of this subjectivity is Code Section 83’s regulations governing the taxation of restricted stock (and other property). The underlying stock subject to these grants generally does not become taxable to the employee until the stock no longer is subject to a “substantial risk of forfeiture.” As you might guess, whether a risk is “substantial” can be quite a subjective determination.… Continue Reading
By Deb Boiarsky on What is Form 8822-B, do I need to worry about it with respect to my employee benefit plans and trusts, and do I have a March 1, 2014 deadline? Most benefit plan sponsors/administrators do not have to worry about this, but given that this topic is a little confusing, we thought we would share this explanation. … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on It is hard to believe that nearly five months have passed since the United States Supreme Court issued its landmark decision in United States v. Windsor. As a reminder, the Supreme Court held that the provisions contained in the Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”) that exclude same-sex relationships from the definition of marriage and spouse for federal law purposes (i.e., Section 3 of DOMA) are unconstitutional. The broad impact of this holding is clear: for purposes of federal law (e.g., ERISA, the Internal Revenue Code, etc.), same-sex marriages must be treated the same as opposite-sex marriages. But, while the general effect is clear, the Supreme Court’s decision left many questions unanswered. … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on The United States Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (the “Agencies”) yesterday announced that same-sex couples who were legally married in jurisdictions that recognize same-sex marriages (i.e., either in states within the United States, United States territories or in other countries) will be treated as married for federal tax purposes. … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on A fall over the dreaded fiscal cliff has been avoided—at least for now. Unless pre-occupied by New Year's revelry or college football bowl games, all of us are well, and perhaps painfully, aware that Congress managed to by-pass the dreaded fiscal cliff by passing a tax relief bill on January 1, 2013.… Continue Reading
