Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
About a year from now, employers and plan administrators will be preparing to pay a fee to fund the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI). The IRS on April 17 (77 Fed. Reg. 22691) issued proposed regulations on the fee. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) created the PCORI fee to promote research […]
Some business-related lodging expenses incurred in the vicinity of home will be deductible, if the IRS amends the rules under Code Section 162. The agency moved to do that in rules proposed on April 25. In general, the tax Code does not allow a deduction for expenses paid or incurred for lodging when not traveling away from home. […]
When an employee’s compensation exceeds the annual limit, how does that affect 401(k) salary deferrals and what employers and plan administrators have to do? In the March 20, 2012 edition of Employee Plans News, the IRS provides an answer. The IRS says that unless plan terms provide otherwise, the 401(k) salary (elective) deferral limit is […]
Experts Terry Pasteris and Mark Lipis have an answer, but first, the rest of their focal points for 2012 from yesterday’s Advisor. (Pasteris is president of TLMP Consulting Group and Lipis is owner of Lipis Consulting Inc.) 2012 Focal Points for Private Companies Here’s what Lipis and Pasteris suggest you consider for 2012: IRS’s continued […]
In a recent move to encourage employers to correct past misclassification of workers, the IRS has established a voluntary compliance program, called the Voluntary Classification Settlement Program, or VCSP. The program permits employers to voluntarily reclassify their workers as employees for future tax periods with minimal tax liability for past non-employee treatment. To participate, an […]
Government efforts to bring 403(b) retirement plans up to regulatory par with 401(k) plans has resulted in a rough transition for 403(b) plan sponsors, and in recognition of that fact, an ERISA advisory council gave the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) five recommendations to help ease the compliance burden. Background Over the years, many 403(b) […]
Employers will now be able to calculate the depreciation of vehicles — passenger cars, trucks and vans that they provide to employee as a fringe benefit — that they first put into service in calendar year 2012, since the IRS has released the new depreciation deduction limits. Revenue Procedure (Rev. Proc.) 2012-23, released March 4, […]
Employers and “super commuters” — employees who live outside of the boundaries of the metropolitan area where they work — may wonder whether there are any tax breaks for someone who practically breaks their neck to get to their employer’s place of business. A recent study by the Rudin Center for Transportation at New York University […]
The IRS and the Department of Treasury is still seeking public input on future standards to determine whether a retirement plan is a governmental plan under Code Section 414(d). According to the IRS, more guidance is needed for Section 414(d), as the statutory rules for governmental plans differ from those for nongovernmental plans. Further, changes […]
The IRS is promising that changes to the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System program are coming soon, and those changes will provide a way to correct plan document errors. The IRS has also proposed a “remedial amendment period” for 403(b) plans, as part of its proposed 403(b) prototype program, which will allow employers to retroactively […]