The IRS has supplemented its guidance on COBRA premium payment assistance and the corresponding business tax credit under the American Rescue Plan Act.
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Employee Benefits
Ways and Means releases list of tax provisions for budget bill
The proposal would raise tax rates for corporations and individuals and make many other changes to the Internal Revenue Code.
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.
Dependent care assistance programs get pandemic relief
Dependent care assistance program benefits carried over or available during an extended claims period under special temporary COVID-19 relief provisions retain their status as excludable from employees’ gross income and wages, the IRS explains in a notice.
Guidance on COBRA premium assistance credit
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.
Court says statutory language precludes substance-over-form analysis
The plain language of the statute allowed taxpayers to shelter income from all tax using a foreign sales
corporation and Roth IRAs.
Equity incentive plan considerations for startup companies
Careful planning upfront is needed to ensure the equity plan satisfies the goal of incentivizing and retaining employees while avoiding any pitfalls under the Internal Revenue Code.
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.
Penalty relief for payroll tax deposits allows immediate use of pandemic credits
The IRS provided for penalty relief under Sec. 6656 for an employer’s failure to timely deposit certain employment taxes with the IRS to allow employers to immediately take advantage of various credits enacted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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.
Stock-based compensation cost-sharing regs. following Altera
The Supreme Court’s denial of Altera’s petition could have significant tax and financial reporting consequences for companies that have excluded SBC costs from CSA intangible development cost
pools.
Compensatory split-dollar life insurance benefits are compensation
Economic benefits from a compensatory split-dollar
life insurance arrangement are not property distributions.
Planning considerations for cross-border compensatory equity
Compensatory equity, such as company stock, held by employees that was acquired in connection with the performance of services may result in unexpected issues.
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.
IRS clarifies pandemic relief for dependent care assistance programs
Dependent care assistance program benefits carried over or available during an extended claims period under special temporary COVID-19 relief provisions retain their status as excludable from employees’ gross income and wages, the IRS explains in a notice.
2022 HSA, excepted-benefit HRA amounts increase slightly
Maximum health savings account annual contributions will increase by $50 to $3,650 for self-only and $100 to $7,300 for family coverage for 2022. Inflation adjustments in Rev. Proc. 2021-25 also increase maximum out-of-pocket expenses for high-deductible health plans.
Cafeteria plans may be amended during pandemic
The IRS issued guidance on how employers can amend their health flexible spending arrangements and dependent care assistance programs to respond to the coronavirus pandemic.
Practical highlights of recent tax research
This article looks at recent academic research of interest to tax practitioners.
Supervisory approval not needed for Sec. 72(t) additional tax
The Sec. 72(t) additional tax on early distributions
is not a penalty that requires written supervisory approval.
SEP plans: A cautionary tale about IRS audits
An employer’s failure to comply with SEP rules results in very costly penalties.
employee benefits & pensions
Profits interests: The most tax-efficient equity grant to employees
By granting them a profits interest, entities taxed as partnerships can reward employees with equity. Mistakes, however, could cause challenges from taxing authorities.
