The consolidated appropriations bill passed by Congress makes many changes to retirement plan rules, repeals health care taxes, extends expired tax provisions, and provides tax relief for disaster victims.
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Employee Benefits
5th Circuit invalidates health care law’s individual mandate
The Fifth Circuit held that the “individual mandate” under Sec. 5000A, which imposes a “shared responsibility payment” on taxpayers who do not obtain health insurance that provides at least minimum essential coverage, is unconstitutional now that the payment amount has been reduced to zero.
Proposed regs. would govern Sec. 162(m) executive compensation limits
The IRS issued proposed regulations on the Sec. 162(m) $1 million limit on executive compensation paid by certain publicly held corporations.
Deadline for health care information statements extended
As it does every year, the IRS extended the due date to furnish certain health care information statements to individual taxpayers to March 2, 2020.
Retirement plan contribution limits increase for 2020
Annual contribution limits for 401(k) plans will increase from $19,000 in 2019 to $19,500 in 2020, and most other limits are increasing as well.
Employing family members
Wages and benefits paid to a family member who is a bona fide employee can help reduce a business’s tax liability.
IRS proposes changes to maximum automobile values
The IRS issued proposed rules that provide maximum automobile values for the cents-per-mile and fleet-average valuation rules used to determine the amount to include in an employee’s gross income for personal use of an employer-provided vehicle.
Final regs. loosen 401(k) hardship distribution requirements
The IRS issued final regulations governing hardship distributions from Sec. 401(k) plans, eliminating the requirements that participants obtain a loan from the plan if available and that suspend participants’ ability to make contributions to the plans for six months after taking a hardship distribution.
HRAs can be integrated with individual health plans
The IRS issued final regulations on health reimbursement arrangements, which may be offered to individuals as individual coverage HRAs and integrated into health insurance plans.
Proposed regs. govern maximum automobile values
The IRS issued proposed rules that provide maximum automobile values for the cents-per-mile and fleet-average valuation rules used to determine the amount to include in an employee’s gross income for personal use of an employer-provided vehicle.
IRS intends to amend maximum vehicle value regulations
The IRS revised its maximum-vehicle-value rule for personal use of an employer-provided vehicle for 2019 for both the cents-per-mile rule and the fleet-average-valuation rule.
Guidance adds preventive care items to high-deductible health plans
The IRS added 14 types of preventive care items that qualify to be provided under a high-deductible health plan to treat chronic medical conditions.
Final HRA rules permit integration with individual health insurance
The IRS issued final regulations on health reimbursement arrangements, which may be offered to individuals as individual coverage HRAs and integrated into health insurance plans.
Key cross-border compensation issues
The use of a loan to facilitate the restricted stock purchase may be considered the grant of an option rather than the grant of restricted stock.
2020 limits on HSA contributions are issued
The IRS issued its annual notice of the inflation-adjusted limits on contributions to health savings accounts. All of the limits increased from 2019 to 2020.
IRS changes maximum-vehicle-value rule
The IRS revised its maximum-vehicle-value rule for personal use of an employer-provided vehicle for 2019 for both the cents-per-mile rule and the fleet-average-valuation rule.
Stock-based compensation: Back to basics
This item summarizes some fundamental income tax considerations for employers related to stock-based compensation under U.S. federal income tax laws.
Qualified transportation fringe benefit and loss of deduction under tax reform
The IRS released Notice 2018-99 providing further guidance on determining the loss of the deduction under certain qualified parking fact patterns.
Corporate transactions’ effect on retirement plans
This article discusses several key factors that CPAs and benefit plan advisers should consider to help successfully integrate plans during a merger or acquisition.
Private company equity grant rules are issued
The IRS issued initial guidance on the application of Sec. 83(i), which allows certain employees to defer recognition of income attributable to the receipt or vesting of qualified stock.
TAX PRACTICE MANAGEMENT
2025 tax software survey
AICPA members in tax practice assess how their return preparation software performed during tax season and offer insights into their procedures.
