When it’s time for tax-exempt organizations such as colleges/universities, museums, and hospital systems to part ways with their senior executives, these institutions are most often considering how to best transition these executives off into the sunset rather than a morass of special tax rules (I will mention Internal Revenue Code citations just once for reference)
IRS CORRECTION PROGRAM, NOW MORE EFFICIENT
In 2008, the IRS established a voluntary correction program aimed at plan sponsors and administrators to encourage resolution of plan document or operational failures as soon as they are discovered. The Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System, or “EPCRS” as it is most often called, stresses the importance of established administrative practices and procedures to avoid…
Interim IRS Guidance Addressing Taxation Impact of Transportation and Parking Fringe Benefits Creates Planning Opportunities for Employers
By Melissa Ostrower & Suzanne G. Odom on
In Notice 2018-99, the Internal Revenue Service sets forth interim guidance for taxpayers to determine parking expenses for qualified transportation fringes (QTFs) that are nondeductible and for tax-exempt organizations to determine the increase in unrelated business taxable income (UBTI) attributable to nondeductible parking expenses. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (Act) amended these tax…
Making the Loss of the SALT Deduction Sting a Little Less
By Robert R. Perry on
As tax time rapidly approaches, taxpayers in states with high state and local income taxes (such as New York) are about to learn, up close and personal, just how much the loss of the deduction for state and local taxes (SALT) will affect their personal tax liability. A little-publicized provision of the New York Tax…
Important Guidance and Relief for 403(B) Plan Sponsors Who Exclude Part-Time Employees
By Suzanne G. Odom on
In the spirit of the holidays, the Internal Revenue Service gave a gift to sponsors of 403(b) tax-deferred annuity plans on December 4, 2018, by issuing IRS Notice 2018-95. For plan sponsors that exclude part-time employees from their 403(b) plans, this gift provides a 10-year nod on their historical plan administration, despite noncompliance with…
IRS Announces Filing Extension for Furnishing 2018 Forms 1095-B and 1095-C and Continued Good Faith Transition Relief
By Melissa Ostrower on
In IRS Notice 2018-94, the IRS announced an extension for furnishing 2018 IRS Forms 1095-B (Health Coverage) and 1095-C (Employer-Provided Health Insurance Offer and Coverage), from January 31, 2019, to March 4, 2019. The IRS issued this extension in response to requests by employers, insurers, and other providers of health insurance coverage that additional…
IRS Proposed Regulations Implementing Changes To Hardship Distribution Rules
By Joshua Rafsky on
Earlier this year we reported on legislative changes that modified the requirements related to hardship distributions from 401(k) plans. Recently, the IRS issued proposed regulations that if finalized will implement those changes.
Background
The Internal Revenue Code (the “Code”) and associated regulations generally place restrictions on participants’ ability to withdraw their elective deferrals from 401(k)…
Notice 2018-76: Taking a Bite Out of the Business Expense Deductions for Meals, Entertainment
By Stephanie O. Zorn on
Posted in IRS, Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
On October 3, 2018, the IRS issued transitional guidance in Notice 2018-76 concerning the business expense deductions for meals and entertainment following the changes made by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (“TCJA”) — which generally disallowed a deduction for expenses related to entertainment, amusement or recreation, but did not specifically address the deductibility of…
The President Urges Regulatory Action to Expand Access to Employer-Sponsored Retirement Plans
On August 31, 2018, President Trump issued an Executive Order (the “Order”) calling on the Department of Labor (“DOL”) and the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) to consider issuing regulations and guidance directed at expanding the availability of employer-sponsored retirement plans. The Order mainly takes aim at the availability of retirement plans to all employees, noting…
The IRS Doesn’t Disappoint
As anticipated by plan sponsors of closed defined benefit pension plans, the IRS issued Notice 2018-69, the fourth extension for an additional year of the temporary nondiscrimination relief for “closed” defined benefit pension plans originally announced by the IRS during 2014. The extended relief applies to plan years beginning before 2020 for those “closed” plans…