Compensation & Benefits

Two IRS rulings shed light on health FSAs and HSAs

07/23/2014

Health flexible spending accounts and health savings accounts, which complement employees’ major medical coverage, are key elements of many cafeteria plans. In two legal memoranda, the IRS details how corrections to FSA reimbursements should be made and how the new FSA rollover rule impacts employees’ eligibility for HSAs.

Senate bill would create tax credit to encourage paid family leave

07/22/2014

A Republican and an Independent have introduced a Senate bill that would provide tax incentives for employers to offer paid parental and medical leave benefits for employees.

APA Congress: Big changes ahead for 2014 W-2s

07/21/2014

The Social Security Administration’s (SSA) Mark Ruley, speaking at the American Payroll Association’s 32nd Annual Congress in May, highlighted imminent changes at the SSA that will affect your 2014 wage reporting.

Would reimbursements for paycard fees be taxable?

07/18/2014

Q: Employees who are paid with paycards may incur fees for withdrawing cash from ATMs and other services. State legislation has been proposed that would require employers to reimburse those fees. Would the reimbursements be considered taxable wages?

Taxable fringes or legitimate business expenses?

07/17/2014

Q: As a condition for an employee to travel, the company has agreed to pick up expenses he incurs to board his dogs. He’s submitted receipts along with his expense report. Are these payments acceptable business reimbursements or taxable income?

Plan now for 2015 insurance renewal: 4 questions to ask

07/16/2014

Don’t wait for the usual renewal offer from your health insurance carrier—typically 60 days before your plan expires. That gives you no time to explore alternatives, either from your existing plan or from competitors. As you plan for next year, ask these questions.

401(k) plans must recognize same-sex spouses

07/16/2014

The fallout from the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2013 U.S. v. Windsor decision continues to percolate. The IRS now says that 401(k) plans that define marriage and spouses in terms of heterosexuality must be amended to define those terms in a gender-neutral way.

When the IRS makes a mistake, what do we do?

07/15/2014

Q: We received a Notice of Levy for an employee on Form 668-A (ICS). It says it’s to collect a CIVPEN tax, and doesn’t allow the employee any exemptions. It also doesn’t tell us how much to withhold per pay period. The IRS can’t take all of this employee’s money, can it?

Report: Higher 2015 health costs aren’t long-term trend

07/14/2014

Employers’ health costs will accelerate next year, but a 6.8% increase in 2015 won’t signal a coming cost spiral, PricewaterhouseCoopers says in a new report.

Uncle Sam is getting rich on 401(k) withdrawals

07/11/2014

Employees who made early withdrawals from their 401(k) retirement savings plans paid $5.7 billion in penalties to the IRS in 2011, the most recent year for which data are available.