Provided by Larry Grudzien Q. Each year, my client gives its employees a choice of health coverage or a cash payment of $3,000. If my client does not adopt a cafeteria plan, will any portion of the health coverage elected by the employee be taxable? A. Yes. An employee will be taxed up to […]
A common misconception among HR managers of small-to-midsize employers is the assumption that they only have a “few Family Medical Leave (FMLA) events occur per year.” Failure to recognize FMLA is a growing concern among companies ranging in size from 50 to 250 employees. The complexities of administering FMLA, along with the ever-changing regulations and […]
Federal overtime pay standards under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) are strict, but that doesn’t mean employers can’t be flexible in scheduling workdays, even if it trims overtime wages. In a recent case, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court ruling in determining that a Texas-based environmental solutions firm did not […]
The new ACA FAQ XXII Compliance of Premium Reimbursement Arrangements(FAQ XXII), published November 6, 2014, confirms that employers cannot reimburse employees on a pre-tax or after-tax basis for purchasing individual coverage in lieu of group health plan coverage as promoted by various vendors, TPAs and others. FAQ XXII makes it clear that the Affordable Care […]
Year end tax planning for 2014 is particularly challenging because Congress has yet to act on a host of tax breaks that expired at the end of 2013. It is uncertain at this time whether the expired provisions will be extended by Congress on a permanent or temporary basis — and whether any such extension […]
Question: One of my clients has 75 employees and has never offered health coverage to its employees and it does not plan do so in the future. When would it have to comply with the employer mandate, 2015 or 2016? Answer: January 1, 2016 For employers eligible for the transition relief described below, no subsection (a) […]
Set out below are additional Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) regarding implementation of the Affordable Care Act. These FAQs have been prepared jointly by the Departments of Labor (DOL), Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Treasury (collectively, the Departments). Like previously issued FAQs (available at http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/healthreform/ and http://www.cms.gov/cciio/resources/fact-sheets-and-faqs/index.html), these FAQs answer questions from stakeholders to […]
The Internal Revenue Service announced in Revenue Procedure 2014-61 the annual inflation adjustments for more than 40 tax provisions for 2015, including the tax rate schedules, and other tax changes. This Revenue Procedure provides details about these annual adjustments. There are several benefit limitations for 2015 included: The annual dollar limit on employee contributions to employer-sponsored healthcare […]
The U.S. Treasury Department issued a new ruling last fall that is rapidly increasing the popularity of flexible spending accounts (FSA) and the subsequent savings employers gain from them. This new option allows FSA participants to carryover up to $500 of unspent funds from one plan year into the next. Due to this new incentive, […]
The Internal Revenue Service and Social Security Administration announced cost of living adjustments applicable to dollar limitations for qualified retirement plans, and other limits for tax year 2015. The important limits are provided below: Limits: 401(k), 403(b) & 457(b) deferrals $18,000 Catch-up 401(k), 403(b) & 457(b) $6,000 415(c) Limit $53,000 Annual Compensation Limit $265,000 HCE Compensation […]
