Recently the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued its 2018 Publication 15-B, which informs
Recently the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued its 2018 Publication 15-B, which informs
Topics: IRS, employee benefit plans, fringe benefits
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently released Revenue Procedure 2018-27 to modify the 2018 health savings account (HSA) family contribution limit back to $6,900. This is the second, and likely final, change in limit during 2018.
Topics: family planning, HSA, family insurance benefits, HSA funding, health care benefits, HSAs
Recently, clients may have contacted you with questions about Letter 226-J, which they would have received from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) during or after the end of 2017. These letters stated that your clients might owe money, either because the IRS didn’t offer health coverage to enough of its full-time employees, or because the health coverage that it did offer wasn’t affordable (or minimum value).
Topics: health insurance policy, Health Coverage Tax Credit, play or pay requirements, ACA penalties, benefits compliance, tax law, Compliance Advisor
Curious about when you should notify a participant about a change to their health care plan?
The answer is that it depends!
Topics: health care benefits, benefits compliance, benefits communication, health care plans
The ACA requires employers to report the cost of coverage under an employer-sponsored group health plan. Reporting the cost of health care coverage on Form W-2 does not mean that the coverage is taxable.
Topics: ACA, Affordable Care Act, employer-sponsored health insurance, W-2 reporting
Two tri-agency (Internal Revenue Service, Employee Benefits Security Administration, and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) Interim Final Rules were released and became effective on October 6, 2017, and were published on October 13, 2017, allowing a greater number of employers to opt out of providing contraception to employees at no cost through their employer-sponsored health plan.
Topics: contraception coverage, religious opposition to contraception, Group health plans
The U.S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) released advance informational copies of the 2017 Form 5500 annual return/report and related instructions.
Topics: benefit plan reporting, group benefit plans, IRS Form 5500, tax reporting
Guidance for Group Health Plans Impacted by Hurricane Maria and California Wildfires
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a news release to recognize that plan participants and beneficiaries may encounter problems due to Hurricane Maria and the California Wildfires. The DOL advises plan fiduciaries to make reasonable accommodations to prevent workers' loss of benefits and to take steps to minimize the possibility of individuals losing benefits because of a failure to comply with pre-established time frames.
Topics: group benefits, leave-based donation program, hurricane relief
Beginning in 2015, to comply with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), “large” employers must offer their full-time employees health coverage, or pay one of two employer shared responsibility / play-or-pay penalties. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) determines the penalty each calendar year after employees have filed their federal tax returns.
Topics: IRS, employer shared responsibility, Affordable Care Act, play or pay requirements
On November 2, 2017, House Republicans introduced a tax reform bill (H.R.1-115th Congress) called the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” that, if passed, would impact multiple aspects of the tax code. Many of these changes relate to employee benefit plans, particularly in relation to certain fringe benefits.
Topics: dependent care flexible spending account, dependent care, tax reform, adoption assistance, education assistance