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Oct 17, 2024 | 
bdo.com | Norma Sharara |Joan Vines
Employers whose employees are affected by hurricanes and other natural disasters often rush to provide assistance. “Qualified disaster payments,” as described by Internal Revenue Code Section 139, can be made as a tax-free benefit. Below are some frequently asked questions about how employers can use Section 139 to help employees cope immediately with federally declared disasters.
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Oct 10, 2024 | 
bdo.com | Norma Sharara |Joan Vines
As 2024 draws to a close, employers should review whether they have properly included the value of common fringe benefits in their employees’ and (if applicable) 2% S corporation shareholders’ taxable wages. This is especially true for 2024 and beyond, as many employers continue to deal with remote or hybrid workforces. A fringe benefit is a form of pay (including property, services, cash, or cash equivalents) in addition to stated pay for the performance of services.
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May 1, 2024 | 
bdo.com | Norma Sharara |Joan Vines
The IRS recently issued IR-2024-65 alerting employers to beware of companies misrepresenting nutrition, wellness, and general health personal expenses as medical care expenses for health flexible spending arrangements (FSAs), health savings accounts (HSAs), health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs), or medical savings accounts (MSAs), collectively health spending plans.
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Jan 10, 2024 | 
bdo.com | Joan Vines |Norma Sharara
The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (SECURE Act of 2019) and the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (collectively, SECURE) enacted a new mandate that, starting in 2024, long-term, part-time (LTPT) employees must be allowed to make salary deferrals into their employer’s 401(k) plan.
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Nov 28, 2023 | 
bdo.com | Joan Vines |Norma Sharara
As 2023 draws to a close, employers should review whether they have properly included the value of common fringe benefits in their employees’ and (if applicable) 2% S corporation shareholders’ taxable wages. This is especially true for 2023 and beyond, as many employers continue to deal with remote or hybrid workforces.
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Oct 27, 2023 | 
bdo.com | Paul Cheung |Joan Vines |Aaron Wright
The IRS announced on October 19 the details of a special withdrawal process to help employers who filed an employee retention credit (ERC) claim and are now concerned about its accuracy in light of the IRS’s broader program warning about invalid claims. Who can ask to withdraw an ERC claim? Employers can use the ERC claim withdrawal process if all of the following apply:They made the claim on an adjusted employment return (Forms 941-X, 943-X, 944-X, CT-1X).
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Sep 14, 2023 | 
bdo.com | Paul Cheung |Joan Vines |Aaron Wright
On September 14, 2023, the IRS published Information Release (IR) 2023-169 announcing IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel’s order to immediately stop processing new employee retention credit (ERC) claims. The moratorium will be in place at least through December 31, 2023. The IRS also issued IR-2023-170 on the same day, urging businesses to seek out a trusted tax professional who understands the complex ERC rules if they have been approached by aggressive ERC promoters.
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Jun 13, 2023 | 
bdo.com | Joan Vines |Norma Sharara
The IRS has green-lighted immediate use of most – but not all – expanded self-corrections for compliance failures involving tax-qualified retirement plans set out in Section 305 of the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 prior to any official updates to the IRS’s Employee Plans Compliance Resolutions System (EPCRS) self-correction program, as set out in Rev. Proc. 2021-30.
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May 25, 2023 | 
bdo.com | Joan Vines |Norma Sharara
The IRS recently cautioned employers that the tax-free status of all benefits provided under their Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 125 cafeteria plan could be lost if employees are allowed to self-certify or use shortcut methods to substantiate reimbursable expenses.
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Feb 7, 2023 | 
bdo.com | Joan Vines |Norma Sharara
The Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget, announced on January 30, 2023, that the COVID-19 national emergency and public health emergency that were declared in 2020 will both end on May 11, 2023. As a result, COVID-19 cannot be the reason used to make tax-free “qualified disaster relief payments” to employees (or others) under Internal Revenue Code Sec. 139 for expenses incurred on and after that date.
