Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Blog

The View from Proskauer on Developments in the World of Employee Benefits, Executive Compensation & ERISA Litigation

Category Archives: IRS

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IRS Permanently Extends Deadlines for ACA Reports to Individuals

On December 15, 2022, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) published final regulations that make permanent certain relief and changes relating to the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) reporting requirements. Specifically, the final regulations (1) include an automatic 30-day extension for providing Forms 1095-B and 1095-C to covered individuals and employees, which would otherwise be due on … Continue Reading

IRS Proposed Regulations Would Permanently Allow Remote Witnessing of Spousal Consent

The IRS issued new proposed regulations that would permanently change the rules that require spousal consent for plan distributions to be signed in the physical presence of a notary or plan representative.  Specifically, the proposed regulations would allow plans to accept remote notarization or witnessing by a plan representative if the remote process meets certain … Continue Reading

IRS Opens Determination Letter Program to Individually Designed 403(b) Plans

On October 21st, the IRS announced changes to its qualified plan determination letter program. Most notably, the program has been expanded to include section 403(b) tax-sheltered annuity plans (“403(b) plans”). Although 403(b) plans are similar to tax-qualified defined contribution plans (“401(a) plans”), they are subject to unique rules, and, until now, the IRS has not … Continue Reading

IRS Announces 2023 Increases to Health FSA and Transportation Fringe Benefit Limits

On October 18th, the IRS announced a slew of inflation adjustments for 2023, including to the annual contribution and carryover limits for healthcare flexible spending accounts and the monthly limit for qualified transportation fringe benefits.  The IRS did not increase the annual contribution limit for dependent care flexible spending accounts because that limit is not … Continue Reading

Clarification on Extension of Amendment Deadlines for CARES Act Provisions

On September 26, 2022, the IRS released IRS Notice 2022-45, which corrected a potential oversight in IRS Notice 2022-33, discussed in detail here.  Notice 2022-33 had extended the deadline to adopt certain retirement and savings plan amendments required by the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (“SECURE Act”) and the Coronavirus … Continue Reading

IRS Guidance Extends Deadline for SECURE & CARES Act Amendments

On August 3, 2022, in a welcome and surprising move, the IRS released Notice 2022-33, providing for an extension for qualified retirement plans to adopt amendments under the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (“SECURE Act”), the Bipartisan Miners Act of 2019 (the “Miners Act”) (which provided defined benefit plans with … Continue Reading

IRS Proposal Extending Deadlines for ACA Reports to Individuals

The Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) recently issued proposed regulations affecting certain reporting deadlines under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“ACA”).  Specifically, proposed regulations would make permanent an automatic 30-day extension for issuing Forms 1095-B and 1095-C to covered individuals and employees, which would otherwise be due by January 31. The proposed regulations also … Continue Reading

The Budget Act Relaxes Hardship Withdrawal Rules, But Some Changes May Not Apply to 403(b) Plans

On Feb. 9, 2018, Congress passed, and the president signed, the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (the “Budget Act”). As we previously discussed here, the Budget Act contains a number of provisions that affect qualified retirement plans.  These changes include expanding the type of funds that can be distributed under Code Section 401(k) in the … Continue Reading

The Bipartisan Budget Act’s Impact on Retirement Plans

On Friday, February 9, 2018, Congress passed, and the President signed, the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (the “Budget Act”). The Budget Act contains a number of provisions that affect qualified retirement plans.  Plan sponsors should consider the impact of the Budget Act on their retirement programs. Hardship Withdrawals. The Budget Act relaxes the rules … Continue Reading

IRS Once Again Extends Distribution (Not Filing) Deadline for ACA Reporting and Continues Good Faith Standard

Following the old “better late than never” axiom, the IRS recently announced (see Notice 2018-06) that once again it would be extending the distribution (but not filing) deadline for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) reporting requirements set forth in Sections 6055 and 6056 of the Internal Revenue Code (the “Code”). Under Code Section 6055, health … Continue Reading

DOL and IRS Issue Guidance for Employee Benefit Plans Impacted by Hurricane Harvey

In the wake of massive floods caused by Hurricane Harvey, the Department of Labor (DOL), Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) have issued initial employee benefit plan guidance. The temporary relief provided in the guidance relates to such things as hardship distributions, plan loans, filing deadlines, plan deposits, and notice requirements.  … Continue Reading

The Time is Right to Contact Recordkeepers About Hardship Substantiation

If your 401(k) plan recordkeeper has not talked to your company lately about hardship distributions, it may be time to reach out to the recordkeeper.  The short story is that the IRS recently issued an internal memorandum (found here https://www.irs.gov/pub/foia/ig/spder/tege-04-0217-0008.pdf) providing guidance to its employee plans examination group on the substantiation requirements for hardship distributions … Continue Reading

Protecting Your Qualified Retirement Plan Now that the IRS Determination Program is (Mostly) Closed

A lot has been written over the last few months about what to do now that the IRS has closed its determination letter program for ongoing individually designed tax-qualified retirement plans. Some see this as cause for celebration because we no longer have to go through the trouble of collecting documents, filling out forms, and … Continue Reading

IRS Confirms California “Waiting Time Penalties” Are Not Wages For Federal Income Tax Purposes

A recent IRS information letter confirms that “waiting time penalties” paid under California law are not wages for federal income tax withholding purposes. Section 203 of the California State Labor Code imposes penalties on employers that fail to pay final wages to terminated employees within a specified period of time. These penalties are paid to … Continue Reading

IRS Significantly Liberalizes Permitted Mid-Year Changes to Safe Harbor Plans

On January 29, 2016, the IRS issued Notice 2016-16 that provides guidance on mid-year changes to a safe harbor plan under sections 401(k) and 401(m) of the Internal Revenue Code. The guidance provides that a mid-year change either to a safe harbor plan or to a plan’s safe harbor notice does not violate the safe … Continue Reading

An Ounce of Prevention…Is Tax-Free: IRS Expands Tax Relief to Pre-Data Breach Identity Theft Protection Services

As reported on Proskauer’s Tax Talks Blog, after last year’s customer data security breaches at major U.S. corporations, the IRS announced special tax relief for identity protection services provided to individuals affected by a security breach.  In response to comments solicited in connection with that announcement, the Treasury Department and IRS have in Announcement 2016-02 … Continue Reading

IRS Issues Proposed Regulations to Accommodate Obergefell

On October 21, 2015, the IRS issued proposed regulations to clarify the treatment of same-sex spouses for federal tax purposes. By way of background, in 2013, the United States Supreme Court held in United States v. Windsor that the portion of the Defense of Marriage Act defining marriage as being between opposite-sex partners was unconstitutional.  … Continue Reading

IRS Chief Counsel Memorandum Clarifies that Correction of Section 409A Failures in Year of Vesting Will Not Shield Income Inclusion Under 409A

Earlier this month, the Office of Chief Counsel of the Internal Revenue Service released a Memorandum clarifying the impact of a correction of a Code Section 409A operational failure before the date of vesting of nonqualified deferred compensation but during the year of vesting.  In the Chief Counsel Memorandum, the IRS clarified that such a correction, … Continue Reading

Changes to the IRS Determination Letter Program

The IRS has informally stated that it is intending to make some significant changes to the Determination Letter program, and is even considering eliminating the program for individually designed retirement plans (other than perhaps initial and final determination letters).  The agency apparently is looking to streamline its operations and focus its resources on other areas. … Continue Reading

IRS to Amend Cafeteria Plan Regulations to Facilitate Enrollment in Marketplace Coverage

On Thursday, September 18, 2014, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) released Notice 2014-55, which expands the cafeteria plan “change in status” rules to allow plans to offer employees an option to revoke their elections for employer-sponsored health coverage to purchase a qualified health plan through a Health Insurance Marketplace (“Marketplace”).   The notice is effective immediately … Continue Reading

What Does PPACA Stand For? Punitive Penalties Are Clearly Authorized

A recently posted IRS Q&A raises the specter of serious penalties for non-compliance with the Affordable Care Act. The context of the question relates to the consequences to employers that do not establish a health insurance plan for their own employees, but instead reimburse them for premiums they pay for other health insurance. The IRS … Continue Reading
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