Join us Friday, March 15, for an interactive discussion on the implications of providing fringe benefits to your employees. Samantha Souza and David Fuller will talk about the tax impact of seemingly insignificant benefits and provide suggestions for avoiding negative consequences in the future.
Join our lively 45-minute discussion, where we’ll discuss the following commonly provided fringe benefits:
Health Club Memberships
Tickets to Sporting Events
Tuition Assistance
And More!
Friday, March 15, 2019
10:00 – 10:45 am PST 11:00 – 11:45 am MST 12:00 – 12:45 pm CST 1:00 – 1:45 pm EST
US tax reform is changing the game with respect to many of the popular benefits employers have traditionally provided to their employees. These new rules have produced a great deal of questions. However, while the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is formulating guidance, employers are left to navigate these changes on their own in order to determine the impact on both themselves and their employees. Employers are also reevaluating their benefit offerings in light of the new rules. These issues and more were addressed during the 2018 McDermott Tax Symposium on April 24, 2018.
The McDermott panel left the audience with these core takeaways:
Due to the suspension of their employees’ ability to take many itemized deductions, employers should consider the feasibility of restructuring their compensation arrangements to save income taxes and FICA taxes.
Certain employers that are public employers, private employers with public debt or non-U.S. employers with ADRs traded on a U.S. market should evaluate their executive pay arrangements to determine whether the grandfathering rules under section 162(m) apply to any compensation and further ensure compliance with the new rules under section 162(m).
Employers should consider whether they will continue to provide popular benefits such as qualified transportation fringes and employer-provided meals. If employers choose to continue to provide these benefits, they will need to confirm that their systems are updated to reflect the changes in deductibility.
Employers should begin using the updated Form W-4, if they are not already.
Employers should encourage their employees to utilize the IRS’ updated withholding calculator to verify that the proper tax amounts are being withheld.
For additional information on these topics and other items addressed by McDermott tax professionals during the symposium, please see the compilation of slides. For additional tax reform resources, please visit McDermott’s Take on Tax Reform.
Last month, Alexander Lee and Maureen O’Brien joined with Rob Wellner from Velocity Global to discuss the tax and employee benefits complications that arise in cross-border transactions. Key points discussed:
Complex tax structures must be considered and understood
Transfers of employment may be governed by different statutes in each affected jurisdiction
Purchasers may not be ready to provide employment, payroll and benefits on the closing date without significant pre-closing work
Partners Judith Wethall and Finn Pressly discuss the impact of tax reform on popular fringe benefit programs including relocation costs and pre-tax transportation programs.
Access our Tax Reform Resource Center for more of our Tax Takes video series, along with other strategies and tools that will continue to help you lead your organization through the opportunities and risks brought about by the new legislation.
The new tax reform legislation includes important changes to the tax treatment of employer-sponsored benefit programs, including transportation benefit programs and moving expense reimbursements. The law also creates a new tax credit for employers who provide paid family and medical leave to their employees.
Both the House and Senate versions of tax reform propose significant changes that may reduce or eliminate the tax benefits of many popular employer-provided fringe benefits, such as dependent care assistance programs, on-premises gyms and bicycle commuting expense reimbursements. In addition, many common deductions for work-related activities—including certain meal and entertainment expenses—may see sweeping changes.
Millions of people across the United States will experience a significant increase in the cost of their daily commute to work, and many employers will suffer a corresponding increase in payroll taxes for 2012 and beyond, unless U.S. Congress acts before the end of 2011. The reduction will also restore a significant gap between the exclusion limit for employer-provided transit pass or vanpool benefits and qualified parking benefits, and creates an unintended economic subsidy that may influence some commuters’ choice to drive themselves to work over using mass transit.
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