Source: http://www.mcgrathnorth.com/blog/
Timestamp: 2019-04-20 01:11:20+00:00

Document:
The following summary describes the most common penalties applicable to retirement, health, and welfare plans in 2019 through ERISA and other federal laws. This list serves as an important reminder that noncompliance with laws relating to your company’s benefit plans could result in significant penalties.
Furnish Reports. Failure to furnish reports (e.g., pension benefit statements) to certain former participants and beneficiaries or maintain records: $30 per employee.
COBRA. Failure to provide an initial COBRA notice or an election notice on a timely basis, as required by COBRA: $110 per day.
Form 5500. Failure or refusal to properly file annual Form 5500 report required by ERISA § 104: Up to $2,194 per day.
Notification of Benefit Restrictions. Failure to notify participants under ERISA §10(j) of certain benefit restrictions and/or limitations arising under Internal Revenue Code §436: Up to $1,736 per day.
Notification of Automatic Contribution Arrangement. Failure to furnish automatic contribution arrangement notice under ERISA §514(e)(3): Up to $1,736 per day.
Form M-1. Failure of a multiple employer welfare arrangement to file report required by regulations issued under ERISA §101(g): Up to $1,597 per day.
Information Requested by DOL. Failure to furnish information requested by the Secretary of Labor under ERISA §104(a)(6): Up to $156 per day, not to exceed $1,566 per request.
Blackout Notice. Failure to furnish a blackout notice under ERISA § 101(i): Up to $139 per day.
Right to Divest Notice. Failure to furnish a notice of the right to divest employer securities under ERISA § 101(m): Up to $139 per day.
CHIP Notice. Failure by an employer to inform employees of Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) coverage opportunities (each employee is a separate violation): Up to $117 per day.
State Coverage Coordination. Failure by a plan administrator to timely provide to any State the information required to be disclosed regarding coverage coordination under ERISA §701(f)(3)(B)(ii); each participant/beneficiary is a separate violation: Up to $117 per day.
Failure by any plan sponsor of a group health plan, or any health insurance issuer offering health insurance coverage in connection with the plan, to meet the requirements of ERISA §§702(a)(1)(F), (b)(3), (c) or (d); or §701; or §702(b)(1) with respect to genetic information: Up to $117 per day during non-compliance period.
Minimum penalty for de minimis failures to meet genetic information requirements not corrected prior to notice from the Secretary of Labor: $2,919 minimum.
Minimum penalty for failures to meet genetic information requirements which are not corrected prior to notice from the Secretary of Labor and are not de minimis: $17,515 minimum.
Cap on unintentional failures to meet genetic information requirements: Up to $583,830.
CSEC. Failure of Cooperative and Small Employer Charity Act (CSEC) plan sponsor to establish or update a funding restoration plan: Up to $107 per day.
Prohibited Distribution. Distribution prohibited by ERISA §206(e): Up to $16,915 per distribution.
SBC Distribution. Failure to provide Summary of Benefits Coverage under Public Health Services Act §2715(f): Up to $1,156 per failure.
Failure of a multiemployer plan to certify endangered or critical status under ERISA §305(b)(3)(C) treated as a failure to file annual report: Up to $2,194 per day.
Failure to furnish certain multiemployer plan financial and actuarial reports upon request under ERISA §101(k): Up to $1,736 per day.
Failure to furnish estimate of withdrawal liability upon request under ERISA §101(l): Up to $1,736 per day.
Failure by a plan sponsor of a multi-employer plan in endangered status to adopt a funding improvement plan or a multiemployer plan in critical status to adopt a rehabilitation plan. Penalty also applies to a plan sponsor of an endangered status plan (other than a seriously endangered plan) that fails to meet its benchmark by the end of the funding improvement period: Up to $1,378 per day.
Failure to offer coverage to 95% of eligible full-time employees with Minimum Essential Coverage. Penalty applies if one full-time employee receives federal premium subsidy for marketplace coverage: $2,500 per full-time employee (minus the first 30).
Failure to offer affordable coverage (less than or equal to 9.56% in 2018 and 9.86% in 2019) or failure to provide “minimum value” coverage (60%+ of total allowed costs): $3,750 per full-time employee receiving a subsidy or $2,500 per full-time employee (minus the first 30).
Failure to comply with health care reform mandates: $100 per day.
Failure to file a correct 1094 or 1095 or failure to file the information returns on a timely basis: $270 for each return.
Failure to furnish correct 1095 payee statement on a timely basis or failure to include all of the information required to be shown on a payee statement or the inclusion of incorrect information: $270 for each return.
MHPAEA. Failure to comply with MHPAEA requirements: $100 per day for each individual to whom a failure relates.
HIPAA. Failure to comply with HIPAA: Excise tax of $100 per day for each individual to whom the failure relates; civil penalties of $100 to $50,000 per violation, capped at $1.5 million per calendar year.
This summary is not intended to be a comprehensive list of all federal penalties that could apply to an employee benefit plan. Additionally, state and local law penalties are not included in this summary.
Unless you have been paying attention to data privacy news, you may not realize that January 1, 2020, is the implementation date of the California Consumer Protection Act (CCPA) and that July 1, 2020, is the current deadline for the California Attorney General to implement regulations under CCPA. As currently drafted, the CCPA directs the California Attorney General to forego bringing any enforcement action under the CCPA until six months after publication of such final regulations, or July 1, 2020, whichever is sooner.
That get 50% or more of their revenue from selling or sharing the personal information of California residents.
Many non-California based businesses may be surprised to learn that they fall within the scope of the CCPA.
The CCPA was passed quickly to avoid a similar voter initiative ballot measure, and as a result has numerous ambiguities and apparent inconsistencies. The law was amended on September 23, 2018, and it is very likely that the law will be changed again by amendment, and clarified through final rules and regulations, before it comes into effect on January 1, 2020.
Note that at this point, the application of the CCPA to employee data remains an open question. On its face, the CCPA appears to apply only to California “consumers.” However, the CCPA’s definition of consumer (a California resident) combined with California’s longstanding practice of protecting individual privacy rights, suggests that the CCPA also may extend to the personal information of California residents maintained as part of an employment relationship. If so, the CCPA would apply to residents of California who are job applicants, full or part time employees, temporary workers, interns, volunteers, independent contractors, and even such persons’ dependents or beneficiaries.
While the CCPA will almost certainly change again before it comes into effect on January 1, 2020, businesses may want to begin thinking now about some of the core new provisions in that law, in particular, how the business will respond to consumers’ requests for information about their personal information held by the business and such consumers’ requests to delete their personal information held by the business. Note that as presently drafted, the CCPA requires businesses to maintain a twelve (12) month look back (as early as back to January 1, 2019) of data processing activities relating to covered personal information.
Also worth watching is the law’s treatment of private rights of action. While the CCPA does not contain a private right of action for violation of any of the new disclosure or individual rights provisions, it does provide a private right of action for California consumers whose information has been compromised in a data breach resulting from inadequate security measures. This essentially codifies the concept of negligence in California data breaches and, by imposing statutory damages ($100-$750), may largely affect the pleading and proof of damages in data breach cases, which is often the issue of greatest dispute. From a litigation standpoint, these statutory damages plus the broad definition of “consumer” means that plaintiff’s attorneys may be gearing up to use the CCPA to bring cases against businesses that do business in California on behalf of a myriad of different groups about whom businesses typically hold personal information including, for example, end use customers, employees, shareholders and service providers and vendors.
If you have questions or would like to discuss the CCPA’s application to your business, please contact a member of the McGrath North Privacy and Data Security team.
In an effort to reverse another aspect of the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”), the Trump Administration published a proposed rule in late October that would allow employers to reimburse employees for medical expenses through a stand-alone health reimbursement account (“HRA”). Health care reform imposes a large excise tax on arrangements that reimburse employees for health care expenses without also providing a group health plan to employees. The penalty was intended to drive employers to purchase group insurance plans for their employees but posed a huge challenge for small employers who saw such reimbursements as a natural alternative to offering employee health care coverage. In the wake of rising health care costs, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) recognized the burden such prohibition posed on small employers. As a result, in 2017, the IRS chipped away at the prohibition by allowing employers with less than 50 full-time employees to offer special stand-alone HRAs, known as “Qualified Small Employer Health Reimbursement Accounts” or “QSEHRAs.” The government now takes one step further by proposing to allow both small and mid-size employers to offer HRAs to their employees, even if they do not offer traditional group coverage. The Proposed Rule intends to accomplish two major goals: (1) permit HRAs to be integrated with individual health insurance coverage; and (2) expand the definition of benefits in order to allow reimbursement for stand-alone dental, limited scope vision, and other plans.
HRAs are tax-free, employer-funded accounts used to pay for out-of-pocket, qualified medical expenses. HRAs have been part of the health care market for years, but the ACA tried to discourage the use of HRAs to prevent employers from pushing employees with health risks into the individual market. Currently, employers can only offer an HRA to their employees if it is “integrated” with a major group medical plan sponsored by the employer. Under the new Proposed Rule, employers would be able to offer HRAs to employees with individual health insurance coverage if certain conditions are met. For example, under the Proposed Rule, an employer cannot offer a stand-alone HRA and a traditional group health plan to the same group or class of employees. Additionally, while HRA reimbursement amounts can vary to reflect age-based health coverage pricing, reimbursement amounts cannot vary based on the health-risk posed by the employee. In other words, the general rule requires that the HRA integrated with individual health insurance coverage be offered on the same terms to all employees of the same class (e.g., full-time, part-time, seasonal, etc.).
HRAs under the Proposed Rule are different from QSEHRAs. QSEHRAs have specific, stringent requirements and only apply to employers with less than 50 full-time employees. However, QSEHRAs have a higher statutory dollar limit on reimbursements. While an employer-sponsored QSEHRA can reimburse employees up to $5,050 for individuals and $10,250 for families, a stand-alone HRA under the new Proposed Rule can only reimburse employees for up to $1,800 worth of medical expenses. In other words, some small employers hoping to reimburse employees up to the highest dollar amount available might find that QSEHRAs are a more attractive option. Another difference between QSEHRAs and the stand-alone HRAs under the Proposed Rule is the ACA consequences applicable to employers. Under the Proposed Rule, if group health plan coverage is unaffordable for an employee enrolled in the stand-alone HRA, the employer will be subject to ACA penalties if the employee opts out of coverage and qualifies for a premium tax credit subsidy. In contrast, QSEHRAs do not impose penalties on employers if the reimbursements do not make health coverage “affordable,” because small employers eligible to establish QSEHRAs are not subject to the pay-or-play mandate.
If you have any questions about the HRAs, QSEHRAs, or the new Proposed Rule, please contact one of our employee benefits attorneys.
The IRS has released the 2019 cost-of-living adjustments applicable to the dollar limits and thresholds for retirement plans and health and welfare benefit plans. Plan sponsors should update their systems and formulas to include the limits that have been adjusted.
McGrath North is pleased to announce that their Tax, Trusts and Estates practice group earned a top ranking (Band 1) in the 2018 Chambers High Net Worth (HNW) guide. McGrath North is one of two Nebraska firms to receive the Band 1 honor for private wealth law.
McGrath North advises individuals on tax planning, business succession matters, the administration of trusts and estates, and the preparation of wills and trusts. In the HNW guide, Chambers notes that McGrath North is regarded as “one of the top law firms” in Nebraska. The firm has a substantial tax, trusts and estates group that works with wealthy clients from across the Midwest.
In light of the current trend toward state-mandated paid family and medical leave laws, recent tax reforms added a provision to the tax code allowing certain employers to claim a business credit based on wages paid to employees on family and medical leave, subject to certain conditions. The new provision, added by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, offers a general business credit of up to 25% of wages paid to certain qualifying employees while they are on family and medical leave. The credit will incentivize employers to offer paid family and medical leave, which will also help prepare employers for impending state and local paid leave laws. The credit is generally effective for wages paid in taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017 and is not available for wages paid in taxable years beginning after December 31, 2019. Therefore, employers interested in utilizing the credit should act quickly in the event Congress does not act to extend the credit beyond 2019.
The employer tax credit is calculated as a percentage of the amount of wages paid to a qualifying employee while on family and medical leave (as defined by the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 or “FMLA”) for up to 12 weeks per tax year. The credit is available only if the rate of pay for employees on leave is at least 50% of the employee’s normal wages. The credit is a minimum of 12.5% of the wages paid during leave and is increased by 0.25% for each percentage point by which the amount paid to a qualifying employee exceeds 50% of the employee’s wages (up to a maximum credit of 25% of wages paid).
A qualifying employee is any employee under the Fair Labor Standards Act who has been employed for one year or more and, for the preceding year, had compensation that did not exceed the maximum statutory amount. For an employer claiming a Section 45S credit for wages paid to an employee in 2018, the employee must not have earned more than $72,000 in 2017. Employers taking advantage of the credit must reduce deductions for wages and salaries paid or incurred by the amount determined as a credit. Additionally, any wages taken into account for other general business credits may not be used toward the paid family and medical leave credit.
In order to take advantage of the credit, employers must establish written policies and procedures that operate in accordance with the requirements of the new Internal Revenue Code Section 45S as added by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. For example, each year, employers must provide at least two weeks of paid family and medical leave to all full-time qualifying employees, and prorate the same benefits for employees working part-time. Additionally, as noted above, whatever paid leave is offered by the employer cannot be paid at less than 50% of the wages the employee normally receives. Employers can offer up to 12 weeks of paid leave annually under their written policies. The credit is available to employers that are not subject to the FMLA, so long as the employer offers paid family and medical leave consistent with the credit’s minimum standards and establishes a written policy governing the leave.
For purposes of the paid leave credit, “family and medical leave” includes leave taken for any of the following reasons: childbirth; placement of a child for adoption or foster care; caring for a spouse, child, or parent with a serious health condition; a serious health condition causing an employee to be unable to perform his or her work functions; qualifying events due to a spouse’s, child’s, or parent’s coverage on active duty or called to duty in the Armed Forces; or, caring for a spouse, child, parent, or next of kin that is a service member. However, employers should recognize that paid vacation leave, personal leave, or medical or sick leave provided by the employer will not be considered family and medical leave unless it specifically covers one of the aforementioned events. Additionally, leave provided under state and local law may not be included in calculating the employer credit. In other words, the Section 45S credit is unavailable regarding paid leave that is required under state or local law.
The IRS intends to provide employers with more guidance on the employer tax credit, including information on how paid family and medical leave will interact with other employer-provided paid leave, state and local leave laws, controlled group rules, and more. Until the IRS issues further guidance, please contact one of the McGrath North Employee Benefits or Labor and Employment attorneys with any questions or concerns.
Under new guidance, small businesses now have more opportunity to offer affordable health care coverage to their employees. In June, the Department of Labor issued a Final Rule on Association Health Plans (AHPs) that will allow small employers to group together to buy insurance. The Final Rule is intended to help small businesses and self-employed individuals obtain health care coverage at a lower cost and increase their bargaining power with insurance companies.
The new rules focus on how ERISA defines “employer” for purposes of sponsoring a health plan. Under ERISA Section 3(5), the term “employer” is defined as “. . . any person acting directly as an employer, or indirectly in the interest of an employer, in relation to an employee benefit plan; and includes a group or association of employers acting for an employer in such capacity.” Under ERISA, bona fide employer groups or associations could sponsor a joint welfare plan only by satisfying a very high standard. Specifically, employers intending to establish an association benefit had to demonstrate both a commonality of interests unrelated to providing benefits and a certain level of control over the plan and trust. Employers were prohibited from banding together for the sole purpose of establishing a welfare benefit plan. If an association or group of employers could meet these criteria, the association or group would be treated as an employer sponsoring a single health plan for its employer members and the plan will be regulated as a group health plan under ERISA.
Purpose. The primary purpose may be to offer health coverage to employer members and their employees only if there is one substantial business purpose for the association that is unrelated to the provision of health coverage. A substantial business purpose exists if the group or association would be a viable entity absent the sponsorship of the health plan. Substantial business purposes include promoting common business or economic interests of a trade or community, and do not have to be for-profit.
Employer Members Acting Directly As Employers. Each employer member must act directly as an employer of at least one employee participating in the plan.
Organizational Structure. The employer members must have a formal organizational structure, including a governing body and bylaws (or similar formality).
Control. The employer members must maintain control over the functions and actions of the association, as well as what employers may become employer members and participate in the plan.
Commonality of Interest. The employer members must either be in the same trade or industry, or maintain their principal place of business in the same state or metropolitan area. A metropolitan area may include more than one state if the metropolitan area sprawls across state lines.
Participation. Participation in the plan must be limited to the employees or former employees (and their beneficiaries) of employer members.
Nondiscrimination. The plan must comply with ERISA’s group health plan nondiscrimination rules governing eligibility conditions, premiums, and contributions. Additionally, the plan cannot condition employer membership on a health factor of an individual who might become eligible to participate.
Sponsor Cannot be a Health Insurance Issuer. The group or association sponsoring the plan cannot be a health insurance issuer or owned or controlled by a health insurance issuer. However, health insurance issuers can participate in the group or association as an employer member.
The Final Rule also expressly allows “working owners” to receive dual treatment as an employer and an employee simultaneously, which permits working owners to participate in AHPs. For purposes of the Final Rule, a “working owner” includes anyone who: (1) has an ownership right in a trade or business (including partners and self-employed individuals); (2) earns wages or self-employment income; and (3) either works 20 hours per week (80 hours per month) or earns wages that cover the working owner’s cost of coverage.
For fully-insured health plans, the rule will take effect starting September 1, 2018. New self-insured AHPs may operate under the new rule starting on April 1, 2019, and for any existing, self-insured AHPs the rule will be effective January 1, 2019.
If you have any questions regarding the Final Rule or AHPs, please contact one of our employee benefits attorneys.
After the 2016 publication of the Fiduciary Rule by the Department of Labor (“DOL”), and subsequent Fifth Circuit ruling casting doubt on such rule, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) proposed two rules and an interpretation in order to clarify and provide an overview of the standards of conduct for investment professionals. On April 18, 2018, the SEC published proposed rules targeting broker-dealers and investment advisers. In publishing these rules and the interpretation, the SEC aims to raise the standard of conduct for broker-dealers when they provide recommendations to retail investors and reaffirm and clarify the terms of relationships that retail investors have with their investment professionals. Additionally, the SEC seeks to preserve retail investor access investment services and products, as well as raise retail investor awareness of whether they are a transaction with registered financial professionals.
The SEC is requesting comments on its proposal over the next 90 days. In general, the SEC rule tracks the principles of the DOL fiduciary rule fairly closely and seems to indicate that the SEC was motivated by elements of the DOL rule and ensuring that broker-dealers are subject to more uniform standards (e.g., best interest standards) without regard to the type of assets at issue (retirement versus non-retirement assets).
1. “Regulation Best Interest.” This proposed rule clarifies that broker-dealers shall not put their financial interests ahead of the retail customers’ interests in making recommendations on any securities transaction or investment strategy involving securities to retail customers.
a. Disclosure Obligation: Disclose to the retail customer the key facts about the relationship, including material conflicts of interest.
b. Care Obligation: Exercise reasonable diligence, care, skill, and prudence, to understand the product; have a reasonable basis to believe that the product is in the retail customer’s best interest; and have a reasonable basis to believe that a series of transactions is in the retail customer’s best interest.
c. Conflict of Interest Obligation: Establish, maintain and enforce policies and procedures reasonably designed to identify and then, at a minimum, to disclose and mitigate, or eliminate, material conflicts of interest arising from financial incentives; other material conflicts of interest must be at least disclosed.
2. “Form CRS.” The SEC would require both investment advisers and broker-dealers to provide retail investors a relationship summary, which is a standardized disclosure document no more than 4 pages in length that highlights the principal services offered, legal standards of conduct that apply, fees the customer will pay, and conflicts of interest that exist (among other things).
3. Commission Interpretation of Investment Adviser Standard of Conduct. The SEC has proposed its interpretation of the fiduciary duty investment advisers owe to their clients in hopes that the interpretation will reaffirm and clarify the principles relevant to fiduciary duty and related legal obligations.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding the new SEC proposed rules and interpretation, please contact one of our employee benefits attorneys.
In passing the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (the “Act”), Congress loosened the reins on hardship withdrawals from 401(k) and 403(b) plans. The Act eases limitations on amounts eligible for hardship withdrawal, eliminates the six-month suspension requirement on elective deferrals after making a hardship withdrawal, and removes the requirement that a participant obtain all available loans before obtaining a hardship withdrawal. Starting in 2019, employees will find it much easier to make hardship withdrawals from their employer-sponsored retirement plans should an employer choose to implement these voluntary changes.
Prior to the Act, participants in a 401(k) or 403(b) plan could only make a hardship withdrawal from elective deferral contribution amounts. Hardship distributions from employer matches, non-elective contributions, or earnings on elective deferrals were prohibited. However, under the new rule, Congress has removed this prohibition and expanded on the amounts eligible for hardship withdrawal. The Act allows employees to take a hardship distribution from elective deferral earnings and employer contributions.
The Act also eliminates the six-month suspension of contributions after a hardship withdrawal. In other words, employees no longer have to wait six-months before making further contributions to their retirement plan and are able receive employer matching contributions immediately after taking a hardship distribution. Removing the prohibition on contributions during this six-month period provides administrative simplicity for employers and helps employees continue to save for retirement.
Finally, Congress used the Act to eliminate the rule requiring participants to take all available loans, even loans available under other qualified plans, before taking a hardship distribution. Although the requirement that participants take all other available distributions before obtaining a hardship withdrawal still remains intact, the removal of the participant loan requirement makes it easier for employees to take a hardship withdrawal and helps them avoid loan repayments.
As employers consider implementing these new changes, they should ensure they continue to educate participants on the importance of saving for retirement. While the ease on hardship withdrawal restrictions may prove beneficial for some employees, others could end up significantly limiting their retirement savings (especially considering the 10% penalty tax applied to hardship withdrawal amounts). Employers should also consider the administrative simplicity that comes with removing the six-month suspension on contributions following a hardship withdrawal and expanding the types of contributions that are eligible for hardship distribution. If you are considering making any of these changes to your company’s retirement plans or have any questions on the new law, please contact our employee benefits group.
On December 20, 2017, Congress passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “Act”), which some consider to be the most sweeping tax reform in 30 years. While the main focus of tax reform is to reduce tax rates for corporations and individuals, the law also impacts employee benefit plans and fringe benefits offered to employees. This client alert summarizes key provisions of tax reform and its impact on employee benefit plans.
Elimination of the ACA’s Individual Mandate. Despite initial disagreement on the issue, the House and Senate agreed to eliminate the shared responsibility payment for individuals failing to maintain minimum essential health care coverage. The Act reduces the penalty for failure to obtain health coverage to $0, effectively eliminating the provision. The individual mandate will remain in effect for the years 2017 and 2018; the penalty will be reduced to $0 starting in 2019.
Employer Tax Credit for Paid Family and Medical Leave. The Act adds a new tax credit for employers offering paid family and medical leave to employees. This provision comes on the heels of many states either implementing or considering the implementation of paid family leave. New York and Rhode Island both recently enacted paid leave laws. In order to be eligible for the credit of 12.5% of wages paid during leave, employers must have a written paid leave program that pays qualified employees at least 50% of their wages and must provide employees at least two weeks of annual paid family and medical leave. The employer credit will increase to as much as 25% of wages if the employer provides 100% continuing wages up to the 12-week maximum. The tax credit will go into effect for wages paid in 2018 and 2019.
Elimination and Modification of Certain Fringe Benefits. The Act makes many changes to fringe benefits offered by employers to employees.
Qualified Transportation Fringe Benefits. The new law eliminates the deduction for qualified transportation fringe benefits and transportation, payments, or reimbursements in connection with travel to and from work, except as necessary for an employee’s safety, which is not defined: and, an 8-year exception for qualified bicycle commuting. Additionally, tax-exempt entities must treat nondeductible qualified transportation fringe benefits or parking facilities as unrelated business taxable income (UBTI).
Moving Expenses. The Act eliminates the moving expense deduction for employees’ qualified moving expense reimbursements. Starting in 2018 and lasting for eight years, employees must include reimbursed qualified moving expenses in income.
Employer-Provided Meals. Starting in 2018 until 2026, employers will be limited to a 50% deduction for meal expenses provided on or near business premises. Employers are subject to the 50% limitation on deductions for food or beverages if the expenses are excludible from employees’ income as de minimis fringe benefit and for the convenience of the employer.
Entertainment Expenses. Employers will lose their deduction for expenses related to entertainment, amusement, or recreation under the Act. Effective in 2018, employers can no longer take a deduction for 50% of entertainment expenses related to the employer’s business.
Employee Achievement Awards. An employer deduction for the cost of an employee achievement award for length of service, safety award, and awards given during meaningful presentations must be pursuant to a qualified plan award, which does not favor highly compensated employees and the average cost of which per recipient cannot be more than $400 in a year. Such awards may be tangible personal property such as pins, jewelry or other items from a catalog.
Onsite Gyms. The new law repeals the employer deduction for onsite gyms and characterizes amounts used to pay for on-premises athletic facilities as UBTI.
Modification of Limitation on Deductible Employee Remuneration. Public employers should start reviewing their compensation arrangements in light of the new law. Section 162 of the Internal Revenue Code prohibits publicly traded companies from deducting more than $1 million per year in compensation paid to or accrued for senior executive officers. However, under pre-Act law, exceptions applied for: (a) commissions; (b) performance-based remuneration; (c) payments to a tax-qualified retirement plan; and (d) amounts that are excludable from the executive’s gross income. In an effort to reform executive compensation, the Act eliminates the exemption for commissions and performance-based pay under Internal Revenue Code Section 162. The Act also modifies the definition of “covered employee” for purposes of Section 162, expanding the definition to include the principal executive officer, the principal financial officer, and the three other highest paid officers. If an individual is a covered employee at any time on or after January 1, 2017, the individual remains a covered employee for all future years. Under a transition rule, the changes do not apply to any remuneration subject to a written binding contract in effect on November 2, 2017 and which was not modified in any material respect after that date.
Extended Rollover Period for Plan Loan Offset Amounts. Prior to the Act, participants in a qualified plan were given 60 days to repay an outstanding plan loan that became due upon the participant’s termination of employment. However, tax reform extends the 60-day rollover deadline until the due date of the participant’s tax return for the year in which the amount is treated as distributed from the participant’s account. In other words, participants have a longer time period in which they can contribute to an IRA or another qualified employer plan in an amount equal to the plan loan offset amount. The contribution will be treated as a rollover offsetting the outstanding plan loan upon separation from employment. Employees whose plans terminate, or who separate from employment while they have outstanding plan loans, will have an extension for contributing the loan balance to an IRA or eligible retirement plan to prevent the loan from being taxed as a distribution.
Medical Expense Deduction. Although the House originally wanted to repeal the medical expense deduction, the Act instead implements a temporary reduction of the medical expense deduction floor to 7.5% during 2017 and 2018. Starting in 2019, the deduction floor will return to its previous floor (10%). This means the threshold for employees to claim an itemized deduction for unreimbursed medical expenses will be reduced to 7.5% of adjusted gross income for the years 2017 and 2018.
Recharacterization of Roth IRA Contributions. The Act repeals the rule allowing for the recharacterization of Roth IRA contributions as traditional IRA contributions to unwind a Roth conversion. As a result, beginning in 2018, recharacterization cannot be used to unwind a Roth conversion.
More Flexibility for 529 Savings Accounts. Under pre-Act law, funds in a Code Section 529 college savings account could only be used for qualified higher education expenses and nonqualified withdrawals were subject to a 10% additional tax. The new Act expands the use of 529 accounts to allow withdrawals for elementary or secondary schools. This provision will allow individuals to withdraw up to $10,000 per year for tuition at an elementary or secondary public, private, or religious school. The Act also provides the ability to rollover a 529 plan to an ABLE account (a tax-advantaged savings account for individuals with disabilities and their families) if the rollover is made within 60 days of the distribution.
Disaster Relief Through Eligible Retirement Plans. After the call for relief due to an uptick in natural disasters, the Act allows 401(k) plans and other eligible retirement plans to make “qualified 2016 disaster distributions” of up to $100,000 per individual prior to January 1, 2018, to victims of federally-declared major disasters occurring in 2016. The distributions will not be subject to the 10% excise tax on early distributions and can be included in income ratably over three years. All or part of the distributions can be repaid to a qualifying plan if the repayment occurs during the three-year period.
New Measure of Inflation. Tax bracket amounts, standard deduction amounts, personal exemptions, and various other tax figures are annually adjusted to reflect inflation. Rather than using the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers or “CPI-U” in order to make inflation adjustments to certain amounts, including benefit-related amounts, the new Act provides that inflation adjustments will be made using the Chained Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers or “C-CPI-U”. This index usually increases at a lower rate, resulting in smaller annual increases to certain benefit limits, such as HSA and FSA contributions.
If you have questions or concerns regarding the impact of tax reform on your benefit programs, please do not hesitate to contact one of our employee benefits attorneys for assistance.

References: § 104
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