With a multitude of questions surrounding implementation and administration, late on a summer Friday afternoon, the IRS issued Notice 2023-62 (Notice), providing Plan Sponsors with a transition period until 2026 to implement...more
On June 9, 2023, the IRS released OCC Memo 202323006, which advises that wellness indemnity payments under a fixed indemnity insurance policy are wages for purposes of Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) taxes, Federal...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Just like a bad penny, schemes promising employers ways to reduce their FICA tax burden, and maybe their employees’ income tax burden at the same time, keep popping up with a slightly different burnish on...more
Worker Classification and Section 530 Relief - Employers are required to pay employment taxes to the IRS. Generally, these payments consist of two portions: the employee’s portion of FICA and income taxes and the employer’s...more
Movement Toward Tax Increases- You may have read last week that Democrats on the Senate Budget Committee announced they had reached a deal on a budget resolution that will enable them to bypass Senate Republicans on the...more
Nonqualified deferred compensation plans often include anti-assignment language prohibiting a plan participant from assigning benefits to anyone. Because top-hat plans are exempt from most aspects of ERISA including the...more
Employers considering layoffs in the face of the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis have additional opportunities to support furloughed workers, aside from options offered by the CARES Act. ...more
With all of the payroll complexities that employers face, it is no surprise that a special set of rules that applies to only a small category of employees is frequently overlooked....more
On December 22, 2017, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the "Act") was signed into law. The Act added a new Section 83(i) to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the "Code"), pursuant to which certain employees of eligible...more
Hiring and employing family members is common in the realm of family businesses. An important thing to remember is that most family employees are treated in the same manner as any other employee for federal tax purposes,...more
La última Notificación emitida por el IRS sobre Criptomoneda fue el Aviso 2014-21 publicado el 25 de Marzo del 2014 que brinda orientación en forma de respuestas a preguntas frecuentes (“Frequently Asked Questions”). ...more
Department of Justice and the IRS have announced a renewed emphasis on both civil and criminal payroll tax enforcement lawsuits. This article provides a short overview of what an employment tax case is and identifies...more
Generally, an employer is required to deduct and withhold Federal Insurance Contribution Act taxes (“FICA”), Federal Unemployment Tax Act taxes (“FUTA”), and income tax withholding from its employee’s wages and is separately...more
An election introduced as part of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act allows taxpayers to defer the recognition of taxable income with respect to certain categories of compensatory stock options and restricted stock units (RSUs)....more
Under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, Congress is now offering a new 20% deduction for “pass-through” businesses – i.e. businesses that are not corporations. With the corporate tax rate being reduced under the new law to a flat...more
Businesses that have employees and pay wages and salaries must withhold federal employee income taxes and the employee’s share of federal employment taxes (FICA) from these wages and salaries. The employer must “match” the...more
Limited liability companies (LLCs) have become the fastest-growing entity choice for businesses in recent years. LLCs provide flexibility in operations and distributions. However, to the surprise of many businesspeople, if an...more
In Chief Counsel Advice 201634023, released Aug. 19, 2016, the IRS Office of Chief Counsel expressed its informal view (in the form of an email to an IRS employee) that “short-week” supplemental unemployment benefits (SUB)...more
Last summer the Internal Revenue Service updated its Audit Techniques Guide (“ATG”) for nonqualified deferred compensation arrangements. While the ATG provides little instruction on how the IRS will review nonqualified...more
The death of an employee is an unfortunate fact of life for businesses. Nonetheless, employers may be ill-prepared for the inevitable issues that arise from the sad event. Of concern are: Because state law largely controls...more
Businesses should carefully assess any independent contractor arrangements in light of an “Administrator’s Interpretation” issued on July 15, 2015 by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (DOL). While the...more
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently updated its “Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Audit Techniques Guide.” The Guide provides a framework for the IRS to audit nonqualified deferred compensation (NQDC) plans. Since...more
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in U.S. v. Windsor changed the tax treatment of benefits provided to legally married same-sex spouses and their dependents. Prior to the Windsor decision, employers were required to treat any...more
In part one of this two-part series, “The Advantages of Offering Supplemental Unemployment Benefits Instead of Severance, Part I: FICA Taxes and More,” I reviewed the advantages of offering supplemental unemployment benefits...more
Who, What, Why . . . Who does it apply to: In this edition, it varies according to the requirements of the particular law identified below. I am taking a short two-part break from my regular format to bring you the...more