The Presumption of Innocence Podcast: Episode 44 - A Recipe for Litigation: The Simmering Conflict Surrounding ERC Claims
REFRESH Nonprofit Basics: Navigating the Complex Rules That Describe a Public Charity
Expedited Review of IRS Applications for Recognition of Exempt Status
Nonprofit Quick Tip: State Filings in New Mexico and Utah
Back to Compliance: Reinstating Tax-Exempt Status for a Charity
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - IRS Clarifies Emergency Distributions Tax Exceptions
GILTI Conscience Podcast | Spotlight Series: A Celebration of Pride Month With IRS Veteran De Lon Harris
Nonprofit Quick Tip: State Filings in Oklahoma and Texas
Inflation Reduction Act Tax Trends Begin to Take Shape
Advice for Nonprofit Investment Committees From an Investment Advisor June 3, 2024 Podcast
REFRESH: Loot and Private Foundation Rules – Part 2
IRS Dirty Dozen Warnings on Charitable Scams
US Expatriate Tax Planning - Part 1 - A Podcast with Janathan Allen
Nonprofit Quick Tip: State Filings in North Carolina and South Carolina
Nonprofit Quick Tip: State Filings in Florida and Louisiana
Business Better Podcast Episode: Tax Audits, Investigations, and Global Enforcement - A Conversation with IRS Special Agent Jonathan Schnatz
4 Key Takeaways | Harnessing the Inflation Reduction Act: Driving Investments in Renewable Energy and Carbon Reduction
Nonprofit Basics: Scholarship Grant Program IRS Approval Requirements
Nonprofit Quick Tip: State Filings in Rhode Island and New Hampshire
REFRESH Nonprofit Basics: Election Year Issues for Private Foundations and Public Charities - Private Foundation Advocacy
“Top hat plans” —non-qualified deferred compensation plans that can be exempt from most of the requirements of Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 or ERISA—can be a useful tool for employers looking to provide...more
On this episode of “Just Compensation,” the hosts provide an introduction into Section 409A, the complicated tax code provision that governs non-qualified deferred compensation: when does it apply, how do you comply with it,...more
This post examines excess deferrals under non-governmental 457(b) plans, including the approved method for correcting them and the penalty for failing to correct them, to make the case for a change in IRS policy on correcting...more
Hope you had a good Thanksgiving Holiday. Some of us probably feel we ate or drank either too much or not enough, watched too much or not enough football, or spent too much time discussing politics and the state of the...more
The Internal Revenue Service recently announced 2024 dollar limits for qualified retirement plans (including 401(k) plans), deferred compensation plans, and health and welfare plans. Adjustments to certain limits are based on...more
Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (409A), was enacted into law in 2004 to impose statutory requirements on “nonqualified deferred compensation plans, programs or arrangements” (collectively...more
In this episode, the hosts discuss how companies can structure “in-the-money” stock options in order to avoid violating IRS rules governing non-qualified deferred compensation. They also address the benefits and potential...more
Section 409A, the provision of the Internal Revenue Code that regulates the time and form of payment of nonqualified deferred compensation, contains a helpful exception for “short-term deferrals.” Specifically, Section 409A...more
Twenty years ago this month the Enron Corporation imploded in spectacular fashion and declared bankruptcy. In the weeks leading up to its bankruptcy filing, over 100 highly compensated employees raced to receive early...more
In June the Internal Revenue Service released an updated Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Audit Technique Guide. This updated Guide replaces the initial Guide published in 2015. While it is too early to say whether the...more
The IRS recently updated its Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Audit Techniques Guide. The updated June 2021 Guide (the “2021 Guide”) replaces the previous version published in June 2015 (the “2015 Guide”), and provides a...more
Employee benefits professionals have faced many challenges in 2020. We have seen remarkable changes to state and local requirements, an onslaught of new benefits legislation and governmental policies, shifting reporting and...more
A special IRS-approved correction method available for elective deferral failures in 401(k) and 403(b) plans with automatic contribution features will sunset on December 31, 2020, meaning it will not be available to correct...more
Employers know that wages are generally subject to the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (“FICA”), and that both employers and employees are liable for a portion of FICA on those wages. In most circumstances, the employee...more
As 2020 comes to an end, we are happy to present our traditional End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” Lists. We are publishing our “To Do” Lists in four separate Employee Benefits Updates. Part 1 covered year-end health and...more
The first article for professional publication that I wrote was an article about using offshore trusts in non qualified deferred compensation planning. I called the article the Rastafarian Rabbi Trust. The article was...more
The coronavirus pandemic has caused widespread economic uncertainty and unanticipated liquidity issues for a wide range of individuals, including plan participants of nonqualified deferred compensation plans. In these...more
Transition relief for amending nonqualified deferred compensation (NQDC) plans to reflect the 2017 amendments to Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code will expire on December 31, 2020. ...more
Under IRS Notice 2020-50, employers sponsoring nonqualified deferred compensation plans (NQCD plans) may now allow employees to suspend their deferral elections without having to determine whether the employee has had an...more
After the CARES Act was enacted, plan administrators had questions regarding how to determine if a participant is eligible to receive a Coronavirus distribution, Coronavirus loan, or delay of loan payments because a...more
In response to the unprecedented worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, businesses are turning to cash flow issues resulting from the abrupt economic downturn. Companies are looking to reduce operating costs and employees are...more
The United States Government Accountability Office (the “GAO”) has made public its January 28, 2020, report to Congress on the oversight of executive retirement plans by the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) and the U.S....more
There are several tools that can be used to correct or fix governmental plan problems. First, some classification. Practically all the retirement plans we discuss are “tax-advantaged” in one form or another. However,...more
If your company sponsors a 401(k) or 403(b) plan that allows participants to take hardship distributions, you probably had a conversation with your plan recordkeeper last year about changes to the rules on hardship...more
Deferred compensation payments are due to one of your former executives, but the former executive is nowhere to be found. You know that the IRS has strict timing rules for payments subject to Code Section 409A (but maybe not...more