The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) eliminated a host of miscellaneous itemized deductions through 2025, including a deduction for job-related education expenses pursuant to Code Section 162. Simple enough.
Except that many employer-provided education benefits are directly tied to the employee’s right to claim a deduction under Section 162. These include tax-free employer payments
The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (H.R. 1892) was signed into law on Feb. 9, 2018. The Budget Act makes several changes to retirement plan rules, both now and in the near future.
Current rule changes
Section 20102: California Wildfire Disaster Victims: Distributions of up to $100,000 from an eligible retirement plan (e.g.
As previously noted, the individual mandate under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (also known as the ACA, or more informally as Obamacare) still applies in 2018. Finding affordable coverage to avoid the penalty is essential.
One option available to individuals and families is joining a “health care sharing ministry” (HCSM) under Section
On January 22, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court requested the Solicitor General’s opinion on whether a plaintiff can simultaneously bring a claim for benefits and a claim for breach of fiduciary duty under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). A request for the view of the Solicitor Generally typically indicates the court’s
In Executive Order 13813, President Donald Trump made it the official policy of the executive branch to find ways to expand the use of Association Health Plans (AHPs) as a means of providing quality, affordable coverage across state lines.
On January 4, 2018, the U.S. Department of Labor issued a proposed rule designed to do
The U.S. Supreme Court recently declined to address the issue of whether forum selection clauses are valid and enforceable in plans governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). Three U.S. Courts of Appeals have allowed enforcement of plans’ forum selection clauses.
On January 16, 2018, the Supreme Court denied a petition
Effective Jan. 2, 2018, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) simplified the fee structure for its Voluntary Compliance Program. Fees will now be based on the total amount of net plan assets rather than the number of plan participants.
If a retirement plan does not follow the rules to maintain its tax-qualified status, the IRS offers
Section 11081 of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act — the new tax reform law passed by Congress in late 2017 — repeals the so-called “individual mandate” under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (also known as the ACA, or more informally as Obamacare).
The individual mandate is set forth in Section 5000A of
For the 2017 tax year, the IRS has made it even more difficult for large employers to avoid penalties under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), and major questions remain about how employers can avoid penalties due to missing or incorrect Social Security numbers.
The ACA imposes large penalties on applicable large employers
The federal agencies charged with administering the Affordable Care Act released interim final regulations Oct. 6, 2017, that extended the exemption from providing contraceptive coverage to more employers and individuals effective immediately. Days later, the government settled dozens of lawsuits filed by organizations challenging the so-called “contraceptive mandate.” But several new cases challenging the expanded