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Employees: Don’t Forget About Your FSA Funds

Many employees take advantage of the opportunity to save taxes by placing funds in their employer’s health or dependent care flexible spending arrangements (FSAs). As the end of 2020 nears, here are some rules and reminders to keep in mind.

Health FSAs

A pre-tax contribution of $2,750 to a health FSA is permitted in both 2020 and 2021. You save taxes because you use pre-tax dollars to pay for medical expenses that might not be deductible. For example, they wouldn’t be deductible if you don’t itemize deductions on your tax return. Even if you do itemize, medical expenses must exceed a certain percentage of your adjusted gross income in order to be deductible. Additionally, the amounts that you contribute to a health FSA aren’t subject to FICA taxes.

Your plan should have a listing of qualifying items and any documentation from a medical provider that may be needed to get a reimbursement for these items.

To […]

By Linkenheimer LLP|2020-12-09T15:52:23+00:00December 9th, 2020|fsa|0 Comments

Health Savings Accounts For Your Small Business

Small business owners are well aware of the increasing cost of employee health care benefits. As a result, your business may be interested in providing some of these benefits through an employer-sponsored Health Savings Account (HSA). Or perhaps you already have an HSA. It’s a good time to review how these accounts work since the IRS recently announced the relevant inflation-adjusted amounts for 2021.

The basics of HSAs

For eligible individuals, HSAs offer a tax-advantaged way to set aside funds (or have their employers do so) to meet future medical needs. Here are the key tax benefits:

Contributions that participants make to an HSA are deductible, within limits.
Contributions that employers make aren’t taxed to participants.
Earnings on the funds within an HSA aren’t taxed, so the money can accumulate year after year tax free.
HSA distributions to cover qualified medical expenses aren’t taxed.
Employers don’t have to pay payroll taxes on HSA contributions made by employees through payroll deductions.

Key 2020 and 2021 amounts

To be eligible for an HSA, an individual must be covered by a “high deductible health plan.” For 2020, a “high deductible health plan” is one with an annual deductible of […]

By Linkenheimer LLP|2020-11-24T18:19:24+00:00November 24th, 2020|hsa, small business, small business health options|0 Comments

More Parents May Owe “Nanny Tax” This Year, Due To COVID-19

In the COVID-19 era, many parents are hiring nannies and babysitters because their daycare centers and summer camps have closed. This may result in federal “nanny tax” obligations.

Keep in mind that the nanny tax may apply to all household workers, including housekeepers, babysitters, gardeners or others who aren’t independent contractors.

If you employ someone who’s subject to the nanny tax, you aren’t required to withhold federal income taxes from the individual’s pay. You only must withhold if the worker asks you to and you agree. (In that case, ask the nanny to fill out a Form W-4.) However, you may have other withholding and payment obligations.

Withholding FICA and FUTA

You must withhold and pay Social Security and Medicare taxes (FICA) if your nanny earns cash wages of $2,200 or more (excluding food and lodging) during 2020. If you reach the threshold, all of the wages (not just the excess) are subject to FICA.

However, if your nanny is under 18 and childcare isn’t his or her principal occupation, you don’t have […]

By Linkenheimer LLP|2020-09-03T20:02:06+00:00August 11th, 2020|income tax, individuals, planning, tax implications, tax planning|0 Comments

Businesses: Get Ready For The New Form 1099-NEC

There’s a new IRS form for business taxpayers that pay or receive nonemployee compensation.

Beginning with tax year 2020, payers must complete Form 1099-NEC, Nonemployee Compensation, to report any payment of $600 or more to a payee.

Why the new form?

Prior to 2020, Form 1099-MISC was filed to report payments totaling at least $600 in a calendar year for services performed in a trade or business by someone who isn’t treated as an employee. These payments are referred to as nonemployee compensation (NEC) and the payment amount was reported in box 7.

Form 1099-NEC was reintroduced to alleviate the confusion caused by separate deadlines for Form 1099-MISC that report NEC in box 7 and all other Form 1099-MISC for paper filers and electronic filers. The IRS announced in July 2019 that, for 2020 and thereafter, it will reintroduce the previously retired Form 1099-NEC, which was last used in the 1980s.

What businesses will file?

Payers of nonemployee compensation will now use Form 1099-NEC to report those payments.

Generally, payers must file Form 1099-NEC by January 31. For 2020 tax returns, the due date will be February 1, 2021, because January 31, 2021, is on a Sunday. There’s no […]

By Linkenheimer LLP|2020-09-03T20:02:16+00:00July 14th, 2020|business, extension, extensions|0 Comments

Paycheck Protection Program Loan Forgiveness

Dear Clients and Friends:

Congratulations if you received a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan! We hope it provides much needed cash during these uncertain times. Now that you have the funds, we want to point out certain steps you should take over the next eight weeks to ensure maximum forgiveness of your PPP loan.

Use the Funds for Forgivable Purposes. Forgiveness of your PPP loan depends largely on whether you use the money to pay forgivable expenses. These include (1) payroll costs (if you’re self-employed, these costs include the net profit amount from your business, as reported on your 2019 tax return), (2) interest payments on mortgages incurred before 2/15/20, (3) rent payments on leases dated before 2/15/20, and (4) utility payments under service agreements dated before 2/15/20. However, according to the Small Business Administration (SBA), not more than 25% of the forgivable loan amount (the amount of the loan used to pay forgivable expenses) may be attributable to nonpayroll costs. In other words, at least 75% of the loan must be used for payroll costs.

To help you meet this requirement, consider implementing the following best practices:

Set up a separate bank account for […]

By Linkenheimer LLP|2020-09-03T20:03:00+00:00May 4th, 2020|business, employer, liability, New Tax Laws|0 Comments