Taxable vs Non-Taxable Fringe Benefits

On Demand Webinar

Webinar Details $219

  • Webinar Length: 100 Minutes
  • Guest Speaker:   Steven Mercatante
  • Topic:   Taxation and Accounting
  • Credit:   CPE 2.0, ATATX 1.5, IRS 2.0
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Employee expense reimbursements are subject to IRS guidelines and can be disallowed as expenses – and even considered compensation to those employees – if not handled correctly. Further, if employee expense reimbursements do not meet IRS guidelines, they may be disallowed as expenses and considered compensation to those employees, leaving the employer responsible for the associated payroll taxes – plus any penalties.

Taxable and nontaxable fringe benefit are scattered throughout the Internal Revenue Code. Benefits can be hid in Sec 274, 162, 119, 132, 127, and 82. Add in numerous Announcements, Notices and Regulations and we have a complex web. This course will concentrate on the development of an Accountable Reimbursement Plan under Sec 274 and accompanying regulations plus recent pronouncements and inflation increases.

Fringe Benefit Examples and How They Relate to W2 and 1099 preparation:

  • Accountable vs. non-Accountable Expense Reimbursement Plans
  • Record keeping requirements of Sec. 274 & Accountable Plans
  • Deductible and Non-deductible Meals
  • De minimis fringe benefits
  • No added cost benefits
  • Cash payments
  • Auto allowances
  • Company vehicles
  • Prizes, awards, gifts

We'll Answer These and Other Questions:

  • What are the taxable and non-taxable wages?
  • Are meal allowances nontaxable?
  • Are travel allowances nontaxable?
  • What other benefits are nontaxable wages?
  • What meals are deductible and nontaxable to employees?

Learning Objectives:

  • Learn what are the taxable and non-taxable wages?
  • Learn what other benefits are nontaxable wages?
  • Learn what meals are deductible and nontaxable to employees?
  1. Introduction
  2. What’s New: 1099 E-Filing Changes 00:01:12
  3. What’s New - Form 1099-NEC 00:08:54
  4. Overview -  The Difference Between an Expense Reimbursement and Fringe Benefit 00:17:43
  5. Overview  - 1099/W2 Reporting 00:27:09
  6. Overview  - Taxable Wages Vs. 1099 Reimbursements 00:32:20
  7. Overview  - Non-Taxable Fringe Benefits 00:32:53
  8. Overview  - Working Condition Fringes 00:51:54
  9. Overview  - De Minimis Fringes 00:53:10
  10. Fringes and Reimbursements Issues - IRC Section 274 00:53:14
  11. Accountable Plans 00:58:21
  12. Accountable Plans - Employee Rules 00:58:46
  13. Accountable Plans - Contractor Rules 01:12:47
  14. Watch Out For Sneaky Reimbursement Traps! 01:14:46
  15. Fringe Benefit?Record-Keeping - Records Must Detail 01:19:25
  16. Fringe Benefit/Record-Keeping - Records Must Delineate Expenses 01:24:58
  17. Fringe Benefit/Record-Keeping - How Long to Hold Onto Records? 01:26:45
  18. Fringe Benefit/Record-Keeping - Independent Contractors 01:27:30
  19. Transportation Reimbursed Expenses 01:28:00
  20. Transportation Reimbursed Expenses - The Company Car And Executives 01:30:29
  21. Wrap Up 01:31:21
  22. Protect Yourself 01:35:21
  23. Attendee Questions 01:37:59
  24. Presentation Closing 01:44:02
  • Accountable Plan 00:58:04, 01:15:13, 01:27:38
  • Audit 01:31:23
  • De Minimis 00:44:52, 00:48:24
  • Expense 00:18:18, 00:48:17, 00:53:56, 00:57:17, 01:27:49
  • Expense Reimbursement 00:01:01:17, 00:06:05, 00:12:14, 00:16:56, 00:18:03, 00:28:07, 00:58:29, 01:12:54, 01:16:43
  • Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) 00:27:13
  • Fair Market Value (FMV) 00:29:45
  • Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) 00:17:43
  • Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA) 00:17:43
  • FIRE - File Information Returns Electronically 00:02:51
  • Form 1042-S 01:15:23
  • Form 1099-MISC 00:09:14
  • Form 1099-NEC 00:02:10, 00:09:04, 00:14:06, 01:14:00
  • Form W-2 00:18:45, 00:33:17, 00:58:43
  • Form W-8 01:15:20
  • Fringe Benefits 00:01:16, 00:06:05, 00:12:35, 00:16:51, 00:18:06, 00:24:14, 00:32:58, 00:40:27, 01:28:42
  • Independent Contractor 00:01:51, 00:32:36, 00:58:41, 01:12:55, 01:27:32
  • Information Returns Intake System (IRIS) 00:02:54, 00:04:24
  • IRC Section 132 00:33:51, 00:44:02
  • IRC Section 274 00:53:14
  • Nonresident Alien (NRA) 01:15:13
  • Reasonable Cause 00:47:31
  • Resident Alien 01:15:16
  • Tax Cuts and Jobs Act 00:06:19, 00:53:15
  • Tax Home 00:20:00, 01:28:11
  • Transmitter Control Code (TCC) 00:01:38, 00:04:56
  • Travel Expense 00:19:39, 00:22:08
  • Vendor 00:03:05, 00:04:50, 00:12:53

Accountable Plan: An accountable plan is a plan that follows the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regulations for reimbursing workers for business expenses in which reimbursement is not counted as income. ... However, these expenses must be business-related to fall under an accountable plan.

Audit: A formal examination of an organization's or individual's accounts or financial situation

De Minimis: Too trivial or minor to merit consideration.

Expense: Offset (an item of expenditure) as an expense against taxable income.

Expense Reimbursement: Expense reimbursement is a method for paying employees back when they spend their own money on business-related expenses. These expenses generally occur when an employee is traveling for business but can occur in other work-related situations. (www.thebalancecareers.com)

FATCA: FATCA was enacted in 2010 by Congress to target non-compliance by U.S. taxpayers using foreign accounts. FATCA requires foreign financial institutions (FFIs) to report to the IRS information about financial accounts held by U.S. taxpayers, or by foreign entities in which U.S. taxpayers hold a substantial ownership interest. (www.treasury.gov). FACTA (Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act) is an amendment to FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act ) that was added, primarily, to protect consumers from identity theft. The Act stipulates requirements for information privacy, accuracy and disposal and limits the ways consumer information can be shared.

FIRE - File Information Returns Electronically: The IRS FIRE system is the electronic network used to accept and process most types of filing forms. Technically, it stands for File Information Returns Electronically.

Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA): The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 29 U.S.C. § 203 is a United States labor law that creates the right to a minimum wage, and "time-and-a-half" overtime pay when people work over forty hours a week. It also prohibits most employment of minors in "oppressive child labor".

Fair Market Value (FMV): The term fair market value is used throughout the Internal Revenue Code among other federal statutory laws in the USA including Bankruptcy, many state laws, and several regulatory bodies. In litigation in many jurisdictions in the United States, the fair market value is determined at a hearing.

Form 1042-S: Form 1042-S is used to report amounts paid to foreign persons (including persons presumed to be foreign) who are subject to income tax withholding. For an individual taxpayer, Form 1042-S is a document provided to you (and the IRS) by the payer of the income reported.

Form 1099-MISC: The Form 1099-MISC is an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) tax return document used to report miscellaneous payments made to nonemployee individuals, such as independent contractors, during the calendar year. (www.shrm.org)

Form 1099-NEC: In the context of 1099 tax filing, NEC stands for “Nonemployee Compensation” (the first letters of the three words None, Employee and Compensation). Most tax payers recognize NEC as box 7 on Form 1099-MISC. NEC is used to report income paid to independent-contractors / the-self-employed (referred to as 1099 employees for simplification purposes). So, while employers report income that gets paid to employees on Box 1 (Wages, tips, other compensation) of the W2 form, payers report income that gets paid to none-employees on Box 7 (NEC) of the 1099-MISC form. As an individual, if you received form 1099-MISC instead of Form W-2 then the payer did not consider you an employee and did not withhold income tax or social security and Medicare tax.

Form W-2: Form W-2 is an Internal Revenue Service tax form used in the United States to report wages paid to employees and the taxes withheld from them. Employers must complete a Form W-2 for each employee to whom they pay a salary, wage, or other compensation as part of the employment relationship. - Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/)

Form W-8: Form W-8 is filled out by foreign entities (citizens and corporations) in order to claim exempt status from certain tax withholdings. The form is used to declare an entity's status as non-resident alien or foreign national who works outside of the United States.

Fringe Benefits: An extra benefit supplementing an employee's salary, for example, a company car, subsidized meals, health insurance, etc.

IRC Section 132: Internal Revenue Code Section 132(a) provides eight types of fringe benefits that are excluded from gross income

IRC Section 274: Section 274(k) generally provides that no deduction is allowed for the expense of any food or beverages unless (A) such expense is not lavish or extravagant under the circumstances, and (B) the taxpayer (or an employee of the taxpayer) is present at the furnishing of such food or beverages.

Independent Contractor: An independent contractor is a person or entity contracted to perform work or provide services to another entity as a non-employee. As a result, independent contractors must pay their own Social Security and Medicare taxes. - Investopedia (https://www.investopedia.com/)

Information Returns Intake System (IRIS): The Information Returns Intake System (IRIS) Taxpayer Portal is a system that provides a no cost online. method for taxpayers to electronically file Form 1099 series. The Taxpayer Portal allows you to enter. data to create Forms 1099 by either keying in the information or uploading a .csv file.

Nonresident Alien (NRA): This income is taxed at a flat 30% rate, unless a tax treaty specifies a lower rate. Nonresident aliens must file and pay any tax due using Form 1040NR, U.S. Nonresident Alien Income Tax Return or Form 1040NR-EZ, U.S. Income Tax Return for Certain Nonresident Aliens with No Dependents.

Reasonable Cause : Reasonable cause is based on all the facts and circumstances in your situation. The IRS will consider any reason which establishes that you used all ordinary business care and prudence to meet your federal tax obligations but were nevertheless unable to do so.

Resident Alien : A resident alien is a foreign person who is a permanent resident of the country in which he or she resides but does not have citizenship. To fall under this classification in the United States, a person needs to either have a current green card or have had one in the previous calendar year.

Tax Cuts and Jobs Act: The Act to provide for reconciliation pursuant to titles II and V of the concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2018, Pub.L. 115–97, is a congressional revenue act of the United States originally introduced in Congress as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, that amended the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

Tax Home: A tax home is the general locality of an individual's primary place of work. It is the city or general vicinity where his or her primary place of business or employment is located, regardless of the location of the individual's residence.

Transmitter Control Code (TCC): The Transmitter Control Code (TCC) is an identifier that the IRS uses to distinguish different electronic filing companies. It's necessary when you need to file for a correction. Getting a TCC depends on how you file your 1099 forms

Travel Expense: Travel expenses are costs associated with traveling for the purpose of conducting business-related activities. Travel expenses can generally be deducted by employees as non-reimbursed costs incurred while traveling away from home specifically for business purposes.

Vendor: A vendor is a person or business that supplies goods or services to a company. Another term for the vendor is the supplier. In many situations, a company presents the vendor with a purchase order stating the goods or services needed, the price, delivery date, and other terms.


Guest Speaker

  • Steven Mercatante

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