Home | Chamberlain Hrdlicka https://www.chamberlainlaw.com/employee-benefits Sat, 13 Jun 2026 02:03:20 -0400 Tax Exempt & Government Entities (TEGE) https://www.chamberlainlaw.com/employee-benefits/tax-exempt-government-entities-tege Joshua A. Sutin employee-benefits/tax-exempt-government-entities-tege Tue, 12 Sep 2023 09:00:01 -0400 The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has a division called Tax Exempt & Government Entities (TEGE). This division has updated its Compliance Program and Priorities (CPP) webpage on IRS.gov to provide information about its fiscal year2021 compliance initiatives. TEGE's purpose and mission are to help tax-exempt and government entities comply with applicable tax laws as well as to try and protect the public by making sure the tax law is applied to tax-exempt organizations with integrity and fairness. The TEGE is also responsible for compliance around employee benefit plans as ...

]]> Employers: Simple way to help your Employees save taxes https://www.chamberlainlaw.com/employee-benefits/employers-simple-way-to-help-your-employees-save-taxes Joshua A. Sutin employee-benefits/employers-simple-way-to-help-your-employees-save-taxes Mon, 10 Apr 2023 09:00:02 -0400 Announcement 2021-7 from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) notifies taxpayers that amounts paid for personal protective equipment, such as masks, hand sanitizer and sanitizing wipes, for the primary purpose of preventing the spread of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19 PPE) are treated as amounts paid for medical care under § 213(d) of the Internal Revenue Code (Code).  Therefore, amounts paid by an individual taxpayer for COVID-19 PPE for use by the taxpayer, the taxpayer’s spouse, or the taxpayer’s dependent(s) that are not compensated for by insurance or otherwise ...

]]> Simple Way Employers can help Their Employees during the Pandemic of COVID-19 https://www.chamberlainlaw.com/employee-benefits/simple-way-employers-can-help-their-employees-during-pandemic Joshua A. Sutin employee-benefits/simple-way-employers-can-help-their-employees-during-pandemic Fri, 25 Feb 2022 09:00:03 -0500 The IRS recently came out with new guidance for relief from the Coronavirus disease – COVID-19 by way of cafeteria plans and specifically health flexible spending arrangements (“FSA”) and dependent care flexible spending arrangements or dependent care assistance programs (“DCAP”).  These are simple employee benefit programs that most employers offer or should offer. 

The tax benefits to employees are powerful if used properly and are a great way for human resources to help employees with their overall financial well-being.  This type of program makes employees ...

]]> What is included in the Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2020? https://www.chamberlainlaw.com/employee-benefits/what-is-included-in-the-taxpayer-certainty-and-disaster-tax-relief-act-of-2020 Joshua A. Sutin employee-benefits/what-is-included-in-the-taxpayer-certainty-and-disaster-tax-relief-act-of-2020 Fri, 29 Jan 2021 09:00:04 -0500 Enacted Dec. 27, 2020, The Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2020 made a number of amendments to the Employee Retention Tax Credits (“ERTC”) previously available under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act).  Changes include extending the ERTC for six months through June 30, 2021.   Some of the changes apply only to calendar year 2021, while others apply to both 2020 and 2021 calendar years.

Due to the new legislation, eligible employers can claim a refundable tax credit against their share of Social Security taxes equal to 70% of the ...

]]> Employers Need to be Careful not to get Bitten by COBRA https://www.chamberlainlaw.com/employee-benefits/employers-need-to-be-careful-not-to-get-bitten-by-cobra Joshua A. Sutin employee-benefits/employers-need-to-be-careful-not-to-get-bitten-by-cobra Wed, 25 Nov 2020 09:00:05 -0500 A former Bank of America employee filed a proposed class action in Florida federal court alleging the bank provided employees with noncompliant, "confusing and piecemeal" COBRA notices in an effort to save money, willfully violating the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.  This is not the first class action filed for poorly drafted COBRA notices.  The daily penalty that can be imposed per violation is staggering.

Other cases that have been filed allege that the COBRA notices were missing items that are required by the Department of Labor’s model notice.  For example, the name ...

]]> Self Directed IRA Owners Be Aware! https://www.chamberlainlaw.com/employee-benefits/self-directed-ira-owners-be-aware Joshua A. Sutin employee-benefits/self-directed-ira-owners-be-aware Mon, 23 Nov 2020 09:00:06 -0500 Self-directed IRA distribution to Owner was taxable when it could have been avoided easily.

In Ball, TC Memo 2020-152, the Tax Court has held against a self-directed traditional IRA owner. The owner directly took an IRA distribution and then transferred the cash into the IRA owner's wholly-owned limited liability company. The distribution was redeposited into the IRA in a subsequent year. The Internal Revenue Service and the Tax Court held that the owner had taxable income in the year of the distribution.

All self-directed IRA owners should be very careful in how they invest the ...

]]> Group Health Plans and Transparency https://www.chamberlainlaw.com/employee-benefits/group-health-plans-and-transparency Joshua A. Sutin employee-benefits/group-health-plans-and-transparency Thu, 12 Nov 2020 09:00:07 -0500 494 pages of guidance on 62 pages of new final regulations that impact employer sponsored group health plans.  This will not be easy nor cheap!

The final rules set forth requirements for group health plans and health insurance issuers in the individual and group markets to disclose cost-sharing information upon request to a participant, beneficiary, or enrollee (or his or her authorized representative), including an estimate of the individual’s cost-sharing liability for covered items or services furnished by a particular provider. Under the final rules, plans and issuers are ...

]]> What is the IRS Audit Focus for Employee Benefit Plans 2021? https://www.chamberlainlaw.com/employee-benefits/irs-audit-focus-for-employee-benefit-plans-2021 Joshua A. Sutin employee-benefits/irs-audit-focus-for-employee-benefit-plans-2021 Thu, 12 Nov 2020 09:00:08 -0500 Catherine Jones, Employee Plans Director with the Internal Revenue Service’s Tax-Exempt and Government Entities Division, laid out the IRS’s thinking regarding top compliance issues for employee benefit plans, during a November 10 webinar hosted by the American Institute of CPAs. 

Not surprisingly, with the CARES Act changing the qualified plans landscape, loans and required minimum distributions are a high priority, as these areas are creating a lot of operational errors in qualified plans. Further compliance areas include: Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs); ...

]]> New Regulations help minimize RMDs https://www.chamberlainlaw.com/employee-benefits/new-regulations-help-minimize-rmds Joshua A. Sutin employee-benefits/new-regulations-help-minimize-rmds Fri, 06 Nov 2020 09:00:09 -0500 In accordance with Executive Order 13847, the Treasury Department and the IRS have examined the life expectancy and distribution period tables in formerly applicable §1.401(a)(9)-9 and have reviewed currently available mortality data.  As a result of this review, the Treasury Department and the IRS have determined that those tables should be updated to reflect current life expectancies.  Accordingly, these regulations, https://public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2020-24723.pdf, update those tables. 

The life expectancy tables and applicable distribution period ...

]]> When can ERISA plan fiduciaries invest in environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) vehicles? https://www.chamberlainlaw.com/employee-benefits/when-can-erisa-plan-fiduciaries-invest-in-environmental-social-and-corporate-governance-esg-vehicles Joshua A. Sutin employee-benefits/when-can-erisa-plan-fiduciaries-invest-in-environmental-social-and-corporate-governance-esg-vehicles Tue, 03 Nov 2020 09:00:10 -0500 The Department of Labor’s final regulation (https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/06/30/2020-13705/financial-factors-in-selecting-plan-investments) makes it clear that ERISA plan fiduciaries may not invest in environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) vehicles when they understand an underlying investment strategy of the vehicle is to subordinate return or increase risk for the purpose of non-pecuniary objectives.

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