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Deadlines and reporting requirements for Employee Stock Purchase Plans and Incentive Stock Options. Incentive stock options and filing IRS Form 3921. Employee Stock Purchase Plans and filing IRS Form 3922. Employees must be furnished with their copy of Form 3921 or Form 3922.

New 403b Regulations Plan Document Requirements Retirement Plan Audit Strategies. ERISA generally requires audits for plans with 100+ eligible participants at the beginning of a plan year. 403b To-Do List, selecting the auditor and what to expect from the audit process.

Beginning this year, you can make only one rollover from an IRA to another (or the same) IRA in any 12-month period, regardless of the number of IRAs you own. Information on exemptions and tax consequences of violations of the IRA rollover rule.

Plan sponsors need to have sufficient records to document that each plan participant was paid the correct benefit under the terms of their retirement plan. Plan sponsors should ensure that their document retention policy reflects the IRS guidelines.

IRS provides Form 3115 Relief for Smaller Taxpayers Under Tangible Property Rules. The IRS announced Rev. Proc. 2015-20 which has an unusually taxpayer-friendly application of its $10M limits. Information for small business and Form 3115.

IRS guidance on in-plan Roth rollovers. The IRS extended the deadline to adopt a discretionary plan amendment to allow in-plan Roth rollovers in 2013 related to amounts in a plan that could not otherwise be distributed to the participant. More on in-plan Roth rollovers.

Info on IRS proposed changes to requirement to file Section 83(b) election with Form 1040. The requirement under IRC section 83(b) to include a copy of the election with the individuals’ Form 1040 is an obstacle to electronically filing Form 1040.

IRS issues final and proposed regulations on 'Dividend Equivalent' payment withholding. New 2013 proposed regulations based on a derivative’s delta to determine whether a contract is subject to tax under IRC Sec. 871(m). More info on Dividend Equivalent payment withholding.

2014-06-16 By Peter Alwardt, CPA   IRS Initiates Audits Under Section 409A: Now Is a Good Time for Closely Held Businesses to Review Potential Issues   By Peter Alwardt, CPA   The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has announced that it will be conducting a focused audit init

IRS regulations addressing Substantial Risk of Forfeiture. The final IRS regulations apply to employees who participate in an employer’s equity compensation plan or who receive equity based awards for service to the employer. Income tax related the transfer of the property.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently published final regulations regarding the reduction or suspension of safe harbor contributions to 401(k) and 403(b) plans under the Internal Revenue Code (Code).

2015-09-21 By Peter Alwardt, CPA The Internal Revenue Service recently announced in Notice 2015-49 an intention to eliminate the ability of pension plan sponsors to provide lump-sum cashout windows for retirees already receiving annuity payments from the plan. This change will not impact plan participant

IRS policy same-sex spouses and retirement plans. Qualified retirement plans must comply with the rules for Same-sex marriages. Employers sponsoring qualified retirement plans will need to verify as soon as possible that same-sex couples have been legally married.

Internal Revenue Code Section 83(b) Elections Revenue Procedure 2012-29 issued to provide sample form that employees may use to make an election to be taxed under Internal Revenue Code section 83(b). Section 83(b) permits taxpayers to change the tax treatment of transfers of restricted property they receive. An election to be taxed under section 83(b) must be filed with IRS.

Most defined contribution plans have a vesting schedule associated with the employer contributions. When an employee terminates prior to becoming 100% vested, they are entitled only to the portion of their account balance that is vested.

DOL updated its guidance concerning plan sponsors’ and fiduciaries’ responsibilities in locating missing defined contribution retirement plan participants when the plan has been terminated and plan assets must be distributed. Important info for plan sponsors and fiduciaries.

Department of Labor provides flexibility for annual participant fee disclosure. This DOL changes apply to any participant-directed individual account plan that is subject to ERISA except employer-sponsored, ERISA covered plans that are funded by individual retirement accounts.

Plan Sponsors navigate the rules and regulations imposed by ERISA. Particularly challenging for public company plan sponsors is the DOL auditor independence rule. The AICPA and the SEC each have their own independence rules as well. The DOL independence rules are the most restrictive regarding members/employees of the audit firm having a financial interest.

It is important for self-employed individuals to correctly calculate their earned income for purposes of any qualified retirement plans in which they participate. For sole proprietors, this does not usually present a problem.

Executive employment agreements and 409A compliance. Employers are addressing compliance with Internal Revenue Code section 409A which relates to nonqualified deferred compensation plans, phantom equity plans, stock option plans and stock appreciation rights. Many executive employment agreements contain provisions for bonuses both short-term and long-term.