Benefits

A new Section 199A of the 2017 Tax Act passed by Congress in December of that year enables small business owners--especially sole proprietors, subchapter S corporations, and partnerships--to get up to a 20% deduction of qualified business income if they have total income below certain thresholds.

Gary Kushner, President and CEO of Kushner & Company was interviewed by Workforce Management magazine during the 2018 SHRM Annual Conference in Chicago about the most often missed items in employers' compliance with the ACA.

Starting in 2007, the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006 (TRHCA) requires that the IRS release the upcoming year’s new HSA limits prior to June 1st.

In May, 2017, the IRS released the 2018 HSA contributions limits in Rev Proc 2017-37, amongst other HSA-related indexed numbers, stating that the maximum contribution for those in family HDHP coverage would be $6,900.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, signed into law in December 2017, created a new business credit for employers that offer paid family and medical leave and which are subject to the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA).

On March 5, 2018, the IRS published Internal Revenue Bulletin (IRB) 2018-10. Effective for calendar year 2018, the family contribution limit for HSAs has been lowered to $6,850 from the previously set amount of $6,900.

The three week extension of the federal budget resolving the shutdown from January 19th through 22nd also contained a delay of the Cadillac Tax from 2020 to 2022.

When small employers make operational errors in their 401(k) or other retirement plans, and before the IRS or DOL provide a notice of an audit, the employer has the ability to self-correct under two different IRS programs.

Under the recently passed Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, employer-provided transportation benefits are somewhat pared back beginning in 2018.

The employer mandate, sometimes known as the “play or pay” clause of the ACA, imposes penalties on Applicable Large Employers (ALEs) if any of their full-time employees purchases individual coverage at the Health Insurance Marketplace (also known as an Exchange) and receives a premium tax credit.

Kushner & Company President and CEO Gary Kushner was recently highlighted in SHRM's video series HR Storytellers.

With IRS Notice 2017-64, we now have the applicable retirement and health and welfare benefit limits for 2018. Many (but not all) have increased from 2017. Earlier this year, the IRS announced the 2018 Health Savings Account (HSA) limits and plan designs.