Tax-Free Employer-Provided Health Coverage Now Available for Children under Age 27
As a result of changes made by the recently enacted Affordable Care Act, health coverage provided for an employee's children under 27 years of age is now generally tax-free to the employee, effective March 30, 2010. The Internal Revenue Service announced that these changes immediately allow employers with cafeteria plans –– plans that allow employees to choose from a menu of tax-free benefit options and cash or taxable benefits –– to permit employees to begin making pre-tax contributions to pay for this expanded benefit. IRS
Notice 2010-38 explains these changes and provides further guidance to employers, employees, health insurers and other interested taxpayers.
IRS Reaches Out to Millions of Employers on Benefits of New Health Care Tax Credit
The Internal Revenue Service this week began mailing postcards to more than four million small businesses and tax-exempt organizations to make them aware of the benefits of the recently-enacted small business health care tax credit. Included in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act approved by Congress last month and signed into law by President Obama, the credit is one of the first health care reform provisions to go into effect. The credit, which takes effect this year, is designed to encourage small employers to offer health insurance coverage for the first time or maintain coverage they already have. In general, the credit is available to small employers that pay at least half the cost of single coverage for their employees in 2010. The credit is specifically targeted to help small businesses and tax-exempt organizations that primarily employ low- and moderate-income workers.
For tax years 2010 to 2013, the maximum credit is 35 percent of premiums paid by eligible small business employers and 25 percent of premiums paid by eligible employers that are tax-exempt organizations. The maximum credit goes to smaller employers — those with 10 or fewer full-time equivalent (FTE) employees — paying annual average wages of $25,000 or less. Because the eligibility rules are based in part on the number of FTEs, not the number of employees, businesses that use part-time help may qualify even if they employ more than 25 individuals. The credit is completely phased out for employers that have 25 FTEs or more or that pay average wages of $50,000 per year or more.
Eligible small businesses can claim the credit as part of the general business credit starting with the 2010 income tax return they file in 2011. For tax-exempt organizations, the IRS will provide further information on how to claim the credit.
View the postcard.
View state-by-state information on distribution of the postcard.
Also see more information about the credit, including a step-by-step guide and answers to frequently asked questions.
More on the health care tax credit:
Revenue Ruling 2010-13 publishes the State average premium rates for the small group market for purposes of calculating the section 45R tax credit for small employers. Section 45R was added to the Code by Section 1421 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Revenue Ruling 2010-13 will be published in Internal Revenue Bulletin 2010-21 on May 24, 2010.
Special Payroll Tax Exemption Form Now Available The Internal Revenue Service has released a new form that will help employers claim the special payroll tax exemption that applies to many newly-hired workers during 2010, created by the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act signed by President Obama on March 18. New
Form W-11, Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act Employee Affidavit, is now posted on IRS.gov, along with answers to
frequently-asked questions about the payroll tax exemption and the related new hire retention credit. The new law requires that employers get a statement from each eligible new hire, certifying under penalties of perjury, that he or she was unemployed during the 60 days before beginning work or, alternatively, worked less than a total of 40 hours for anyone during the 60-day period. Employers can use Form W-11 to meet this requirement. Though employers need this certification to claim both the payroll tax exemption and the new hire retention credit, they do not file these statements with the IRS. Instead, they must retain them along with other payroll and income tax records.
Most eligible employers then use Form 941, Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return, to claim the payroll tax exemption for eligible new hires. This form, revised for use beginning with the second calendar quarter of 2010, is currently posted as a draft form on IRS.gov and will be released next month as a final along with the form’s instructions.
COBRA Subsidy Eligibility Period Extended to May 31
Workers who lose their jobs during April and May may qualify for a 65-percent subsidy on their COBRA health insurance premiums. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act established this subsidy to help workers who lost their jobs as a result of the recession maintain their employer sponsored health insurance. The Continuing Extension Act of 2010, enacted April 15, reinstated the COBRA subsidy, which had expired on March 31. As a result, workers who are involuntarily terminated from employment between Sept. 1, 2008 and May 31, 2010, may be eligible for a 65-percent subsidy of their COBRA premiums for a period of up to 15 months. In some cases, workers who had their hours reduced and later lose their jobs may also be eligible for the subsidy.