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Locke Lord and Troutman Pepper will become Troutman Pepper Locke on January 1, 2025.
The Internal Revenue Service recently announced that electronic or digital signatures will be accepted for Code Section 83(b) elections. This relief is part of the IRS’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and is temporary.
Read MoreOn July 26, 2021, the IRS issued Notice 2021-46 (the “Notice”), which provides new guidance in the form of 11 questions and answers on the COBRA premium subsidy and the related tax credit under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (“ARPA”). The Notice expands on previous guidance provided under Notice 2021-31.
Read MoreThe Internal Revenue Service recently announced that it will treat contributions to single-employer defined benefit pension plans, previously extended to January 1, 2021 by the CARES Act, as timely if made no later than January 4, 2021 (which is the first business day after January 1, 2021).
Read MoreThe Internal Revenue Service announced the 2021 cost-of-living adjustments to the dollar limitations for qualified retirement plans and other benefits, and the Social Security Administration announced its own cost-of-living adjustments for 2021. Most of the dollar limits, including the elective deferral contribution limit for 401(k), 403(b) and 457(b) plans and the dollar limit for catch-up contributions (if age 50 or older), will remain unchanged from 2020 limits.
Read MoreOn July 31, 2020, the Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Treasury Department issued Proposed Treasury Regulations (the “Proposed Regs”) providing guidance under the “carried interest” rules of Section 1061 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). Please see our Quick Study “IRS Issues Carried Interest Guidance” for more detail.
Read MoreThe Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued helpful guidance to plan sponsors of safe harbor 401(k) plans that are considering reducing or suspending safe harbor employer matching contributions or safe harbor nonelective contributions as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. As explained below, IRS Notice 2020-52 provides temporary relief from certain requirements that would otherwise apply for making mid-year amendments to safe harbor 401(k) plans.
Read MoreIn a surprising memo from the IRS Office of Chief Counsel, the IRS concluded that there is no statute of limitations period on the Employer Shared Responsibility Payments (“ESRP”) under the Affordable Care Act. The IRS reasoned that the filing of Forms 1094-C and 1095-C (“ACA Returns”) does not start the statute of limitations period because such forms do not satisfy the requirements to be considered a tax return.
Read MoreOn March 13, 2020, President Trump declared a national emergency under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (the “Stafford Act”) in response to the Coronavirus Disease 19, or COVID-19. This declaration allows employers to make qualified disaster relief payments to employees affected by COVID-19 on a tax-free basis pursuant to Section 139 of the Internal Revenue Code (the “Code”).
Read MoreTo facilitate the nation’s response to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), also known as the Coronavirus, the Internal Revenue Service advised in IRS Notice 2020-15 that a high-deductible health plan (HDHP), until further notice, is permitted to pay for COVID-19-related testing and treatment, without jeopardizing its status as an HDHP. Additionally, contributions to an HDHP participant’s health savings account (HSA) will not be adversely affected if the HDHP covering the participant provides for coverage of costs for COVID-19-related testing or treatment.
Read More2020 has brought substantial changes to the Form W-4 (Employee’s Withholding Certificate) compared with previous versions of the form. These changes were made by the IRS to comply with new income tax withholding requirements under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (Pub. L. 115-97).
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