Table of Contents
- 1. Fringe Benefit Overview
- 2. Fringe Benefit Exclusion Rules
- Accident and Health Benefits
- Achievement Awards
- Adoption Assistance
- Athletic Facilities
- De Minimis (Minimal) Benefits
- Dependent Care Assistance
- Educational Assistance
- Employee Discounts
- Employee Stock Options
- Employer-Provided Cell Phones
- Group-Term Life Insurance Coverage
- Health Savings Accounts
- Lodging on Your Business Premises
- Meals
- Moving Expense Reimbursements
- No-Additional-Cost Services
- Retirement Planning Services
- Transportation (Commuting) Benefits
- Tuition Reduction
- Working Condition Benefits
- 3. Fringe Benefit Valuation Rules
- 4. Rules for Withholding, Depositing, and Reporting
- How To Get Tax Help
A fringe benefit is a form of pay for the performance of services. For example, you provide an employee with a fringe benefit when you allow the employee to use a business vehicle to commute to and from work.
Any fringe benefit you provide is taxable and must be included in the recipient's pay unless the law specifically excludes it. Section 2 discusses the exclusions that apply to certain fringe benefits. Any benefit not excluded under the rules discussed in section 2 is taxable.
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Any amount the law excludes from pay.
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Any amount the recipient paid for the benefit.
A cafeteria plan, including a flexible spending arrangement, is a written plan that allows your employees to choose between receiving cash or taxable benefits instead of certain qualified benefits for which the law provides an exclusion from wages. If an employee chooses to receive a qualified benefit under the plan, the fact that the employee could have received cash or a taxable benefit instead will not make the qualified benefit taxable.
Generally, a cafeteria plan does not include any plan that offers a benefit that defers pay. However, a cafeteria plan can include a qualified 401(k) plan as a benefit. Also, certain life insurance plans maintained by educational institutions can be offered as a benefit even though they defer pay.
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Accident and health benefits (but not Archer medical savings accounts (Archer MSAs) or long-term care insurance).
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Adoption assistance.
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Dependent care assistance.
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Group-term life insurance coverage (including costs that cannot be excluded from wages).
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Health savings accounts (HSAs). Distributions from an HSA may be used to pay eligible long-term care insurance premiums or qualified long-term care services.
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Archer MSAs. See Accident and Health Benefits in section 2.
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Athletic facilities.
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De minimis (minimal) benefits.
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Educational assistance.
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Employee discounts.
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Employer-provided cell phones.
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Lodging on your business premises.
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Meals.
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Moving expense reimbursements.
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No-additional-cost services.
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Transportation (commuting) benefits.
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Tuition reduction.
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Working condition benefits.
It also cannot include scholarships or fellowships (discussed in Publication 970, Tax Benefits for Education).
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A current common-law employee. See section 2 in Publication 15 (Circular E) for more information.
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A full-time life insurance agent who is a current statutory employee.
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A leased employee who has provided services to you on a substantially full-time basis for at least a year if the services are performed under your primary direction or control.
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An officer.
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A shareholder who owns more than 5% of the voting power or value of all classes of the employer's stock.
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An employee who is highly compensated based on the facts and circumstances.
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A spouse or dependent of a person described in (1), (2), or (3).
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An officer having annual pay of more than $165,000.
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An employee who for 2013 is either of the following.
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A 5% owner of your business.
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A 1% owner of your business whose annual pay was more than $150,000.
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Eligible employers meeting contribution requirements and eligibility and participation requirements can establish a simple cafeteria plan. Simple cafeteria plans are treated as meeting the nondiscrimination requirements of a cafeteria plan and certain benefits under a cafeteria plan.
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Are under age 21 before the close of the plan year,
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Have less than 1 year of service with you as of any day during the plan year,
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Are covered under a collective bargaining agreement, or
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Are nonresident aliens working outside the United States whose income did not come from a U.S. source.
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A uniform percentage (not less than 2%) of the employee’s compensation for the plan year, or
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An amount which is at least 6% of the employee’s compensation for the plan year or twice the amount of the salary reduction contributions of each qualified employee, whichever is less.
This section discusses the exclusion rules that apply to fringe benefits. These rules exclude all or part of the value of certain benefits from the recipient's pay.
The excluded benefits are not subject to federal income tax withholding. Also, in most cases, they are not subject to social security, Medicare, or federal unemployment (FUTA) tax and are not reported on Form W-2.
This section discusses the exclusion rules for the following fringe benefits.
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Accident and health benefits.
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Achievement awards.
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Adoption assistance.
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Athletic facilities.
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De minimis (minimal) benefits.
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Dependent care assistance.
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Educational assistance.
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Employee discounts.
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Employee stock options.
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Employer-provided cell phones.
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Group-term life insurance coverage.
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Health savings accounts (HSAs).
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Lodging on your business premises.
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Meals.
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Moving expense reimbursements.
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No-additional-cost services.
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Retirement planning services.
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Transportation (commuting) benefits.
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Tuition reduction.
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Working condition benefits.
See Table 2-1, later, for an overview of the employment tax treatment of these benefits.
Treatment Under Employment Taxes | |||
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Type of Fringe Benefit | Income Tax Withholding | Social Security and Medicare (including Additional Medicare Tax when wages are paid in excess of $200,000) | Federal Unemployment (FUTA) |
Accident and health benefits | Exempt1,2, except for long-term care benefits provided through a flexible spending or similar arrangement. | Exempt, except for certain payments to S corporation employees who are 2% shareholders. | Exempt |
Achievement awards | Exempt1 up to $1,600 for qualified plan awards ($400 for nonqualified awards). | ||
Adoption assistance | Exempt1,3 | Taxable | Taxable |
Athletic facilities | Exempt if substantially all use during the calendar year is by employees, their spouses, and their dependent children and the facility is operated by the employer on premises owned or leased by the employer. | ||
De minimis (minimal) benefits | Exempt | Exempt | Exempt |
Dependent care assistance | Exempt3 up to certain limits, $5,000 ($2,500 for married employee filing separate return). | ||
Educational assistance | Exempt up to $5,250 of benefits each year. (See Educational Assistance , later in this section.) | ||
Employee discounts | Exempt3 up to certain limits. (See Employee Discounts , later in this section.) | ||
Employee stock options | See Employee Stock Options , later in this section. | ||
Employer-provided cell phones | Exempt if provided primarily for noncompensatory business purposes. | ||
Group-term life insurance coverage | Exempt | Exempt1,4, 7 up to cost of $50,000 of coverage. (Special rules apply to former employees.) | Exempt |
Health savings accounts (HSAs) | Exempt for qualified individuals up to the HSA contribution limits. (See Health Savings Accounts , later in this section.) | ||
Lodging on your business premises | Exempt1 if furnished for your convenience as a condition of employment. | ||
Meals | Exempt if furnished on your business premises for your convenience. | ||
Exempt if de minimis. | |||
Moving expense reimbursements | Exempt1 if expenses would be deductible if the employee had paid them. | ||
No-additional-cost services | Exempt3 | Exempt3 | Exempt3 |
Retirement planning services | Exempt5 | Exempt5 | Exempt5 |
Transportation (commuting) benefits | Exempt1 up to certain limits if for rides in a commuter highway vehicle and/or transit passes ($245), qualified parking ($245), or qualified bicycle commuting reimbursement6 ($20). (See Transportation (Commuting) Benefits , later in this section.) | ||
Exempt if de minimis. | |||
Tuition reduction | Exempt3 if for undergraduate education (or graduate education if the employee performs teaching or research activities). | ||
Working condition benefits | Exempt | Exempt | Exempt |
1 Exemption does not apply to S corporation employees who are 2% shareholders. | |||
2 Exemption does not apply to certain highly compensated employees under a self-insured plan that favors those employees. | |||
3 Exemption does not apply to certain highly compensated employees under a program that favors those employees. | |||
4 Exemption does not apply to certain key employees under a plan that favors those employees. | |||
5 Exemption does not apply to services for tax preparation, accounting, legal, or brokerage services. | |||
6 If the employee receives a qualified bicycle commuting reimbursement in a qualified bicycle commuting month, the employee cannot receive commuter highway vehicle, transit pass, or qualified parking benefits in that same month. | |||
7 You must include in your employee's wages the cost of group-term life insurance beyond $50,000 worth of coverage, reduced by the amount the employee paid toward the insurance. Report it as wages in boxes 1, 3, and 5 of the employee's Form W-2. Also, show it in box 12 with code “C.” The amount is subject to social security and Medicare taxes, and you may, at your option, withhold federal income tax. |
This exclusion applies to contributions you make to an accident or health plan for an employee, including the following.
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Contributions to the cost of accident or health insurance including qualified long-term care insurance.
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Contributions to a separate trust or fund that directly or through insurance provides accident or health benefits.
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Contributions to Archer MSAs or health savings accounts (discussed in Publication 969, Health Savings Accounts and Other Tax-Favored Health Plans).
This exclusion also applies to payments you directly or indirectly make to an employee under an accident or health plan for employees that are either of the following.
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Payments or reimbursements of medical expenses.
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Payments for specific injuries or illnesses (such as the loss of the use of an arm or leg). The payments must be figured without regard to any period of absence from work.
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A current common-law employee.
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A full-time life insurance agent who is a current statutory employee.
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A retired employee.
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A former employee you maintain coverage for based on the employment relationship.
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A widow or widower of an individual who died while an employee.
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A widow or widower of a retired employee.
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For the exclusion of contributions to an accident or health plan, a leased employee who has provided services to you on a substantially full-time basis for at least a year if the services are performed under your primary direction or control.
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One of the five highest paid officers.
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An employee who owns (directly or indirectly) more than 10% in value of the employer's stock.
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An employee who is among the highest paid 25% of all employees (other than those who can be excluded from the plan).
This exclusion applies to the value of any tangible personal property you give to an employee as an award for either length of service or safety achievement. The exclusion does not apply to awards of cash, cash equivalents, gift certificates, or other intangible property such as vacations, meals, lodging, tickets to theater or sporting events, stocks, bonds, and other securities. The award must meet the requirements for employee achievement awards discussed in chapter 2 of Publication 535, Business Expenses.
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A current employee.
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A former common-law employee you maintain coverage for in consideration of or based on an agreement relating to prior service as an employee.
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A leased employee who has provided services to you on a substantially full-time basis for at least a year if the services are performed under your primary direction or control.
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The part of the cost that is more than your allowable deduction (up to the value of the awards).
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The amount by which the value of the awards exceeds your allowable deduction.
An adoption assistance program is a separate written plan of an employer that meets all of the following requirements.
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It benefits employees who qualify under rules set up by you, which do not favor highly compensated employees or their dependents. To determine whether your plan meets this test, do not consider employees excluded from your plan who are covered by a collective bargaining agreement, if there is evidence that adoption assistance was a subject of good-faith bargaining.
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It does not pay more than 5% of its payments during the year for shareholders or owners (or their spouses or dependents). A shareholder or owner is someone who owns (on any day of the year) more than 5% of the stock or of the capital or profits interest of your business.
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You give reasonable notice of the plan to eligible employees.
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Employees provide reasonable substantiation that payments or reimbursements are for qualifying expenses.
For this exclusion, a highly compensated employee for 2013 is an employee who meets either of the following tests.
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The employee was a 5% owner at any time during the year or the preceding year.
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The employee received more than $115,000 in pay for the preceding year.
You can choose to ignore test (2) if the employee was not also in the top 20% of employees when ranked by pay for the preceding year.
You must exclude all payments or reimbursements you make under an adoption assistance program for an employee's qualified adoption expenses from the employee's wages subject to federal income tax withholding. However, you cannot exclude these payments from wages subject to social security, Medicare, and federal unemployment (FUTA) taxes. For more information, see the Instructions for Form 8839, Qualified Adoption Expenses.
You must report all qualifying adoption expenses you paid or reimbursed under your adoption assistance program for each employee for the year in box 12 of the employee's Form W-2. Use code “T” to identify this amount.
You can exclude the value of an employee's use of an on-premises gym or other athletic facility you operate from an employee's wages if substantially all use of the facility during the calendar year is by your employees, their spouses, and their dependent children. For this purpose, an employee's dependent child is a child or stepchild who is the employee's dependent or who, if both parents are deceased, has not attained the age of 25.
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A current employee.
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A former employee who retired or left on disability.
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A widow or widower of an individual who died while an employee.
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A widow or widower of a former employee who retired or left on disability.
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A leased employee who has provided services to you on a substantially full-time basis for at least a year if the services are performed under your primary direction or control.
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A partner who performs services for a partnership.
You can exclude the value of a de minimis benefit you provide to an employee from the employee's wages. A de minimis benefit is any property or service you provide to an employee that has so little value (taking into account how frequently you provide similar benefits to your employees) that accounting for it would be unreasonable or administratively impracticable. Cash and cash equivalent fringe benefits (for example, use of gift card, charge card, or credit card), no matter how little, are never excludable as a de minimis benefit, except for occasional meal money or transportation fare.
Examples of de minimis benefits include the following.
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Personal use of an employer-provided cell phone provided primarily for noncompensatory business purposes. See Employer-Provided Cell Phones , later in this section, for details.
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Occasional personal use of a company copying machine if you sufficiently control its use so that at least 85% of its use is for business purposes.
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Holiday gifts, other than cash, with a low fair market value.
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Group-term life insurance payable on the death of an employee's spouse or dependent if the face amount is not more than $2,000.
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Meals. See Meals , later in this section, for details.
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Occasional parties or picnics for employees and their guests.
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Transportation fare. See Transportation (Commuting) Benefits , later in this section, for details.
This exclusion applies to household and dependent care services you directly or indirectly pay for or provide to an employee under a dependent care assistance program that covers only your employees. The services must be for a qualifying person's care and must be provided to allow the employee to work. These requirements are basically the same as the tests the employee would have to meet to claim the dependent care credit if the employee paid for the services. For more information, see Qualifying Person Test and Work-Related Expense Test in Publication 503, Child and Dependent Care Expenses.
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A current employee.
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A leased employee who has provided services to you on a substantially full-time basis for at least a year if the services are performed under your primary direction or control.
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Yourself (if you are a sole proprietor).
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A partner who performs services for a partnership.
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The employee was a 5% owner at any time during the year or the preceding year.
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The employee received more than $115,000 in pay for the preceding year.
This exclusion applies to educational assistance you provide to employees under an educational assistance program. The exclusion also applies to graduate level courses.
Educational assistance means amounts you pay or incur for your employees' education expenses. These expenses generally include the cost of books, equipment, fees, supplies, and tuition. However, these expenses do not include the cost of a course or other education involving sports, games, or hobbies, unless the education:
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Has a reasonable relationship to your business, or
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Is required as part of a degree program.
Education expenses do not include the cost of tools or supplies (other than textbooks) your employee is allowed to keep at the end of the course. Nor do they include the cost of lodging, meals, or transportation.
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The program benefits employees who qualify under rules set up by you that do not favor highly compensated employees. To determine whether your program meets this test, do not consider employees excluded from your program who are covered by a collective bargaining agreement if there is evidence that educational assistance was a subject of good-faith bargaining.
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The program does not provide more than 5% of its benefits during the year for shareholders or owners. A shareholder or owner is someone who owns (on any day of the year) more than 5% of the stock or of the capital or profits interest of your business.
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The program does not allow employees to choose to receive cash or other benefits that must be included in gross income instead of educational assistance.
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You give reasonable notice of the program to eligible employees.
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The employee was a 5% owner at any time during the year or the preceding year.
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The employee received more than $115,000 in pay for the preceding year.
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A current employee.
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A former employee who retired, left on disability, or was laid off.
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A leased employee who has provided services to you on a substantially full-time basis for at least a year if the services are performed under your primary direction or control.
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Yourself (if you are a sole proprietor).
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A partner who performs services for a partnership.
This exclusion applies to a price reduction you give an employee on property or services you offer to customers in the ordinary course of the line of business in which the employee performs substantial services. However, it does not apply to discounts on real property or discounts on personal property of a kind commonly held for investment (such as stocks or bonds).
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A current employee.
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A former employee who retired or left on disability.
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A widow or widower of an individual who died while an employee.
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A widow or widower of an employee who retired or left on disability.
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A leased employee who has provided services to you on a substantially full-time basis for at least a year if the services are performed under your primary direction or control.
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A partner who performs services for a partnership.
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For a discount on services, 20% of the price you charge nonemployee customers for the service.
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For a discount on merchandise or other property, your gross profit percentage times the price you charge nonemployee customers for the property.
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All of your employees.
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A group of employees defined under a reasonable classification you set up that does not favor highly compensated employees.
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The employee was a 5% owner at any time during the year or the preceding year.
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The employee received more than $115,000 in pay for the preceding year.
There are three kinds of stock options—incentive stock options, employee stock purchase plan options, and nonstatutory (nonqualified) stock options.
Wages for social security, Medicare, and federal unemployment taxes (FUTA) do not include remuneration resulting from the exercise, after October 22, 2004, of an incentive stock option or under an employee stock purchase plan option, or from any disposition of stock acquired by exercising such an option. The IRS will not apply these taxes to an exercise before October 23, 2004, of an incentive stock option or an employee stock purchase plan option or to a disposition of stock acquired by such exercise.
Additionally, federal income tax withholding is not required on the income resulting from a disqualifying disposition of stock acquired by the exercise after October 22, 2004, of an incentive stock option or under an employee stock purchase plan option, or on income equal to the discount portion of stock acquired by the exercise, after October 22, 2004, of an employee stock purchase plan option resulting from any disposition of the stock. The IRS will not apply federal income tax withholding upon the disposition of stock acquired by the exercise, before October 23, 2004, of an incentive stock option or an employee stock purchase plan option. However, the employer must report as income in box 1 of Form W-2, (a) the discount portion of stock acquired by the exercise of an employee stock purchase plan option upon disposition of the stock, and (b) the spread (between the exercise price and the fair market value of the stock at the time of exercise) upon a disqualifying disposition of stock acquired by the exercise of an incentive stock option or an employee stock purchase plan option.
An employer must report the excess of the fair market value of stock received upon exercise of a nonstatutory stock option over the amount paid for the stock option on Form W-2 in boxes 1, 3 (up to the social security wage base), 5, and in box 12 using the code “V.” See Regulations section 1.83-7.
An employee who transfers his or her interest in nonstatutory stock options to the employee's former spouse incident to a divorce is not required to include an amount in gross income upon the transfer. The former spouse, rather than the employee, is required to include an amount in gross income when the former spouse exercises the stock options. See Revenue Ruling 2002-22 and Revenue Ruling 2004-60 for details. You can find Revenue Ruling 2002-22 on page 849 of Internal Revenue Bulletin 2002-19 at www.irs.gov/pub/irs-irbs/irb02-19.pdf. See Revenue Ruling 2004-60, 2004-24 I.R.B. 1051, available at www.irs.gov/irb/2004-24_IRB/ar13.html.
For more information about employee stock options, see sections 421, 422, and 423 of the Internal Revenue Code and their related regulations.
The value of an employer-provided cell phone, provided primarily for noncompensatory business reasons, is excludable from an employee's income as a working condition fringe benefit. Personal use of an employer-provided cell phone, provided primarily for noncompensatory business reasons, is excludable from an employee's income as a de minimis fringe benefit. For the rules relating to these types of benefits, see De Minimis (Minimal) Benefits , earlier in this section, and Working Condition Benefits , later in this section.
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Need to contact the employee at all times for work-related emergencies,
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Requirement that the employee be available to speak with clients at times when the employee is away from the office, and
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Need to speak with clients located in other time zones at times outside the employee's normal workday.
www.irs.gov/irb/2011-38_IRB/ar07.html.
This exclusion applies to life insurance coverage that meets all the following conditions.
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It provides a general death benefit that is not included in income.
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You provide it to a group of employees. See The 10-employee rule , later.
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It provides an amount of insurance to each employee based on a formula that prevents individual selection. This formula must use factors such as the employee's age, years of service, pay, or position.
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You provide it under a policy you directly or indirectly carry. Even if you do not pay any of the policy's cost, you are considered to carry it if you arrange for payment of its cost by your employees and charge at least one employee less than, and at least one other employee more than, the cost of his or her insurance. Determine the cost of the insurance, for this purpose, as explained under Coverage over the limit , later.
Group-term life insurance does not include the following insurance.
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Insurance that does not provide general death benefits, such as travel insurance or a policy providing only accidental death benefits.
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Life insurance on the life of your employee's spouse or dependent. However, you may be able to exclude the cost of this insurance from the employee's wages as a de minimis benefit. See De Minimis (Minimal) Benefits , earlier in this section.
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Insurance provided under a policy that provides a permanent benefit (an economic value that extends beyond 1 policy year, such as paid-up or cash surrender value), unless certain requirements are met. See Regulations section 1.79-1 for details.
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A current common-law employee.
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A full-time life insurance agent who is a current statutory employee.
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An individual who was formerly your employee under (1) or (2).
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A leased employee who has provided services to you on a substantially full-time basis for at least a year if the services are performed under your primary direction and control.
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If evidence that the employee is insurable is required, it is limited to a medical questionnaire (completed by the employee) that does not require a physical.
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You provide the insurance to all your full-time employees or, if the insurer requires the evidence mentioned in (1), to all full-time employees who provide evidence the insurer accepts.
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You figure the coverage based on either a uniform percentage of pay or the insurer's coverage brackets that meet certain requirements. See Regulations section 1.79-1 for details.
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You provide the insurance under a common plan covering your employees and the employees of at least one other employer who is not related to you.
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The insurance is restricted to, but mandatory for, all your employees who belong to, or are represented by, an organization (such as a union) that carries on substantial activities besides obtaining insurance.
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Evidence of whether an employee is insurable does not affect an employee's eligibility for insurance or the amount of insurance that employee gets.
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They were 65 or older.
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They customarily work 20 hours or less a week or 5 months or less in a calendar year.
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They have not been employed for the waiting period given in the policy. This waiting period cannot be more than 6 months.
Table 2-2. Cost Per $1,000 of Protection For 1 Month
Age | Cost |
Under 25 | $ .05 |
25 through 29 | .06 |
30 through 34 | .08 |
35 through 39 | .09 |
40 through 44 | .10 |
45 through 49 | .15 |
50 through 54 | .23 |
55 through 59 | .43 |
60 through 64 | .66 |
65 through 69 | 1.27 |
70 and older | 2.06 |
You figure the total cost to include in the employee's wages by multiplying the monthly cost by the number of full months' coverage at that cost.
Example.
Tom's employer provides him with group-term life insurance coverage of $200,000. Tom is 45 years old, is not a key employee, and pays $100 per year toward the cost of the insurance. Tom's employer must include $170 in his wages. The $200,000 of insurance coverage is reduced by $50,000. The yearly cost of $150,000 of coverage is $270 ($.15 x 150 x 12), and is reduced by the $100 Tom pays for the insurance. The employer includes $170 in boxes 1, 3, and 5 of Tom's Form W-2. The employer also enters $170 in box 12 with code “C.”
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The premiums you pay for the employee's insurance. See Regulations section 1.79-4T(Q&A 6) for more information.
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The cost you figure using Table 2-2.
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An officer having annual pay of more than $165,000.
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An individual who for 2013 was either of the following.
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A 5% owner of your business.
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A 1% owner of your business whose annual pay was more than $150,000.
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It benefits at least 70% of your employees.
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At least 85% of the participating employees are not key employees.
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It benefits employees who qualify under a set of rules you set up that do not favor key employees.
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Have not completed 3 years of service,
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Are part-time or seasonal,
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Are nonresident aliens who receive no U.S. source earned income from you, or
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Are not included in the plan but are in a unit of employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement, if the benefits provided under the plan were the subject of good-faith bargaining between you and employee representatives.
A Health Savings Account (HSA) is an account owned by a qualified individual who is generally your employee or former employee. Any contributions that you make to an HSA become the employee's property and cannot be withdrawn by you. Contributions to the account are used to pay current or future medical expenses of the account owner, his or her spouse, and any qualified dependent. The medical expenses must not be reimbursable by insurance or other sources and their payment from HSA funds (distribution) will not give rise to a medical expense deduction on the individual's federal income tax return. For more information about HSAs, visit the Department of Treasury's website at www.treasury.gov and enter “HSA” in the search box.
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The employee was a 5% owner at any time during the year or the preceding year.
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The employee received more than $115,000 in pay for the preceding year.
You can exclude the value of lodging you furnish to an employee from the employee's wages if it meets the following tests.
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It is furnished on your business premises.
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It is furnished for your convenience.
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The employee must accept it as a condition of employment.
Different tests may apply to lodging furnished by educational institutions. See section 119(d) of the Internal Revenue Code for details.
The exclusion does not apply if you allow your employee to choose to receive additional pay instead of lodging.
Example.
A hospital gives Joan, an employee of the hospital, the choice of living at the hospital free of charge or living elsewhere and receiving a cash allowance in addition to her regular salary. If Joan chooses to live at the hospital, the hospital cannot exclude the value of the lodging from her wages because she is not required to live at the hospital to properly perform the duties of her employment.
This section discusses the exclusion rules that apply to de minimis meals and meals on your business premises.
You can exclude any occasional meal or meal money you provide to an employee if it has so little value (taking into account how frequently you provide meals to your employees) that accounting for it would be unreasonable or administratively impracticable. The exclusion applies, for example, to the following items.
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Coffee, doughnuts, or soft drinks.
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Occasional meals or meal money provided to enable an employee to work overtime. However, the exclusion does not apply to meal money figured on the basis of hours worked.
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Occasional parties or picnics for employees and their guests.
This exclusion also applies to meals you provide at an employer-operated eating facility for employees if the annual revenue from the facility equals or exceeds the direct costs of the facility. For this purpose, your revenue from providing a meal is considered equal to the facility's direct operating costs to provide that meal if its value can be excluded from an employee's wages as explained under Meals on Your Business Premises , later.
If food or beverages you furnish to employees qualify as a de minimis benefit, you can deduct their full cost. The 50% limit on deductions for the cost of meals does not apply. The deduction limit on meals is discussed in chapter 2 of Publication 535.
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You own or lease the facility.
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You operate the facility. You are considered to operate the eating facility if you have a contract with another to operate it.
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The facility is on or near your business premises.
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You provide meals (food, drinks, and related services) at the facility during, or immediately before or after, the employee's workday.
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All of your employees.
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A group of employees defined under a reasonable classification you set up that does not favor highly compensated employees.
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The employee was a 5% owner at any time during the year or the preceding year.
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The employee received more than $115,000 in pay for the preceding year.
You can exclude the value of meals you furnish to an employee from the employee's wages if they meet the following tests.
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They are furnished on your business premises.
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They are furnished for your convenience.
This exclusion does not apply if you allow your employee to choose to receive additional pay instead of meals.
Example.
You operate a restaurant business. You furnish your employee, Carol, who is a waitress working 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., two meals during each workday. You encourage but do not require Carol to have her breakfast on the business premises before starting work. She must have her lunch on the premises. Since Carol is a food service employee and works during the normal breakfast and lunch periods, you can exclude from her wages the value of her breakfast and lunch.
If you also allow Carol to have meals on your business premises without charge on her days off, you cannot exclude the value of those meals from her wages.
Example.
A hospital maintains a cafeteria on its premises where all of its 230 employees may get meals at no charge during their working hours. The hospital must have 120 of its employees available for emergencies. Each of these 120 employees is, at times, called upon to perform services during the meal period. Although the hospital does not require these employees to remain on the premises, they rarely leave the hospital during their meal period. Since the hospital furnishes meals on its premises to its employees so that more than half of them are available for emergency calls during meal periods, the hospital can exclude the value of these meals from the wages of all of its employees.
Example.
Frank is a bank teller who works from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The bank furnishes his lunch without charge in a cafeteria the bank maintains on its premises. The bank furnishes these meals to Frank to limit his lunch period to 30 minutes, since the bank's peak workload occurs during the normal lunch period. If Frank got his lunch elsewhere, it would take him much longer than 30 minutes and the bank strictly enforces the time limit. The bank can exclude the value of these meals from Frank's wages.
This exclusion applies to any amount you directly or indirectly give to an employee, (including services furnished in kind) as payment for, or reimbursement of, moving expenses. You must make the reimbursement under rules similar to those described in chapter 11 of Publication 535 for reimbursement of expenses for travel, meals, and entertainment under accountable plans.
The exclusion applies only to reimbursement of moving expenses that the employee could deduct if he or she had paid or incurred them without reimbursement. However, it does not apply if the employee actually deducted the expenses in a previous year.
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Moving household goods and personal effects from the former home to the new home, and
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Traveling (including lodging) from the former home to the new home.
Deductible moving expenses do not include any expenses for meals and must meet both the distance test and the time test. The distance test is met if the new job location is at least 50 miles farther from the employee's old home than the old job location was. The time test is met if the employee works at least 39 weeks during the first 12 months after arriving in the general area of the new job location.
For more information on deductible moving expenses, see Publication 521, Moving Expenses.
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A current employee.
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A leased employee who has provided services to you on a substantially full-time basis for at least a year if the services are performed under your primary direction or control.
This exclusion applies to a service you provide to an employee if it does not cause you to incur any substantial additional costs. The service must be offered to customers in the ordinary course of the line of business in which the employee performs substantial services.
Generally, no-additional-cost services are excess capacity services, such as airline, bus, or train tickets; hotel rooms; or telephone services provided free or at a reduced price to employees working in those lines of business.
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The service is the same type of service generally provided to customers in both the line of business in which the employee works and the line of business in which the service is provided.
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You and the employer providing the service have a written reciprocal agreement under which a group of employees of each employer, all of whom perform substantial services in the same line of business, may receive no-additional-cost services from the other employer.
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Neither you nor the other employer incurs any substantial additional cost either in providing the service or because of the written agreement.
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A current employee.
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A former employee who retired or left on disability.
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A widow or widower of an individual who died while an employee.
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A widow or widower of a former employee who retired or left on disability.
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A leased employee who has provided services to you on a substantially full-time basis for at least a year if the services are performed under your primary direction or control.
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A partner who performs services for a partnership.
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All of your employees.
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A group of employees defined under a reasonable classification you set up that does not favor highly compensated employees.
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The employee was a 5% owner at any time during the year or the preceding year.
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The employee received more than $115,000 in pay for the preceding year.
You may exclude from an employee's wages the value of any retirement planning advice or information you provide to your employee or his or her spouse if you maintain a qualified retirement plan as defined in section 219(g)(5) of the Internal Revenue Code. In addition to employer plan advice and information, the services provided may include general advice and information on retirement. However, the exclusion does not apply to services for tax preparation, accounting, legal, or brokerage services. You cannot exclude from the wages of a highly compensated employee retirement planning services that are not available on the same terms to each member of a group of employees normally provided education and information about the employer's qualified retirement plan.
This section discusses exclusion rules that apply to benefits you provide to your employees for their personal transportation, such as commuting to and from work. These rules apply to the following transportation benefits.
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De minimis transportation benefits.
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Qualified transportation benefits.
Special rules that apply to demonstrator cars and qualified nonpersonal-use vehicles are discussed under Working Condition Benefits , later in this section.
You can exclude the value of any de minimis transportation benefit you provide to an employee from the employee's wages. A de minimis transportation benefit is any local transportation benefit you provide to an employee if it has so little value (taking into account how frequently you provide transportation to your employees) that accounting for it would be unreasonable or administratively impracticable. For example, it applies to occasional transportation fare you give an employee because the employee is working overtime if the benefit is reasonable and is not based on hours worked.
This exclusion applies to the following benefits.
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A ride in a commuter highway vehicle between the employee's home and work place.
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A transit pass.
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Qualified parking.
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Qualified bicycle commuting reimbursement.
The exclusion applies whether you provide only one or a combination of these benefits to your employees.
Qualified transportation benefits can be provided directly by you or through a bona fide reimbursement arrangement. However, cash reimbursements for transit passes qualify only if a voucher or a similar item that the employee can exchange only for a transit pass is not readily available for direct distribution by you to your employee. A voucher is readily available for direct distribution only if an employee can obtain it from a voucher provider that does not impose fare media charges or other restrictions that effectively prevent the employer from obtaining vouchers. See Regulations section 1.132-9(b)(Q&A 16–19) for more information.
Generally, you can exclude qualified transportation fringe benefits from an employee's wages even if you provide them in place of pay. However, qualified bicycle commuting reimbursements cannot be excluded if the reimbursements are provided in place of pay. For information about providing qualified transportation fringe benefits under a compensation reduction agreement, see Regulations section 1.132-9(b)(Q&A 11–15).
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On mass transit.
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In a vehicle that seats at least 6 adults (not including the driver) if a person in the business of transporting persons for pay or hire operates it.
www.irs.gov/irb/2010-52_IRB/ar18.html.
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The purchase of a bicycle, and
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Bicycle improvements, repair, and storage.
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A current employee.
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A leased employee who has provided services to you on a substantially full-time basis for at least a year if the services are performed under your primary direction or control.
A self-employed individual is not an employee for qualified transportation benefit purposes.
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$245 per month for combined commuter highway vehicle transportation and transit passes.
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$245 per month for qualified parking.
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For a calendar year, $20 multiplied by the number of qualified bicycle commuting months during that year for qualified bicycle commuting reimbursement of expenses incurred during the year.
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Regularly uses the bicycle for a substantial portion of the travel between the employee's residence and place of employment and
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Does not receive:
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Transportation in a commuter highway vehicle,
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Any transit pass, or
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Qualified parking benefits.
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An educational organization can exclude the value of a qualified tuition reduction it provides to an employee from the employee's wages.
A tuition reduction for undergraduate education generally qualifies for this exclusion if it is for the education of one of the following individuals.
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A current employee.
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A former employee who retired or left on disability.
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A widow or widower of an individual who died while an employee.
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A widow or widower of a former employee who retired or left on disability.
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A dependent child or spouse of any individual listed in (1) through (4) above.
A tuition reduction for graduate education qualifies for this exclusion only if it is for the education of a graduate student who performs teaching or research activities for the educational organization.
For more information on this exclusion, see
Publication 970.
This exclusion applies to property and services you provide to an employee so that the employee can perform his or her job. It applies to the extent the employee could deduct the cost of the property or services as a business expense or depreciation expense if he or she had paid for it. The employee must meet any substantiation requirements that apply to the deduction. Examples of working condition benefits include an employee's use of a company car for business, an employer-provided cell phone provided primarily for noncompensatory business purposes, and job-related education provided to an employee.
This exclusion also applies to a cash payment you provide for an employee's expenses for a specific or prearranged business activity for which a deduction is otherwise allowable to the employee. You must require the employee to verify that the payment is actually used for those expenses and to return any unused part of the payment.
For information on deductible employee business expenses, see Unreimbursed Employee Expenses in Publication 529, Miscellaneous Deductions.
The exclusion does not apply to the following items.
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A service or property provided under a flexible spending account in which you agree to provide the employee, over a time period, a certain level of unspecified noncash benefits with a predetermined cash value.
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A physical examination program you provide, even if mandatory.
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Any item to the extent the employee could deduct its cost as an expense for a trade or business other than your trade or business.
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A current employee.
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A partner who performs services for a partnership.
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A director of your company.
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An independent contractor who performs services for you.
www.irs.gov/pub/irs-irbs/irb01-51.pdf.
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Clearly marked, through painted insignia or words, police, fire, and public safety vehicles.
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Unmarked vehicles used by law enforcement officers if the use is officially authorized.
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An ambulance or hearse used for its specific purpose.
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Any vehicle designed to carry cargo with a loaded gross vehicle weight over 14,000 pounds.
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Delivery trucks with seating for the driver only, or the driver plus a folding jump seat.
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A passenger bus with a capacity of at least 20 passengers used for its specific purpose.
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School buses.
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Tractors and other special-purpose farm vehicles.
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Bucket trucks, cement mixers, combines, cranes and derricks, dump trucks (including garbage trucks), flatbed trucks, forklifts, qualified moving vans, qualified specialized utility repair trucks, and refrigerated trucks.
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It is equipped with at least one of the following items.
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A hydraulic lift gate.
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Permanent tanks or drums.
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Permanent side boards or panels that materially raise the level of the sides of the truck bed.
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Other heavy equipment (such as an electric generator, welder, boom, or crane used to tow automobiles and other vehicles).
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It is used primarily to transport a particular type of load (other than over the public highways) in a construction, manufacturing, processing, farming, mining, drilling, timbering, or other similar operation for which it was specially designed or significantly modified.
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Permanent shelving that fills most of the cargo area.
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An open cargo area and the van always carries merchandise, material, or equipment used in your trade, business, or function.
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The education is required by the employer or by law for the employee to keep his or her present salary, status, or job. The required education must serve a bona fide business purpose of the employer.
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The education maintains or improves skills needed in the job.
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Is needed to meet the minimum educational requirements of the employee's present trade or business, or
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Is part of a program of study that will qualify the employee for a new trade or business.
This section discusses the rules you must use to determine the value of a fringe benefit you provide to an employee. You must determine the value of any benefit you cannot exclude under the rules in section 2 or for which the amount you can exclude is limited. See Including taxable benefits in pay in section 1.
In most cases, you must use the general valuation rule to value a fringe benefit. However, you may be able to use a special valuation rule to determine the value of certain benefits.
This section does not discuss the special valuation rule used to value meals provided at an employer-operated eating facility for employees. For that rule, see Regulations section 1.61-21(j). This section also does not discuss the special valuation rules used to value the use of aircraft. For those rules, see Regulations sections 1.61-21(g) and (h). The fringe benefit valuation formulas are published in the Internal Revenue Bulletin as Revenue Rulings twice during the year. The formula applicable for the first half of the year is usually available at the end of March. The formula applicable for the second half of the year is usually available at the end of September.
You must use the general valuation rule to determine the value of most fringe benefits. Under this rule, the value of a fringe benefit is its fair market value.
Under this rule, you determine the value of a vehicle you provide to an employee for personal use by multiplying the standard mileage rate by the total miles the employee drives the vehicle for personal purposes. Personal use is any use of the vehicle other than use in your trade or business. This amount must be included in the employee's wages or reimbursed by the employee. For 2013, the standard mileage rate is 56.5 cents per mile.
You can use the cents-per-mile rule if either of the following requirements is met.
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You reasonably expect the vehicle to be regularly used in your trade or business throughout the calendar year (or for a shorter period during which you own or lease it).
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The vehicle meets the mileage test.
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At least 50% of the vehicle's total annual mileage is for your trade or business.
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You sponsor a commuting pool that generally uses the vehicle each workday to drive at least three employees to and from work.
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The vehicle is regularly used in your trade or business on the basis of all of the facts and circumstances. Infrequent business use of the vehicle, such as for occasional trips to the airport or between your multiple business premises, is not regular use of the vehicle in your trade or business.
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The vehicle is actually driven at least 10,000 miles during the year. If you own or lease the vehicle only part of the year, reduce the 10,000 mile requirement proportionately.
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The vehicle is used during the year primarily by employees. Consider the vehicle used primarily by employees if they use it consistently for commuting. Do not treat the use of the vehicle by another individual whose use would be taxed to the employee as use by the employee.
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You must begin using the cents-per-mile rule on the first day you make the vehicle available to any employee for personal use. However, if you use the commuting rule (discussed later) when you first make the vehicle available to any employee for personal use, you can change to the cents-per-mile rule on the first day for which you do not use the
commuting rule. -
You must use the cents-per-mile rule for all later years in which you make the vehicle available to any employee and the vehicle qualifies, except that you can use the commuting rule for any year during which use of the vehicle qualifies under the commuting rules. However, if the vehicle does not qualify for the cents-per-mile rule during a later year, you can use for that year and thereafter any other rule for which the vehicle then qualifies.
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You must continue to use the cents-per-mile rule if you provide a replacement vehicle to the employee (and the vehicle qualifies for the use of this rule) and your primary reason for the replacement is to reduce federal taxes.
Under this rule, you determine the value of a vehicle you provide to an employee for commuting use by multiplying each one-way commute (that is, from home to work or from work to home) by $1.50. If more than one employee commutes in the vehicle, this value applies to each employee. This amount must be included in the employee's wages or reimbursed by the employee.
You can use the commuting rule if all the following requirements are met.
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You provide the vehicle to an employee for use in your trade or business and, for bona fide noncompensatory business reasons, you require the employee to commute in the vehicle. You will be treated as if you had met this requirement if the vehicle is generally used each workday to carry at least three employees to and from work in an employer sponsored commuting pool.
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You establish a written policy under which you do not allow the employee to use the vehicle for personal purposes other than for commuting or de minimis personal use (such as a stop for a personal errand on the way between a business delivery and the employee's home). Personal use of a vehicle is all use that is not for your trade or business.
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The employee does not use the vehicle for personal purposes other than commuting and de minimis personal use.
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If this vehicle is an automobile (any four-wheeled vehicle, such as a car, pickup truck, or van), the employee who uses it for commuting is not a control employee. See Control employee , later.
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A board or shareholder-appointed, confirmed, or elected officer whose pay is $100,000 or more.
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A director.
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An employee whose pay is $205,000 or more.
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An employee who owns a 1% or more equity, capital, or profits interest in your business.
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A government employee whose compensation is equal to or exceeds Federal Government Executive Level V. See the Office of Personnel Management website at www.opm.gov/oca/payrates/index.asp for 2013 compensation information.
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An elected official.
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The employee was a 5% owner at any time during the year or the preceding year.
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The employee received more than $115,000 in pay for the preceding year.
Under this rule, you determine the value of an automobile you provide to an employee by using its annual lease value. For an automobile provided only part of the year, use either its prorated annual lease value or its daily lease value.
If the automobile is used by the employee in your business, you generally reduce the lease value by the amount that is excluded from the employee's wages as a working condition benefit. In order to do this, the employee must account to the employer for the business use. This is done by substantiating the usage (mileage, for example), the time and place of the travel, and the business purpose of the travel. Written records made at the time of each business use are the best evidence. Any use of a company-provided vehicle that is not substantiated as business use is included in income. The working condition benefit is the amount that would be an allowable business expense deduction for the employee if the employee paid for the use of the vehicle. However, you can choose to include the entire lease value in the employee's wages. See Vehicle allocation rules , under Working Condition Benefit in section 2.
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You must begin using this rule on the first day you make the automobile available to any employee for personal use. However, the following exceptions apply.
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If you use the commuting rule (discussed earlier in this section) when you first make the automobile available to any employee for personal use, you can change to the lease value rule on the first day for which you do not use the commuting rule.
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If you use the cents-per-mile rule (discussed earlier in this section) when you first make the automobile available to any employee for personal use, you can change to the lease value rule on the first day on which the automobile no longer qualifies for the cents-per-mile rule.
-
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You must use this rule for all later years in which you make the automobile available to any employee, except that you can use the commuting rule for any year during which use of the automobile qualifies.
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You must continue to use this rule if you provide a replacement automobile to the employee and your primary reason for the replacement is to reduce federal taxes.
Generally, you figure the annual lease value of an automobile as follows.
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Determine the fair market value (FMV) of the automobile on the first date it is available to any employee for personal use.
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Using Table 3-1. Annual Lease Value Table, read down column (1) until you come to the dollar range within which the FMV of the automobile falls. Then read across to column (2) to find the annual lease value.
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Multiply the annual lease value by the percentage of personal miles out of total miles driven by the employee.
Table 3-1. Annual Lease Value Table
(1) Automobile FMV | (2) Annual Lease |
---|---|
$0 to 999 | $ 600 |
1,000 to 1,999 | 850 |
2,000 to 2,999 | 1,100 |
3,000 to 3,999 | 1,350 |
4,000 to 4,999 | 1,600 |
5,000 to 5,999 | 1,850 |
6,000 to 6,999 | 2,100 |
7,000 to 7,999 | 2,350 |
8,000 to 8,999 | 2,600 |
9,000 to 9,999 | 2,850 |
10,000 to 10,999 | 3,100 |
11,000 to 11,999 | 3,350 |
12,000 to 12,999 | 3,600 |
13,000 to 13,999 | 3,850 |
14,000 to 14,999 | 4,100 |
15,000 to 15,999 | 4,350 |
16,000 to 16,999 | 4,600 |
17,000 to 17,999 | 4,850 |
18,000 to 18,999 | 5,100 |
19,000 to 19,999 | 5,350 |
20,000 to 20,999 | 5,600 |
21,000 to 21,999 | 5,850 |
22,000 to 22,999 | 6,100 |
23,000 to 23,999 | 6,350 |
24,000 to 24,999 | 6,600 |
25,000 to 25,999 | 6,850 |
26,000 to 27,999 | 7,250 |
28,000 to 29,999 | 7,750 |
30,000 to 31,999 | 8,250 |
32,000 to 33,999 | 8,750 |
34,000 to 35,999 | 9,250 |
36,000 to 37,999 | 9,750 |
38,000 to 39,999 | 10,250 |
40,000 to 41,999 | 10,750 |
42,000 to 43,999 | 11,250 |
44,000 to 45,999 | 11,750 |
46,000 to 47,999 | 12,250 |
48,000 to 49,999 | 12,750 |
50,000 to 51,999 | 13,250 |
52,000 to 53,999 | 13,750 |
54,000 to 55,999 | 14,250 |
56,000 to 57,999 | 14,750 |
58,000 to 59,999 | 15,250 |
For automobiles with a FMV of more than $59,999, the annual lease value equals (.25 × the FMV of the automobile) + $500.
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The manufacturer's invoice price (including options) plus 4%.
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The manufacturer's suggested retail price minus 8% (including sales tax, title, and other expenses of purchase).
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The retail value of the automobile reported by a nationally recognized pricing source if that retail value is reasonable for the automobile.
If you provide an automobile to an employee for a continuous period of 30 or more days but less than an entire calendar year, you can prorate the annual lease value. Figure the prorated annual lease value by multiplying the annual lease value by a fraction, using the number of days of availability as the numerator and 365 as the denominator.
If you provide an automobile continuously for at least 30 days, but the period covers 2 calendar years (or 2 special accounting periods if you are using the special accounting rule for fringe benefits discussed in section 4), you can use the prorated annual lease value or the daily lease value.
If you have 20 or more automobiles, see Regulations section 1.61-21(d)(6).
If an automobile is unavailable to the employee because of his or her personal reasons (for example, if the employee is on vacation), you cannot take into account the periods of unavailability when you use a prorated annual lease value.
You cannot use a prorated annual lease value if the reduction of federal tax is the main reason the automobile is unavailable.
If you provide an automobile to an employee for a continuous period of less than 30 days, use the daily lease value to figure its value. Figure the daily lease value by multiplying the annual lease value by a fraction, using four times the number of days of availability as the numerator and 365 as the denominator.
However, you can apply a prorated annual lease value for a period of continuous availability of less than 30 days by treating the automobile as if it had been available for 30 days. Use a prorated annual lease value if it would result in a lower valuation than applying the daily lease value to the shorter period of availability.
Under this rule, the value of commuting transportation you provide to a qualified employee solely because of unsafe conditions is $1.50 for a one-way commute (that is, from home to work or from work to home). This amount must be included in the employee's wages or reimbursed by the employee.
You can use the unsafe conditions commuting rule for qualified employees if all of the following requirements are met.
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The employee would ordinarily walk or use public transportation for commuting.
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You have a written policy under which you do not provide the transportation for personal purposes other than commuting because of unsafe conditions.
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The employee does not use the transportation for personal purposes other than commuting because of unsafe conditions.
These requirements must be met on a trip-by-trip basis.
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Performs services during the year;
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Is paid on an hourly basis;
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Is not claimed under section 213(a)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) of 1938 (as amended) to be exempt from the minimum wage and maximum hour provisions;
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Is within a classification for which you actually pay, or have specified in writing that you will pay, overtime pay of at least one and one-half times the regular rate provided in section 207 of FLSA; and
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Received pay of not more than $115,000 during 2012.
Use the following guidelines for withholding, depositing, and reporting taxable noncash fringe benefits. For additional information on how to withhold on fringe benefits, see Publication 15 (Circular E), section 5.
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The lease value rule.
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The cents-per-mile rule.
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The commuting rule (for commuting use only).
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Notifying the employee as described below that you choose not to withhold, and
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Including the value of the benefits in boxes 1, 3, 5, and 14 on a timely furnished Form W-2. For use of a separate statement in lieu of using box 14, see the General Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3.
You can get help with unresolved tax issues, order free publications and forms, ask tax questions, and get information from the IRS in several ways. By selecting the method that is best for you, you will have quick and easy access to tax help.
Internet. You can access the IRS website at IRS.gov 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to:
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E-file your return. Find out about commercial tax preparation and e-file services available free to eligible taxpayers.
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Download forms, including talking tax forms, instructions, and publications.
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Order IRS products.
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Research your tax questions.
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Search publications by topic or keyword.
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Use the Internal Revenue Code, regulations, or other official guidance.
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View Internal Revenue Bulletins (IRBs) published in the last few years.
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Sign up to receive local and national tax news by email.
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Get information on starting and operating a small business.
Phone. Many services are available by phone.
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Ordering forms, instructions, and publications. Call 1-800-TAX-FORM (1-800-829-3676) to order current-year forms, instructions, and publications, and prior-year forms and instructions (limited to 5 years). You should receive your order within 10 days.
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Asking tax questions. Call the IRS Business and Specialty Tax Line with your employment tax questions at 1-800-829-4933.
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Solving problems. You can get face-to-face help solving tax problems most business days in IRS Taxpayer Assistance Centers (TAC). An employee can explain IRS letters, request adjustments to your account, or help you set up a payment plan. Call your local Taxpayer Assistance Center for an appointment. To find the number, go to www.irs.gov/localcontacts or look in the phone book under United States Government, Internal Revenue Service.
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TDD/TTY equipment. If you have access to TDD/TTY equipment, call 1-800-829-4059 to ask tax questions or to order forms and publications. The TDD/TTY telephone number is for individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability. These individuals can also access the IRS through relay services at www.gsa.gov/fedrelay.
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TeleTax topics. Call 1-800-829-4477 to listen to pre-recorded messages covering various tax topics.
Evaluating the quality of our telephone services. To ensure IRS representatives give accurate, courteous, and professional answers, we use several methods to evaluate the quality of our telephone services. One method is for a second IRS representative to listen in on or record random telephone calls. Another is to ask some callers to complete a short survey at the end of the call.
Walk-in. Some products and services are available on a walk-in basis.
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Products. You can walk in to some post offices, libraries, and IRS offices to pick up certain forms, instructions, and publications. Some IRS offices, libraries, and city and county government offices have a collection of products available to photocopy from reproducible proofs. Also, some IRS offices and libraries have the Internal Revenue Code, regulations, Internal Revenue Bulletins, and Cumulative Bulletins available for research purposes.
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Services. You can walk in to your local Taxpayer Assistance Center most business days for personal, face-to-face tax help. An employee can explain IRS letters, request adjustments to your tax account, or help you set up a payment plan. If you need to resolve a tax problem, have questions about how the tax law applies to your tax return, or you are more comfortable talking with someone in person, visit your local Taxpayer Assistance Center where you can spread out your records and talk with an IRS representative face-to-face. No appointment is necessary—just walk in. Before visiting, check www.irs.gov/localcontacts for hours of operation and services provided. If you have an ongoing, complex tax account problem or a special need, such as a disability, an appointment can be requested by calling your local TAC. You can leave a message and a representative will call you back within 2 business days. All other issues will be handled without an appointment. To call your local TAC, go to www.irs.gov/localcontacts or look in the phone book under United States Government, Internal Revenue Service.
Mail. You can send your order for forms, instructions, and publications to the address below. You should receive a response within 10 days after your request is received.
Internal Revenue Service
1201 N. Mitsubishi Motorway
Bloomington, IL 61705-6613
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Your problem is causing financial difficulties for you, your family, or your business.
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You face (or your business is facing) an immediate threat of adverse action.
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You have tried repeatedly to contact the IRS but no one has responded, or the IRS has not responded to you by the date promised.
DVD for tax products. You can order Publication 1796, IRS Tax Products DVD, and obtain:
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Current-year forms, instructions, and publications.
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Prior-year forms, instructions, and publications.
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Tax Map: an electronic research tool and finding aid.
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Tax law frequently asked questions.
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Tax Topics from the IRS telephone response system.
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Internal Revenue Code—Title 26 of the U.S. Code.
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Links to other Internet-based tax research materials.
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Fill-in, print, and save features for most tax forms.
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Internal Revenue Bulletins.
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Toll-free and email technical support.
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Two releases during the year.
– The first release will ship the beginning of January 2013.
– The final release will ship the beginning of March 2013.
Purchase the DVD from National Technical Information Service (NTIS) at www.irs.gov/cdorders for $30 (no handling fee) or call 1-877-233-6767 toll free to buy the DVD for $30 (plus a $6 handling fee).
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