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Taxation of employee benefits: Federal

This guide provides HR and payroll professionals with guidance on how to structure and report employee health, retirement and other benefit plans, including the tax treatment of contributions, reimbursements and distributions under federal law.

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by Ryan F. Donovan

Updating Author: Alice Gilman

Summary

This guide provides HR and payroll professionals with guidance on how to correctly structure various types of employee health, retirement and other common benefits and benefit plans, and how to handle and report the related contributions, reimbursements and distributions in compliance with the federal Internal Revenue Code.

In this guide, learn about:

  • General tax considerations
  • Health insurance
    • Taxability of contributions
    • Health care reform legislation
    • Plan requirements for FICA and FUTA exclusion
    • Same-sex couple benefits
    • Employer-paid physical exams
    • Employer-paid medical travel benefits
    • Nondiscrimination requirements
    • Excess reimbursements
    • Payments for disfigurement or limb loss
    • Form W‑2 reporting of health insurance costs
    • Health insurance coverage information reporting
  • Medical savings accounts
    • Eligibility rules
    • Contribution rules
    • Earnings and distributions rules
    • Reporting requirements
  • Long-term care insurance
  • COBRA noncompliance penalties
  • Health reimbursement arrangements
    • Qualifications for income exclusion
    • Qualified small employer HRAs
    • Reimbursements paid with debit and credit cards
    • HRA nondiscrimination rules
  • Health savings accounts
    • Taxation of contributions
    • Reporting requirements
  • Sick pay
    • Sick days
    • Sick pay under a plan
  • State paid family and medical leave programs
    • Tax treatment of PFML contributions and benefits
    • PFML reporting rules
  • Permanent disability benefits
  • Workers’ compensation benefits
  • Cafeteria plans
    • Health flexible spending arrangements
    • Integration into group health plans
    • Taxation and reporting requirements
    • Medical loss rebates
    • Dependent care assistance
    • IRC § 401(k) plans and group-term life insurance
  • Retirement and deferred compensation plans
    • Qualified pension and profit-sharing plans
    • Section 401(k) plans
    • Individual retirement accounts
    • Simplified employee pensions
    • Employee stock ownership plans
    • Nonqualified retirement plans
  • Future developments

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Jurisdiction: Federal

Latest updates

Updated to reflect the extension of transition guidance regarding paid family and medical leave reporting rules; information regarding Trump Accounts under the OBBBA; and Roth catch-up contributions rules under 401(k) plans, effective January 1, 2026.

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About the author

Ryan F. Donovan

Ryan F. Donovan is an experienced payroll professional and has expertise in a number of different areas including HRIS, payroll processing, HR compliance, project management and process creation and improvement.

Mr. Donovan possesses an MBA and an MHR from Ottawa University in Kansas. He has also earned the Certified Payroll Professional designation from the American Payroll Association, and the Professional in Human Resources designation from the Human Resources Certification Institute.

Connect with Ryan on LinkedIn


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