As we have previously discussed, the 2017 tax reform act created a new excise tax under section 4960 of the Internal Revenue Code that will affect many tax-exempt employers.  The tax is 21% of certain compensation and can be triggered if an employee receives more than $1 million of compensation or an employee receives certain post-termination payments (“parachute” payments).  The tax can apply even if the tax-exempt employer never pays $1 million in compensation. …

On December 31, 2018, the Department of the Treasury (“Treasury”) and the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) released Notice 2019-09 (the “Notice”), which provides interim guidance under Section 4960 of the Internal Revenue Code. Very generally, Section 4960 imposes a 21% excise tax on certain tax-exempt entities (and certain related organizations) that pay remuneration in excess of $1 million to certain highly-paid individuals or that make certain “excess parachute payments” to this class of highly-paid…

December 10, 2018 saw significant activity with respect to Section 512(a)(7) of the Internal Revenue Code (the “Code”), which requires tax-exempt employers to increase their unrelated business taxable income (“UBTI”) by amounts paid or incurred for qualified transportation fringe benefits provided to employees, including the provision of parking and public transportation benefits. Section 512(a)(7) was enacted pursuant to the 2017 U.S. tax legislation known as the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act,” and caused concern amongst…

Last week, the IRS released Notice 2018-95 to provide transition relief to 403(b) plans that improperly excluded certain employees.  Specifically, Notice 2018-95 targets employers that may have erroneously excluded part-time employees from eligibility to make elective deferral when the employees should have been eligible to participate under the “once-in-always-in” requirement (“OIAI”).  According to the OIAI requirement, once an employee becomes eligible to make elective deferrals, an employer may not exclude the employee from eligibility in…

Proskauer’s 23rd Annual Trick or Treat Seminar was held on Wednesday, October 31. The Seminar discussed: Sexual Harassment in the #MeToo Era Taxing Times for Tax-Exempt Organizations: The Impact of Tax Reform on Executive Compensation and Employee Benefits for Tax Exempt Organizations Recent, Spooky Tax Changes Affecting the UBTI Rules Amanda Nussbaum welcomed everyone and briefly discussed the five major trends impacting tax-exempt organizations today, including the general impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act…

On August 21, 2018, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) released Notice 2018-67 (the “Notice”), addressing issues relevant to tax-exempt organizations arising under new Section 512(a)(6) of the Internal Revenue Code (the “Code”), promulgated pursuant to the 2017 U.S. tax legislation that is commonly referred to as the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.”  Section 512(a)(6) requires tax-exempt organizations to compute unrelated business taxable income (“UBTI”) separately with respect to each unrelated trade or business, and precludes…

On February 23rd, the IRS issued a memorandum to its examiners instructing them not to challenge a 403(b) plan for failing to satisfy the required minimum distribution (“RMD”) rules with respect to missing participants or beneficiaries if the plan sponsor has taken certain specific steps to find them. Generally, the RMD rules require that a 403(b) participant must begin taking minimum distributions by the April 1st following the year the participant reaches age 70 ½…