USA: Healthcare: Compliance: IRS Releases Updated Publications 969 and 15B

IRS publication 969 provides basic information about HSAs, HRAs, and health FSAs including brief descriptions of benefits, eligibility requirements, contribution limits, and distribution issues. It has been updated to reflect 2017 contribution limits, deductible requirements, and out-of-pocket maximums for HSAs and for the 2017 limit on health FSA salary reduction contributions for plan years beginning in 2017 and for 2018 (2018 health FSAs limits not shown). The IRS also added a note that if Medicare enrollment is backdated, contributions made to an HSA for the period of retroactive coverage are considered excess or the contribution amount must be reduced to account for the months of retroactive Medicare coverage.

Publication 15B is the Employer’s Tax Guide to Fringe Benefits published by the IRS. It has been revised for 2018 to reflect recent legislative and regulatory developments, including changes made by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act changed the income exclusion or tax deduction for certain fringe benefits including but not limited to, Moving Expense Reimbursements, Qualified Transportation Plans, Employee Achievement Awards, Employer-Provided Meals, and Company Cars. Publication 15B also includes a new section on Qualified Small Employer Health Reimbursement Arrangements (QSEHRAs).

Thank you to our USA Partner Alliant Employee Benefits for contributing this article.