Employers often provide travel advances, business expense reimbursement, or use of company property to employees. Employee expense reimbursement is one of the targets of a current IRS audit initiative. Unless expense reimbursements are made under an accountable plan, the payments must be included in employee wages. Accountable expense reimbursement plans provide tax savings for both employers and employees.  But insufficient documentation or faulty procedures can result in reclassification of the reimbursements as wages. This results in additional tax and possibly penalties. An employer may even become liable for taxes it failed to withhold from the employee reimbursement.

In this informative webinar, you will learn how to properly account for and report expense reimbursements and facilities provided to employees in compliance with IRS requirements. Discussion includes work from home expense reimbursement.

This webinar will cover the tax compliance for employee business expense reimbursements under both accountable and non-accountable employee business expense plans.

While the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) did not change the treatment of employee business expenses reimbursed under an accountable plan, employee expenses that are not reimbursed under an accountable plan may no longer be deducted by the employee.

During COVID the number of employees working from home increased dramatically. In some cases, work from home has been extended beyond COVID restrictions. Reimbursement for work from home expenses have become a consideration for employers and, under certain state laws, is required. Work from home expense issues include documentation, taxability, valuation, allowable expenses, and treatment of allowances.

Accountable plans allow the employer to exclude expense reimbursement from employee wages. Accountable reimbursement plans have strict documentation and record keeping requirements and require timely reporting and return of excess reimbursements by employees. For certain expenses, per diem arrangements can be used in lieu of actual substantiation of the amount of expense.  The webinar will include discussion of these requirements as well as how to report reimbursements that do not qualified under the accountable plan rules and must be included in employee wages.

Unless expense reimbursements are made under an accountable plan, the payments must be included in employee wages. Accountable expense reimbursement plans provide tax savings for both employers and employees. But insufficient documentation or faulty procedures can result in reclassification of the reimbursements as wages. This results in additional tax and possibly penalties. An employer may even become liable for taxes it failed to withhold from the employee reimbursement.