Tax year 2013 is full of changes to our employee’s perks. Get caught up on how these changes will affect your payroll operations this year.

In January, Congress passed the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (ATRA). Along with affecting our withholding tax tables, it changed how we treat parking, commuter highway vehicle transportation and transit pass benefits retroactively, as well as education assistance and adoption benefit plans for 2013. Even the rules for flexible spending accounts will change this year. Leave-based donation programs have sprung up everywhere following a tumultuous season of weather. Learn how they work. Cell phone requirements have expanded. Mileage rates and other expense reimbursement rules have also changed.

Lately, payroll audits are starting with accounts payable and not the payroll department. Tax agencies have learned that missing payroll items are found in AP that should have been made part of employees' wages subject to income tax and employment tax rules. We will learn the workings of accountable plans and when payments need to be considered taxable as wages. Expense reimbursements and travel advances must be in compliance with the “Accountable Plan” tax regulations to avoid payroll treatment. Failure to identify unsubstantiated payments and treat them as wages could jeopardize the nontaxable status of all the reimbursements you pay. There are other higher profile items that auditors look for especially when involving higher paid executives, such as when you pay club memberships, offer them unsubstantiated payment of their company credit cards, allow personal use of company cars, pay for spousal travel, forgive employee loans and other “perks.”

Learning Objectives: This session will cover the necessary information to safely manage payroll and AP functions involving fringe benefits and use of accountable plans. Join noted payroll consultant Jerri LS Langer, with Cokala Tax Reporting Solutions, as she covers the practical sides and provides pointers in operating accountable plans and offering fringe benefits to employees. This session will cover:

•The new rules for educational benefits and adoption assistance.
•The retroactive application of qualified transportation benefits for parking, commuter highway vehicle transportation and transit passes. Corrections may be required of your 2012 W-2s and amended 941s may be necessary.
•The new thresholds for health flexible spending accounts.
•Leave-based donation programs that may have a place in today’s environment.
•Compliance for cell phones, pads and tablets, company cars, group term life insurance, and other fringe benefits.
•Define the terms of an accountable plan and how it operates, and outline what is needed to prevent an expense reimbursement from being included on an employee’s W-2.
•Learn what fringes are excludable from taxable income and what are not.
•List and discuss the more difficult fringe benefits holding high audit profile as generating reportable income to an employee.

Register quickly and easily online to secure your space now. Or, please call 1-800-372-1033 option 6, then sub-menu option 1, and refer to date and title of conference. Lines are open Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET, excluding most federal holidays.

Don't miss this opportunity to hear a lively, dynamic presentation. Not only are Webinars an excellent way for you to stay current; with Bloomberg BNA you also get:
•Quality. Count on it. Nothing is canned.
•Objectivity. Bloomberg BNA provides you with the best and most objective information. Unlike other companies, we don't use our Webinars as a forum to sell outside solutions.
•Affordability. Bloomberg BNA Webinars are inexpensive compared to the cost of travel to attend a conference. Plus, you may use a speakerphone and invite as many of your colleagues as you want to listen in-all for the price of a single registration.
•Convenience. No airlines. No travel. No time out of the office.

In addition, you'll receive:
•Personal attention. Once you've registered, send your questions in advance to rbronson@bna.com and they'll be included in the program. You'll also have a chance to ask your questions during the Webinar.
•Follow-up materials. You need no materials upfront to follow along to our live conference. But Bloomberg BNA always issues a follow up e-mail with contact information for our speakers, as well as other materials related to the topic.
•1.0 CPE or 1.5 APA RCH credits by attending this Webinar. Find out how.

Bloomberg BNA is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. State boards of accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit. Complaints regarding registered sponsors may be submitted to the National Registry of CPE Sponsors through its website: www.learningmarket.org
Prerequisite: No prerequisites required

Level: Basic
Delivery Method: Group-Internet
Advanced Preparation: None required
Recommended CPE Credit: 1.5
Recordings of the program do not qualify for CPE credits. For more information regarding administrative policies such as complaint and refund, please contact our offices at 800-372-1033.