Fringe Benefits

Company Car

Asked Thursday, March 01, 2012 by an anonymous user

CPA Answer:

The use of a company car is tax free to the extent you use the car for business.
If you use the vehicle for personal use your employer has the resposibility of calculating taxable income to you.
You are required to maintain records such as a mileage log to document and substantiate your business use.
You are not sunject to additional taxable income if your vehicle is considered a limited personal use vehicle.
Llimited personal use vehicles include garbage, dump, flatbed or refrigerated trucks, hearses or ambulances, one passenger delivery trucks, police, fire or public safety vehicles, school and passenger buses and farm vehicles
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Fringe Benefits

Employee Stock Options

Asked Thursday, March 01, 2012 by an anonymous user

CPA Answer:

The employer must report as income in Box 1 of Form W-2, (a) the discount portion of stock acquired by the exercise of an employee stock purchase plan option upon disposition of the stock, and (b) the spread (between the exercise price and the fair market value of the stock at the time of exercise) upon a disqualifying disposition of stock acquired by the exercise of an incentive stock option or an employee stock purchase plan option.
An employer must report the excess of the fair market value of stock received upon exercise of a nonstatutory stock option over the amount paid for the stock option on Form W-2 in boxes 1, 3 (up to the social security wage base), 5, and in box 12 using the code “V"
For more information about employee stock options, Speak to your local CPA or see sections 421, 422, and 423 of the Internal Revenue Code and their related regulations.
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Fringe Benefits

Miscellaneous Minor cost "De minimis" fringe benefits

Asked Thursday, March 01, 2012 by an anonymous user

CPA Answer:

You can exclude the value of a minor cost ( "de minimis") benefit you provide to an employee from the employee's wages.
A de minimis benefit is any property or service you provide to an employee that has so little value (taking into account how frequently you provide similar benefits to your employees) that accounting for it would be unreasonable or administratively impracticable.
Examples of de minimis benefits include the following. Occasional meal money and taxi fares for overtime work.
Transportation fare.
Occasional parties or picnics for employees and their guests.
Occasional tickets for theater or sporting events.
Personal use of an employer-provided cell phone provided primarily for noncompensatory business purposes.
Holiday gifts, other than cash, with a low fair market value.
Group-term life insurance payable on the death of an employee's spouse or dependent if the face amount is not more than $2,000.
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Fringe Benefits

Athletic facilities

Asked Thursday, March 01, 2012 by an anonymous user

CPA Answer:

An employer can exclude the value of an employee's use of an On-Premises gym (or property leased by the employer, not necessarily located on the main business premises) or other athletic facility you operate from an employee's wages if substantially all use of the facility during the calendar year is by your employees, their spouses, and their dependent children.
Athletic facilities include gyms, golf courses, tennis courts, swimming pools.
The facilities must be available to all employees on a nondiscriminatory basis.
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Fringe Benefits

Transportation fringe benefits

Asked Thursday, March 01, 2012 by an anonymous user

CPA Answer:

Generally, the cost of driving to work in a commuter highway vehicle between the employee's home and work place, employer provided parking, transit passes, bicycle commuting reimbursements are tax free.
You can generally exclude the value of transportation benefits that you provide to an employee during 2013 from the employee's wages up to the following limits.
$245 per month for combined commuter highway vehicle transportation and transit passes. ($240 in 2012)
$245 per month for qualified parking. ($240 in 2012)
For a calendar year, $20 multiplied by the number of qualified bicycle commuting months during that year for qualified bicycle commuting reimbursement of expenses incurred during the year.
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Can I Deduct?

Long term Care Insurance

Asked Tuesday, February 28, 2012 by an anonymous user

CPA Answer:

Premiums paid for long-term care insurance are deductible as a medical itemized .
The deduction is limited based on the taxpayer’s age: $360 can be deducted for people 40 and under, $680 for those who are 41-50, $1360 for taxpayers age 51-60, $3,640 for age 61-70 and $4,550 for those older than 70.
Each spouse is treated separately if both can claim the deduction.
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Can I Deduct?

Hotel Costs for spouse's Cancer treatment

Asked Tuesday, February 28, 2012 by an anonymous user

CPA Answer:

The cost of lodging you (or anyone accompanying a patient like a parent or spouse) stay in while away from home for medical care is deductible, up to a maximum of $50 per person per night. Note that you can deduct the cost of the hotel room, but not the food bill.
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Can I Deduct?

Employer Reimbursements - Accountable Plan

Asked Tuesday, February 28, 2012 by an anonymous user

CPA Answer:

If you are reimbursed under an accountable plan, your employer should Not include any reimbursement in your income in box 1 of your Form W-2.
To be an accountable plan, your employer's reimbursement arrangement must require you to meet all three of the following rules.
Your expenses must have a business connection—that is, your expenses must be deductible under the rules for qualifying work-related education.
You must adequately account to your employer for your expenses within a reasonable period of time.
You must return any reimbursement or allowance in excess of the expenses accounted for within a reasonable period of time.
If your expenses are more than your reimbursement, you can deduct your excess expenses on Form 2106.
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Form W-2

Employer Reimbursements - Accountable Plan

Asked Tuesday, February 28, 2012 by an anonymous user

CPA Answer:

If you are reimbursed under an accountable plan, your employer should Not include any reimbursement in your income in box 1 of your Form W-2.
To be an accountable plan, your employer's reimbursement arrangement must require you to meet all three of the following rules.
Your expenses must have a business connection—that is, your expenses must be deductible under the rules for qualifying work-related education.
You must adequately account to your employer for your expenses within a reasonable period of time.
You must return any reimbursement or allowance in excess of the expenses accounted for within a reasonable period of time.
If your expenses are more than your reimbursement, you can deduct your excess expenses on Form 2106.
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Can I Deduct?

Newsletters for tax planning

Asked Tuesday, February 28, 2012 by an anonymous user

CPA Answer:

You can also deduct seminars, workshops, software, books, reports, newsletters and publications that provide tax planning and preparation advice and information.
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