Small Business Health Care Tax Credit Changes

Question:

Our church has filed for the Small Business Health Care Tax Credit since 2010. Are there any changes in this credit for 2014?

Answer:

Yes, the IRS has released proposed regulations that will change the requirements for any small business or eligible tax-exempt organization desiring to claim the credit. The proposed regulations include the following:

The employer must obtain and pay premiums through a Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) Marketplace, which is an exchange to be established under the Affordable Care Act for small businesses.
The maximum credit increases for small businesses to 50% (from 35%) and for eligible tax-exempt organizations to 35% (from 25%).
There is a two-consecutive year filing limit beginning with tax year 2014. Meaning, if the employer files for 2014 and 2015, the employer may not file for 2016. Claiming the credit for prior periods (2010 through 2013) is not included in the two-consecutive year filing limit.
Transitional rules are available for employers having a non-calendar-year health insurance plan.

Eligible tax-exempt organizations will continue to claim the credit on Form 8941 and attached to Form 990-T. Read the Proposed Regulations for more information.

Comments

Church Car Purchase for Pastor

Question: A church would like to purchase a car for the pastor's use. What is the best method to accomplish this goal? Should the car be titled in the pastor's name? What will be the tax consequences of this arrangement? Answer: The church has two main alternatives for this purchase: Title the car in the pastor's name and reimburse him for business expenses Title it in the church's name and treat personal use as taxable compensation There are fewer immediate tax consequences for the latter. Since both are viable options, we will discuss both situations in this post. If the church chooses to give the car to the pastor and register it in his name, he is free to use it for whatever personal use he desires with no tax consequences. However, the fair value of the car is taxable as compensation at the time it is given to the pastor. Internal Revenue Code section 102(c) clearly states that gifts given to employees by their employers are taxable compensation. The...

Can Form 4361 be filed after the deadline?

Question: Is it possible to opt out of Social Security after the 2-year deadline? Answer: Unlike other employees, a licensed or ordained minister has the option to opt out of Social Security and Medicare (FICA). If a minister wants to opt out they must file Form 4361 by the tax deadline including extension, in the second year in which they have received ministerial income of $400 or more. This election is final, and the minister cannot opt back into FICA taxes. At MinistryCPA, we have received questions from ministers who have exceeded the two year deadline and desire to opt-out. There have been several court cases which provide guidance in answering this question. Some have argued that the minister was unaware of the deadline, had mistakenly believed they had filed a timely election, were given incorrect advice by an IRS employee, or their opposition to participate in Social Security and Medicare did not arise until after the 2-year deadline had passed. In each of th...

Rental of a Church Parsonage to a Non-Minister

Question: A church owns a parsonage, but the pastor does not use it as he owns his own home. The church rents the parsonage to a tenant other than a minister or employee of the church. Will the church be responsible for paying income tax on these monies as Unrelated Business Income (filing a Form 990-T) even if the money is used to carry on the business of the church? Answer: Whether the money is used for church purposes is irrelevant. IRS Publication 598 states: "If an exempt organization regularly carries on a trade or business not substantially related to its exempt purpose, except that it provides funds to carry out that purpose, the organization is subject to tax on its income from that unrelated trade or business." Fortunately, in the case of rental income from real property, such income is "excluded in computing unrelated business taxable income" (Publication 598). Caution: see content below regarding debt-financed property. However, a second concern not a...

MinistryCPA - Corey A. Pfaffe, CPA, LLC

Search This Blog