The Internal Revenue Service announced cost‑of‑living adjustments affecting dollar limitations for pension plans and other retirement-related items for tax year 2021 in Notice 2020-79. Key employee contribution limits remain unchanged The limit on contributions by employees who participate in 401(k), 403(b), most 457 plans, and the federal government’s Thrift Savings Plan remains unchanged at $19,500. Read
Under Revenue Ruling 2020-24, the Internal Revenue Service has ruled that a qualified retirement plan must withhold federal income tax from retirement payments it makes to a state unclaimed property fund and that it must report the payments on Form 1099-R (Distributions From Pensions, Annuities, Retirement or Profit-Sharing Plans, IRAs, Insurance Contracts, etc.). Read More
As expected, the Department of Labor (DOL) has issued a final rule for a new, additional safe harbor for employee benefit plan administrators to use electronic media, as a default, to furnish information to participants and beneficiaries of plans subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). Read More
As expected, the effective dates of seven private company auditing standards, including SAS No. 136, Forming an Opinion and Reporting on Financial Statements of Employee Benefit Plans Subject to ERISA , were delayed for one year as the result of a vote by the AICPA Auditing Standards Board (ASB). Read More
Per the AICPA Employee Benefit Plan Audit Quality Center, the IRS issued Notice 2020-23 which provides additional filing relief for taxpayers affected by the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic. The IRS filing relief includes Form 5500, Annual Return/Report of Employee Benefit Plan , due to be filed (originally or pursuant to a valid extension) on or after