Fringe Benefits

Earlier today, the Senate Finance Committee released legislative text of its version of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.  Up until now, only “conceptual language” had been available.  The text clarifies some of the provisions that we have previously discussed in our posts about the Senate bill (see earlier discussion here) and includes new information reporting requirements that we have not previously covered:

  • The legislative text would disallow any deduction for meals provided at the convenience of the employer and meals provided in an “employer-operated eating facility.” If the employer chooses to offer food and beverages, they will remain excludable (to the extent currently excludable) from the employee’s income and wages under section 132, but the cost of providing them would not be deductible.  It is somewhat unclear what the effect of the deduction disallowance would be with respect to employer-operated eating facilities that collect sufficient revenue to cover their operating expenses.  Arguably, the provision could result in the employer recognizing revenue for the food and beverages sold to employees in the facility but having no deduction for the costs associated with selling food and beverages.  (Update: Upon further thought, we believe that the employer would not lose the deduction to the extent the employees pay for food and beverages purchased from the employer-operated eating facility because only the value of such food and beverages in excess of the amount paid is excludible from income under Code section 132(e) as a deminis fringe benefit.)  The new total deduction disallowance would be repealed for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2025, provided government revenue exceeds a target during the period 2018 through 2026.  The provision is effective if the cumulative on-budget Federal revenue from all sources for the 2018 through 2026 government fiscal years exceeds $28.387 trillion.
  • As expected, the text would eliminate the exclusion for bicycle commuting reimbursements, but in a surprise, the elimination is only temporary. The bill adds a new Code section 132(f)(8), which suspends the availability of section 132(f)(1)(D) from 2018 through 2025.  The exclusion would become available again in 2026.  This suggests that the Finance Committee’s decision to eliminate this exclusion may be driven more by revenue demands than by policy considerations, as it helps ensure the reconciliation bill meets the revenue target within the budget window.

Continue Reading Senate Tax Reform Legislative Text Clarifies Some Provisions

Yesterday, the House Ways and Means Committee released the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (H.R. 1) (the “Bill”), a bill that, if enacted, would represent the most substantial overhaul of the U.S. tax code in decades.  Section 3307 of the Bill makes several changes to the deduction limitations under section 274 related to meals and entertainment expenses.  The Bill also expands the reach of the deduction limitations to disallow deductions for de minimis fringe benefits excluded from income under Code section 132(e), unless the employer includes such amounts in the employee’s taxable income. With respect to tax-exempt entities, section 3308 of the Bill would treat funds used to provide employees transportation fringe benefits and on-premises gyms and other athletic facilities as unrelated business taxable income.

Total Disallowance of Deductions for Entertainment Expenses.  Under Code section 274(a), a taxpayer may not deduct expenses for entertainment, amusement, or recreation (“entertainment expenses”), unless the taxpayer establishes that the item was directly related to the active conduct of the taxpayer’s business, subject to a number of exceptions in Code section 274(e) (e.g., reimbursed expenses; expenses treated as compensation to (or included in the gross income of) the recipient; recreational, social, and similar activities primarily for the benefit of employees other than highly compensated employees; entertainment sold to customers).  If the taxpayer establishes that the entertainment expenses were directly related to the active conduct of its trade or business, section 274(n) limits the deduction to 50 percent of expenses relating to entertainment, subject to a number of exceptions, many of which are the same exceptions that apply to the 100 percent disallowance under Code section 274(a) (e.g., reimbursed expenses; expenses treated as compensation to (or included in the gross income of) the recipient; recreational, social, and similar activities primarily for the benefit of employees other than highly compensated employees; entertainment sold to customer).

The Bill would amend section 274(a) to eliminate the exception for entertainment expenses directly related to the active conduct of the taxpayer’s business.  Accordingly, deductions for entertainment expenses would be fully disallowed unless one of the exceptions under Code section 274(e) applies.  The Bill would also make changes to some of the exceptions under Code section 274(e), described below.
Continue Reading Impact of Tax Cuts and Jobs Act: Part II – Deduction Disallowances for Entertainment Expenses and Certain Fringe Benefits

In a much anticipated decision, the U.S. Tax Court ruled yesterday that “the business premises of the employer” can include an off-premises facility leased by the employer when its employees are on the road.  The decision in Jacobs v. Commissioner addressed whether the employer (in this case, the professional hockey team, the Boston Bruins) was entitled to a full deduction for the meals provided to the team and staff while on the road for away games.  The debate arose after the IRS challenged the full deduction and asserted that the employer should have applied the 50% deduction disallowance applicable to meals by section 274(n) of the Code.

Under section 162 of the Code, an employer may deduct all ordinary and necessary business expenses.  However, in recognition that the cost of meals is inherently personal, the Code limits the deductions for most business meal expenses to 50% of the actual expense under section 274(n), subject to certain exceptions.  The exception at issue in Jacobs allows an employer to deduct the full cost of meals that qualify as de minimis fringe benefits under section 132(e) of the Code.  In general, this includes occasional group meals, but would not typically include frequently scheduled meals for employees travelling away from home.  (For this purpose, home is the employee’s tax home, which is typically the general area around the employee’s principal place of employment.)  However, under Treasury Regulation § 1.132-7, an employer-operated eating facility may qualify as a de minimis fringe benefit if, on an annual basis, the revenue from the facility is at least as much as the direct operating cost of the facility.  In other words, an employer may subsidize the cost of food provided in a company cafeteria, provided the cafeteria covers its own direct costs on an annual basis and meets other criteria (owned or leased by the employer, operated by the employer, located on or near the business premises of the employer, and provides meals immediately before, during, or immediately after an employee’s workday).

The Bruins’ owners argued that they were entitled to a full deduction because the banquet rooms in which employees were provided free meals qualified as an employer-operated eating facility.  That may leave some of our readers wondering, “How can a facility that is free have revenue that covers its direct operating cost?”  The key to answering that question lies in the magic found in the interface of sections 132(e)(2)(B) and section 119(b)(4) of the Code.  Under section 132(e)(2)(B), an employee is deemed to have paid an amount for the meal equal to the direct operating cost attributable to the meal if the value of the meal is excludable from the employee’s income under section 119 (meals furnished for the “convenience of the employer”) for purposes of determining whether an employer-operated eating facility covers its direct operating cost.  In turn, section 119(b)(4) provides that if more than half of the employees who are furnished meals for the convenience of the employer, all of the employees are treated as having been provided for the convenience of the employer.  Working together, if more than half the employees are provided meals for the convenience of the employer at an employer-operated eating facility, the employer may treat the eating facility as a de minimis fringe benefit, and deduct the full cost of such facility.
Continue Reading Tax Court Expands Section 119 Exclusion in Boston Bruins Decision

As college graduates struggle under the weight of larger student loan burdens, some employers have begun to offer student loan repayment benefits intended to help employees repay their loans.  In May, House Ways and Means Committee member Robert Dold (R-IL) introduced legislation that would, among other changes, amend Section 127 of the Internal Revenue Code