The Internal Revenue Service issued guidance Tuesday to make temporary changes to section 125 cafeteria plans, with the goal of providing tax relief and flexibility in the midst of the novel coronavirus pandemic. The IRS is extending the claims period for health care flexible spending arrangements and dependent care assistance programs and enabling taxpayers to make mid-year changes to their accounts.
The guidance released Tuesday by the IRS deals with the unanticipated changes in expenses faced by many taxpayers as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The IRS is now allowing its previously provided temporary relief for high deductible health plans to be applied retroactively to Jan. 1, 2020, and also increases for inflation the $500 permitted carryover amount for health FSAs to $550.
Karl is a Partner leading the US Insurance Practice team at Artefact. Karl has a passion for the power of data, technology & AI to shape the future of Insurance. With 20+ years of Insurance data, technology, and operations experience, he has worked extensively with industry leaders to scale AI, customer experience, digital and automation for the world's largest financial services organizations. His professional experience ranges across brokerage, wholesaling, management consulting, and executive leadership, offering clients a unique level of experience-led insight. Karl is also an author and industry speaker - sharing insights on the trends that shape digital transformation, analytics innovation, and leading-edge customer experiences.
Roch Monnig, CFP, is a wealth advisor at Burney Wealth Management, one of the first registered investment advisor firms in Virginia, which encompasses a range of services including financial planning, investment management, tax planning, estate planning and retirement planning.
Monnig earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in 2016 and became a certified financial planner in 2018.
Arun Balakrishnan is CEO of Xceedance, a global leader in delivering insurance-focused consulting, technology, operations, and data solutions to many of the world's largest P&C insurance organizations. He has more than 15 years of experience launching and leading start-ups in the insurance sector. He is passionate about promoting innovation and transformation in the insurance industry, which he believes to be a key element of societies and economies.
In Notice 2020-29, the IRS is offering extra flexibility to taxpayers by:
- extending the claims periods for taxpayers to apply unused amounts remaining in a health FSA or dependent care assistance program for expenses incurred for those same qualified benefits through Dec. 31, 2020;
- expanding the ability of taxpayers to make mid-year elections for health coverage, health FSAs and dependent care assistance programs, allowing them to respond to changes in needs as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic; and
- applying earlier relief for high-deductible health plans to cover expenses related to COVID-19, and a temporary exemption for telehealth services retroactively to Jan. 1, 2020.
In conjunction with that notice, the IRS also issued Notice 2020-33, in response to the Trump administration’s Executive Order 13877, which directs the Treasury secretary to “issue guidance to increase the amount of funds that can carry over without penalty at the end of the year for flexible spending arrangements.” The notice ups the limit for unused health FSA carryover amounts from $500, to a maximum of $550, adjusted each year for inflation.
