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Last-Minute Year-End Medical Plan Strategies

All small-business owners with one to 49 employees should have a medical plan for their business.

Sure, it’s true that with 49 or fewer employees, the tax law does not require you to have a plan, but you should.

When you have 49 or fewer employees, most medical plan tax rules are straightforward.

Here are six opportunities for you to consider:

  1. If you have not claimed the federal tax credits equal to 100 percent of the required (2020) and the voluntary (2021) emergency sick leave and emergency family leave payments, amend those returns now. You likely made payments that qualify for the credits.

 

  1. If you have a Section 105 plan in place and have not been reimbursing expenses monthly, do a reimbursement now to get your 2023 deductions, and then put yourself on a monthly reimbursement schedule in 2024.

 

  1. If you want to implement a Qualified Small Employer Health Reimbursement Arrangement (QSEHRA), but you have not yet done so, make sure to get that done correctly now. You are late, so you could suffer that $50-per-employee penalty should your lateness be found out.

 

  1. But if you are thinking of the QSEHRA and want to help your employees with more money and flexibility, consider the Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangement (ICHRA) instead. It’s got more advantages.

 

  1. If you operate your business as an S corporation and want a Form 1040 above-the-line tax deduction for the cost of your health insurance, you need the S corporation to (a) pay for or reimburse you for the health insurance and (b) put that insurance cost on your W-2. Make sure the reimbursement happens before December 31 and you have the reimbursement set up to show on the W-2.

 

  1. Claim the tax credit for the group health insurance you give your employees. If you provide your employees with group health insurance, see whether your pay structure and number of employees put you in a position to claim a 50 percent tax credit for some or all of the monies you paid for health insurance in 2023 and possibly in prior years.

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