Review your employee reimbursement policy
Do you have a policy for reimbursing employees who
incur business expenses such as travel, meals, professional dues, and
continuing education?
If not, you may be missing out on tax benefits.
That's because the way you repay out-of-pocket business expenses can
determine whether the money is considered taxable compensation — or a
nontaxable reimbursement.
One way to achieve the more favorable result is to
establish an accountable reimbursement plan. This type of plan lets you
deduct reimbursements on your business tax return, while exempting them
from payroll taxes. In addition, your employees can exclude the
reimbursed amount from income.
Setting up a plan involves creating written
procedures and making sure the reimbursements satisfy three main
conditions:
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The expense must have a
business connection. Generally, you can reimburse your
employees for deductible business expenses they incur while performing
services for your business.
-
The expense must be supported
by adequate records. The substantiation you need to keep
depends on the type of expense. As an example, for meal reimbursements
you'll want receipts detailing the date, the customer or client, the
amount spent, and the business purpose.
-
Overpayments must be returned
within a reasonable time. Your employees must pay back
any amounts you advance in excess of actual substantiated expenses.
Complying with tax code requirements will keep
your accountable reimbursement plan tax-free. If you need help
reviewing your existing plan or setting up a new one, please give us a
call.
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