Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Tax-Free Health Premium Dollars

Many small businesses aren't yet familiar with something called Section 125 or Premium Only Plans. It's a section in the IRS code that allows employers to set-up employee paid payroll deductions for their health care on a pre-tax basis. This plan is basically a "no-brainer" if your anything like me and want to pay as little taxes as possible to Uncle Sam. There are very few provisions to getting the plan set-up and many insurance carriers actually provide the administration part of the plan for free. The only restriction is, once you've signed up for the pre-tax plan you must keep it in effect until the open enrollment period starts. This is because of the lowering of your taxable income by being in the plan. You can get out of the plan mid-stream only if you've had a "major life change" as defined by the IRS. There is a formal 5500 form that needs to be filed with the IRS to administer the plan. That's why having an expert handle it for free makes all the sense in the world.

Here's a simple example of how the plan works:

Weekly Gross Pay $500.00
Weekly payroll deduction for Health Benefits $100.00
My weekly taxable amount (for FICA tax) $400.00

A tax savings of ($100 * 7.65%) $ 76.50

For more information on how you can set-up your employees payroll deductions for health benefits on a tax free basis email me at bknauss@employeemployersolutions.com or visit me http://www.employeemployersolutions.com/