2024 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:
- Make sure to file amended returns for your 2021 sick and family leave payments to claim up to $32,220 in federal tax credits for yourself. You can also claim an equal amount for your employees. It’s likely that you made payments that qualify for at least some of the credits.
- If you have a Section 105 plan in place and have not been reimbursing expenses monthly, do a reimbursement now to get your 2024 deductions, and then put yourself on a monthly reimbursement schedule in 2025.
- 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.
- 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.
- If you operate your business as an S corporation and want an 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.
- Claim the tax credit for the group health insurance you give your employees. If you recently provided 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 2024 and possibly in prior years.
If you need more insights into the opportunities described above, please call me on my direct line at 408-778-9651.
By Leon Clinton