Employee Business Expense Reimbursement (2023 Updates)

Employers often provide travel advances, business expense reimbursement, or use of company property to employees. Employee expense reimbursement is one of the targets of IRS audit initiatives. Unless expense reimbursements are made under an accountable plan, the payments must be included in employee wages.

Accountable expense reimbursement plans provide tax savings for both employers and employees.  But insufficient documentation or faulty procedures can result in the reclassification of the reimbursements as wages. This results in additional tax and possibly penalties. An employer may even become liable for taxes it failed to withhold from the employee reimbursement.

In this informative webinar, you will learn how to properly account for and report expense reimbursements and facilities provided to employees in compliance with IRS requirements.

• Determine whether an expense reimbursement qualifies for exclusion from employee wages
• Know what is required to substantiate various expenses and benefits under an accountable plan
• Understand the importance of timely processing of reimbursements and collection of excess advance funds
• Know when expense reimbursements or use of company resources must be included in wages
• Understand when per diem rates may be used and why employers may want to use them
• Know how to determine maximum per diem rates and how to use the high-low method
• Know how to establish and administer an accountable expense reimbursement plan
• Understand the importance of control and accounting procedures related to expense reimbursement

This webinar will cover tax compliance for employee business expense reimbursements under both accountable and non-accountable employee business expense plans.

While the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) did not change the treatment of employee business expenses reimbursed under an accountable plan, employee expenses that are not reimbursed under an accountable plan may any longer be deducted by the employee.

Accountable plans allow the employer to exclude expense reimbursement from employee wages. Accountable reimbursement plans have strict documentation and record-keeping requirements and require timely reporting and return of excess reimbursements by employees. For certain expenses, per diem arrangements can be used in lieu of actual substantiation of the amount of expense. The webinar will include a discussion of these requirements as well as how to report reimbursements that do not qualify under the accountable plan rules and must be included in employee wages.

• Payroll Supervisors and Personnel
• Accounts Payable Supervisors and Personnel
• Public Accountants
• Internal Auditors
• Tax Compliance Officers
• Enrolled Agents
• Officers and Managers with Tax Compliance Oversight
• Company / Business Owners
• Managers/ Supervisors
• Public Agency Managers
• Audit and Compliance Personnel / Risk Managers

Patrick Haggerty is a tax practitioner, author, and educator. His work experience includes non-profit organization management, banking, manufacturing accounting, and tax practice. He began teaching accounting at the college level in 1988. He is licensed as an Enrolled Agent by the U. S. Treasury to represent taxpayers at all administrative levels of the IRS and is a Certified Management Accountant. He has written numerous articles and a monthly question and answer column for payroll publications. In addition, he regularly develops and presents webinars and presentations on a variety of topics including Payroll tax issues, FLSA compliance, information returns, and accounting.