‘Tis the Season to Double-Check for 409A Compliance
‘TIS THE SEASON to check executive deferred compensation practices for operational compliance with section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code and the specific terms of company plans and employment...
View ArticleFive Common 409A Design Errors: #1 Employment Claims Releases
Over the next several weeks, we will be writing about five common Code Section 409A design errors and corrections. This is the first of those posts. You are designing an executive employment agreement...
View ArticleFive Common 409A Design Errors: #2 Reimbursements
Over the next several weeks, we will be writing about five common Code Section 409A design errors and corrections. It should (but will not) go without saying that Code Section 409A has an...
View ArticleFive Common 409A Design Errors: #3 Multiple Forms of Payment
This post is the third in our BenefitsBryanCave.com series on five common Code Section 409A design errors and corrections. Go here and here to see the first two posts in that series. Let’s say that you...
View ArticleMarch 15th: Code Section 409A Day
Your company sponsors an annual bonus program. Bonuses are tied to company calendar year performance. The bonus plan says that payments are to occur by March 15th of the year following the performance...
View ArticleFive Common 409A Design Errors: #4 No Six-Month Delay for Public Company...
This post is the fourth in our BenefitsBryanCave.com series on five common Code Section 409A design errors and corrections. Go here, here and here to see the first three posts in that series. Code...
View ArticleFive Common 409A Design Errors: #5 Payment Periods Longer than 90 Days
This post is the fifth and final post in our BenefitsBryanCave.com series on five common Code Section 409A design errors and corrections. Go here, here, here, and here to see the first four posts in...
View ArticleFacebook and 409A: When $300 Million Isn’t Enough
On May 18th, two famous, photogenic Olympians found themselves almost $300 million richer. A banner day for anyone, and yet they may have felt at least a twinge of regret. Why? They contend that 409A...
View ArticleCommon 409A Misconceptions
Every 409A attorney knows the look. It’s a look that is dripping with the 409A attorney’s constant companion – incredulity. “Surely,” the client says, “IRS doesn’t care about [insert one of the myriad...
View ArticleHe Fought the Law, and 409A Won
In this recently reported case, one Dr. Sutardja, a recipient of an allegedly discounted option, sued to recover 409A taxes imposed by the IRS. The case does not decide whether the option was...
View Article409A – Is Your Compensation Arrangement Subject to These Rules?
The 409A rules do not provide a clear roadmap to determine what compensation arrangements are subject to their regime of requirements and restrictions. In this brief video, Brian Berglund provides a...
View ArticleBefore the Ball Drops for the New Year, Don’t Forget to Address These 2013...
Qualified Plans If your plans are filed in “Cycle C” for determinations letters (i.e., plan sponsor’s EIN ends in 3 or 8), address items needed for the IRS filing before the end of the year. The filing...
View Article409A Day Comes a Day Early This Year
As we have noted previously, March 15 is tax “Code Section 409A Day.” For employers with calendar fiscal years, that is generally the last day an amount can be paid and still qualify as a short-term...
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Five Key Considerations When Drafting a Release
Separation agreements almost always contain release provisions whereby one or both parties agree to waive claims that they may have against the other party; when the employee releases claims, he or she...
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Good News! New 409A Regulations (Yes, Really!) – Part 1: Firing Squad
On the TV show Futurama, the aged proprietor of the delivery company Planet Express, Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth, had a habit of entering a room where the other characters were gathered and sharing...
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Good News! New 409A Regulations (Yes, Really!) – Part 2: Taking (and Giving)...
On the TV show Futurama, the aged proprietor of the delivery company Planet Express, Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth, had a habit of entering a room where the other characters were gathered and sharing...
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Good News! New 409A Regulations (Yes, Really!) – Part 3: Don’t Fear the...
On the TV show Futurama, the aged proprietor of the delivery company Planet Express, Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth, had a habit of entering a room where the other characters were gathered and sharing...
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Good News! New 409A Regulations (Yes, Really!) – Part 4: Getting Paid
On the TV show Futurama, the aged proprietor of the delivery company Planet Express, Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth, had a habit of entering a room where the other characters were gathered and sharing...
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Good News! New 409A Regulations (Yes, Really!) – Part 5: If it Ain’t Broke,...
On the TV show Futurama, the aged proprietor of the delivery company Planet Express, Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth, had a habit of entering a room where the other characters were gathered and sharing...
View ArticleCode Section 409A…Here Today but Possibly Gone Tomorrow and Other Proposed...
Last week the House unveiled its tax overhaul plan, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (“Act”). The Act’s proposals related to employee benefits and compensation are as follows: Nonqualified Deferred...
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