Are you looking for a way to give your employees a tax-free benefit that is also tax-deductible for your business? Consider an accountable plan. These arrangements let you reimburse your employees for expenses incurred on behalf of your company, such as driving to the post office or office supply store. With a properly administered plan, you can deduct the reimbursements on your business tax return, yet the payments are not considered income to your employees.

How can you make sure your plan qualifies? Here are three requirements.

● The reimbursements must be for allowable business expenses. For instance, you can repay employees for hotel and other travel expenses when traveling to a trade convention.

● Your employees need to keep records of the expenses, and provide those records to you.

● If you pay or advance your employees more than the actual amounts spent on business items, the excess must be returned to you. Amounts not returned are income to your employee, and are subject to payroll taxes.

Contact us at consulting@reynoldsrowella.com to discuss your policies for repaying employees’ business expenses. We’ll help you make your plan accountable.