We have made payments to an employee on her dependent care FSA claims in error as her account was not funded to cover them. She is now leaving the organization. Can we recoup the funds paid in error from her last paycheck (as she has requested)?

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Sole proprietor (SP) uses cash basis accounting and calendar year tax year. 2017 Compensation (i.e., Schedule C net income minus deductible SE tax) is $100,000. 2017 Minimum Required DB contribution is $150,000. 2017 DB contribution deadline is 9-15-2018. Timeline: 4-10-2018 -- SP makes DB contribution of $80,000. 4-15-2018 -- SP files 2017 tax return claiming $80,000 DB contribution. 6-1-2018 -- SP makes DB contribution of $70,000, which he'll deduct on 2018 return. Question: Can the $70,000 DB contribution on 6-1-2018 be deducted on his 2018 tax return (assuming he has at least $70,000 of Compensation in 2018), but be used to satisfy his 2017 Minimum Required Contribution?

Rehired employee; no records to tell if he had a vested account balance. A company was bought years ago and its plan merged with our plan. We got good records for 2013, but nothing prior. If he had a vested account balance, he's eligible to participate immediately upon rehire. What to do?

A former employer's staff used an Excel spreadsheet and checklist. It was so helpful when testing because at the outset it ensured that you knew what your compensation totals (415, ADP, Gross, Pre-entry, etc.) and deferrals/catch-up totals should be. It made sure all testing items were addressed before having it reviewed. Does anyone such a tool they can share with me?

TCJA changed Code Section 165(h) that defines a casualty loss. That Code section is referenced in the safe harbor hardship rules. Under the new law, expenses for repair of damage due to a participant's principal residence are not available for hardship unless included in a federally declared disaster area. Are you modifying your clients' safe harbor hardship procedures to restrict casualty hardship?

Is there any issue with unfreezing a plan and soon thereafter (maybe a month) terminating the plan?

Participant terminated employment in 2015. Employer allowed him to make personal payments on his 401k loan. The last payment was in January 2017. According to the recordkeeper's amortization schedule, that payment paid up the loan to April 2018. Now he wants to make another payment. Can he still do that because it's been over a year? I thought payments must be made at least quarterly.

Employer sent employee's last 2017 SIMPLE IRA contribution to financial institution but it was never received. The bookkeeper realized it 2 months later and was told by the financial institution that it could not accept the employee's payment for 2017. The bookkeeper called the IRS but couldn't find anyone to answer how to fix this issue. The IRS SIMPLE IRA fix-it guide states: "Make corrective contributions for each employee equal to the missed earnings for the period the deposits were late." If the missed payment is sent in, it will be applied to the following year. How would this affect the employee? His Form W-2 has the full amount of his contribution but the financial institution will not include the late payment for 2017 and say it will be applied to 2018. Are they correct? How should this issue be corrected?

My client is located in Rhode Island, so it's subject to mandatory State Disability Insurance (SDI). Is SDI included in Box 5 (Medicare wages and tips) of the Form W-2, or is it excluded from the amount? The RI-SDI is separately listed on the Form W-2 in Box 14, leaving me with this question when calculating Gross Compensation for the 401(k) Plan.

Wonder what happens procedurally here. Employer timely distributes W-2s to employees. They file their individual tax returns, reflecting information on W-2. (Several hundred employees; not just one or two.) Several years later, IRS sends penalty notice to the employer saying SSA/IRS have no W-2s on file for the tax year. Employer insists they were submitted to SSA. Payroll tax reporting was filed and withholding was remitted to IRS during the year in question. When the employees file their personal returns showing W-2 wages but the IRS has no record of that W-2, would that alone generate a letter/error indicating that the IRS's information doesn't match what the employee reported?