Employee Compensation

Generally, you must include in gross income everything you receive in payment for personal services. In addition to wages, salaries, commissions, fees, and tips, this includes other forms of compensation such as fringe benefits and stock options.

You should receive a Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement, from your employer showing the pay you received for your services. Include your pay on line 7 of Form 1040 or Form 1040A, or on line 1 of Form 1040EZ, even if you do not receive a Form W-2.

Child-care providers. If you provide child care, either in the child's home or in your home or other place of business, the pay you receive must be included in your income. If you are not an employee, you are probably self-employed and must include payments for your services on Schedule C (Form 1040), Profit or Loss From Business, or Schedule C-EZ (Form 1040), Net Profit From Business. You are generally not an employee unless you are subject to the will and control of the person who employs you as to what you are to do and how you are to do it.

Baby-sitting. If you baby-sit for relatives or neighborhood children, whether on a regular basis or only periodically, the rules for child-care providers apply to you.

Miscellaneous Compensation

This section discusses many types of employee compensation. The subjects are arranged in alphabetical order.

Advance commissions and other earnings. If you receive advance commissions or other amounts for services to be performed in the future and you are a cash method taxpayer, you must include these amounts in your income in the year you receive them.

If you repay unearned commissions or other amounts in the same year you receive them, reduce the amount included in your income by the repayment. If you repay them in a later tax year, you can deduct the repayment as an itemized deduction on your Schedule A (Form 1040), or you may be able to take a credit for that year. See Repayments, later.

Allowances and reimbursements. If you receive travel, transportation, or other business expense allowances or reimbursements from your employer, get Publication 463, Travel, Entertainment, Gift, and Car Expenses. If you are reimbursed for moving expenses, get Publication 521, Moving Expenses.

Back pay awards. Include in income amounts you are awarded in a settlement or judgment for back pay. These include payments made to you for damages, unpaid life insurance premiums, and unpaid health insurance premiums. They should be reported to you by your employer on Form W-2.

Bonuses and awards. Bonuses or awards you receive for outstanding work are included in your income and should be shown on your Form W-2. These include prizes such as vacation trips for meeting sales goals. If the prize or award you receive is goods or services, you must include the fair market value of the goods or services in your income. However, if your employer merely promises to pay you a bonus or award at some future time, it is not taxable until you receive it or it is made available to you.

Employee achievement award. If you receive tangible personal property (other than cash, a gift certificate, or an equivalent item) as an award for length-of-service or safety achievement, you can generally exclude its value from your income. However, the amount you can exclude is limited to your employer's cost and cannot be more than $1,600 ($400 for awards that are not qualified plan awards) for all such awards you receive during the year. Your employer can tell you whether your award is a qualified plan award. Your employer must make the award as part of a meaningful presentation, under conditions and circumstances that do not create a significant likelihood of it being disguised pay.

However, the exclusion does not apply to the following awards.

• A length-of-service award if you received it for less than 5 years of service or if you received another length-of-service award during the year or the previous 4 years.
• A safety achievement award if you are a manager, administrator, clerical employee, or other professional employee or if more than 10% of eligible employees previously received safety achievement awards during the year.

Example. Ben Green received three employee achievement awards during the year: a nonqualified plan award of a watch valued at $250, and two qualified plan awards of a stereo valued at $1,000 and a set of golf clubs valued at $500. Assuming that the requirements for qualified plan awards are otherwise satisfied, each award by itself would be excluded from income. However, since the $1,750 total value of the awards is more than $1,600, Ben must include $150 ($1,750 - $1,600) in his income.

Government cost-of-living allowances. Cost-of-living allowances are generally included in your income. However, they are not included in your income if you are a federal civilian employee or a federal court employee who is stationed in Alaska, Hawaii, or outside the United States.

Allowances and differentials that increase your basic pay as an incentive for taking a less desirable post of duty are part of your compensation and must be included in income. For example, your compensation includes Foreign Post, Foreign Service, and Overseas Tropical differentials. For more information, get Publication 516, U.S. Government Civilian Employees Stationed Abroad.

Note received for services. If your employer gives you a secured note as payment for your services, you must include the fair market value (usually the discount value) of the note in your income for the year you receive it. When you later receive payments on the note, a proportionate part of each payment is the recovery of the fair market value that you previously included in your income. Do not include that part again in your income. Include the rest of the payment in your income in the year of payment.

If your employer gives you an unsecured note as payment for your services, payments on the note that are credited toward the principal amount of the note are compensation income when you receive them.

Severance pay. Amounts you receive as severance pay are taxable. A lump-sum payment for cancellation of your employment contract must be included in your income in the tax year you receive it.

Accrued leave payment. If you are a federal employee and receive a lump-sum payment for accrued annual leave when you retire or resign, this amount will be included as wages on your Form W-2.

If you resign from one agency and are reemployed by another agency, you may have to repay part of your lump-sum annual leave payment to the second agency. You can reduce gross wages by the amount you repaid in the same tax year in which you received it. Attach to your tax return a copy of the receipt or statement given to you by the agency you repaid to explain the difference between the wages on your return and the wages on your Forms W-2.

Outplacement services. If you choose to accept a reduced amount of severance pay so that you can receive outplacement services (such as training in resum� writing and interview techniques), you must include the unreduced amount of the severance pay in income.

However, you can deduct the value of these outplacement services (up to the difference between the severance pay included in income and the amount actually received) as a miscellaneous deduction (subject to the 2% limit) on Schedule A (Form 1040).

Sick pay. Pay you receive from your employer while you are sick or injured is part of your salary or wages. In addition, you must include in your income sick pay benefits received from any of the following payers.

1. A welfare fund.
2. A state sickness or disability fund.
3. An association of employers or employees.
4. An insurance company, if your employer paid for the plan.

However, if you paid the premiums on an accident or health insurance policy, the benefits you receive under the policy are not taxable. For more information, see Other Sickness and Injury Benefits under Sickness and Injury Benefits, later.

Social security and Medicare taxes paid by employer. If you and your employer have an agreement that your employer pays your social security and Medicare taxes without deducting them from your gross wages, you must report the amount of tax paid for you as taxable wages on your tax return. The payment is also treated as wages for figuring your social security and Medicare taxes and your social security and Medicare benefits. However, these payments are not treated as social security and Medicare wages if you are a household worker or a farm worker.

Stock appreciation rights. Do not include a stock appreciation right granted by your employer in income until you exercise (use) the right. When you use the right, you are entitled to a cash payment equal to the fair market value of the corporation's stock on the date of use, minus the fair market value on the date the right was granted. You include the cash payment in income in the year you use the right.

Work-training programs. If you are enrolled in a state or local work-training program under the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964, payments you receive from the sponsor as compensation for services are taxable wages.

Fringe Benefits

Fringe benefits you receive in connection with the performance of your services are included in your income as compensation unless you pay fair market value for them or they are specifically excluded by law. Abstaining from the performance of services (for example, under a covenant not to compete) is treated as the performance of services for purposes of these rules.

See Valuation of Fringe Benefits, later in this discussion, for information on how to determine the amount to include in income.

Recipient of fringe benefit. You are the recipient of a fringe benefit if you perform the services for which the fringe benefit is provided. You are considered to be the recipient even if it is given to another person, such as a member of your family. An example is a car your employer gives to your spouse for services you perform. The car is considered to have been provided to you and not to your spouse.

You do not have to be an employee of the provider to be a recipient of a fringe benefit. If you are a partner, director, or independent contractor, you can also be the recipient of a fringe benefit.

Provider of benefit. Your employer or another person for whom you perform services is the provider of a fringe benefit regardless of whether that person actually provides the fringe benefit to you. The provider can be a client or customer of an independent contractor.

Accounting period. You must use the same accounting period your employer uses to report your taxable noncash fringe benefits. Your employer has the option to report taxable noncash fringe benefits by using either of the following rules.

• The general rule: benefits are reported for a full calendar year (January 1 - December 31).
• The special accounting period rule: benefits provided during the last 2 months of the calendar year (or any shorter period) are treated as paid during the following calendar year. For example, each year your employer reports the value of benefits provided during the last 2 months of the prior year and the first 10 months of the current year.

Your employer does not have to use the same accounting period for each fringe benefit, but must use the same period for all employees who receive a particular benefit.

You must use the same accounting period that you use to report the benefit to claim an employee business deduction (for use of a car, for example).

Form W-2. Your employer reports your taxable fringe benefits in box 1 (Wages, tips, other compensation) of Form W-2. The total value of your fringe benefits may also be noted in box 12. The value of your fringe benefits may be added to your other compensation on one Form W-2, or you may receive a separate Form W-2 showing just the value of your fringe benefits in box 1 with a notation in box 12.

Accident or Health Plan

Generally, the value of accident or health plan coverage provided to you by your employer is not included in your income. Benefits you receive from the plan are generally taxable, as explained, later, under Sickness and Injury Benefits.

Long-term care coverage. Contributions by your employer to provide coverage for long-term care services are generally not included in your income. However, contributions made through a flexible spending or similar arrangement (such as a cafeteria plan) must be included in your income. This amount will be reported as wages in box 1 of your Form W-2.

Archer MSA contributions. Contributions by your employer to your Archer MSA (previously called a medical savings account) are not included in your income. Their total will be reported in box 12 of Form W-2 with code R. You must report this amount on Form 8853, Archer MSAs and Long-Term Care Insurance Contracts, and attach the form to your return.

Adoption Assistance

You may be able to exclude from your income amounts paid or expenses incurred by your employer for qualified adoption expenses in connection with your adoption of an eligible child. See Publication 968, Tax Benefits for Adoption, for more information.

Adoption benefits are reported by your employer in box 12 of Form W-2 with code T. They are also included as social security and Medicare wages in boxes 3 and 5. However, they are not included as wages in box 1. To determine the taxable and nontaxable amounts, you must complete Part III of Form 8839, Qualified Adoption Expenses. Attach the form to your return.

Athletic Facilities

If your employer provides you with the free or low-cost use of an employer-owned gym or other athletic club at your workplace, the value is not included in your compensation. The gym must be used primarily by employees, their spouses, and their dependent children.

If your employer pays for a fitness program provided to you at an off-site resort hotel or athletic club, the value of the program is included in your compensation.

De Minimis (Minimal) Benefits

If your employer provides you with a product or service and the cost of it is so small that it would be unreasonable for the employer to account for it, the value is not included in your income. Generally, the value of benefits such as discounts at company cafeterias, cab fares home when working overtime, and company picnics are not included in your income. Also see Employee Discounts, later.

Holiday gifts. If your employer gives you a turkey, ham, or other item of nominal value at Christmas or other holidays, you do not have to include the value of the gift in your income. However, if your employer gives you cash, a gift certificate, or a similar item that you can easily exchange for cash, you include the value of that gift as extra salary or wages regardless of the amount involved.

Dependent Care Benefits

If your employer provides dependent care benefits under a qualified plan, you may be able to exclude these benefits from your income. Dependent care benefits include:

• Amounts your employer pays directly to either you or your care provider for the care of your qualifying person while you work, and
• The fair market value of care in a day-care facility provided or sponsored by your employer.

The amount you can exclude is limited to the lesser of:

• The total amount of dependent care benefits you received during the year,
• The total amount of qualified expenses you incurred during the year,
• Your earned income,
• Your spouse's earned income, or
• $5,000 ($2,500 if married filing separately).

Your employer must show the total amount of dependent care benefits provided to you during the year under a qualified plan in box 10 of your Form W-2. Your employer will also include any dependent care benefits over $5,000 in your wages shown in box 1 of your Form W-2.

To claim the exclusion, you must complete either Part III of Form 2441, Child and Dependent Care Expenses, or Part III of Schedule 2 (Form 1040A), Child and Dependent Care Expenses for Form 1040A Filers. (You cannot use Form 1040EZ.)

See the instructions for Form 2441 or Schedule 2 (Form 1040A) for more information.

Educational Assistance

You can exclude from your income up to $5,250 of qualified employer-provided educational assistance. The exclusion does not apply to graduate-level courses beginning before January 1, 2002. For more information, get Publication 508, Tax Benefits for Work-Related Education.

Employee Discounts

If your employer sells you property or services at a discount, you may be able to exclude the amount of the discount from your income. The exclusion applies to discounts on property or services offered to customers in the ordinary course of the line of business in which you work. However, it does not apply to discounts on real property or property commonly held for investment (such as stocks or bonds). The exclusion is limited to the price charged nonemployee customers multiplied by the following percentage.

• For a discount on property, your employer's gross profit percentage (gross profit divided by gross sales) on all property sold during the employer's previous tax year. (Ask your employer for this percentage.)
• For a discount on services, 20%.

Financial Counseling Fees

Financial counseling fees paid for you by your employer are included in your income and must be reported as part of wages. If the fees are for tax or investment counseling, they can be deducted on Schedule A (Form 1040) as a miscellaneous deduction (subject to the 2% limit).

Note. Beginning in 2002, qualified retirement planning services paid for you by your employer under a qualified plan will not be included in your income. For more information, see Publication 553, Highlights of 2001 Tax Changes.

Group-Term Life Insurance

Generally, the cost of up to $50,000 of group-term life insurance coverage provided to you by your employer (or former employer) is not included in your income. However, you must include in income the cost of employer-provided insurance that is more than the cost of $50,000 of coverage reduced by any amount you pay toward the purchase of the insurance.

For exceptions to this rule, see Entire cost excluded, and Entire cost taxed, later.

If your employer provided more than $50,000 of coverage, the amount included in your income is reported as part of your wages in box 1 of your Form W-2. It is also shown separately in box 12 with code C.

Group-term life insurance. This insurance is term life insurance protection (insurance for a fixed period of time) that:

• Provides a general death benefit,
• Is provided to a group of employees,
• Is provided under a policy carried by the employer, and
• Provides an amount of insurance to each employee based on a formula that prevents individual selection.

Permanent benefits. If your group-term life insurance policy includes permanent benefits, such as a paid-up or cash surrender value, you must include in your income, as wages, the cost of the permanent benefits minus the amount you pay for them. Your employer should be able to tell you the amount to include in your income.

Accidental death benefits. Insurance that provides accidental or other death benefits but does not provide general death benefits (travel insurance, for example) is not group-term life insurance.

Former employer. If your former employer provides more than $50,000 of group-term life insurance coverage during the year, the amount included in your income is reported as wages in box 1 of Form W-2. It is also shown separately in box 12 with code C. Box 12 will also show the amount of uncollected social security and Medicare taxes on the excess coverage, with codes M and N. You must pay these taxes with your income tax return. Include them in your total tax on line 58, Form 1040, and enter "UT" and the amount of the taxes on the dotted line next to line 58.

Two or more employers. Your exclusion for employer-provided group-term life insurance coverage cannot exceed the cost of $50,000 of coverage, whether the insurance is provided by a single employer or multiple employers. If two or more employers provide insurance coverage that totals more than $50,000, the amounts reported as wages on your Forms W-2 will not be correct. You must figure how much to include in your income. Reduce the amount you figure by any amount reported with code C in box 12 of your Forms W-2, add the result to the wages reported in box 1, and report the total on your return.

Figuring the taxable cost. You figure the taxable cost for each month of coverage by multiplying the number of thousands of dollars of insurance coverage for the month (figured to the nearest tenth), less 50, by the cost from the following table. Use your age on the last day of the tax year. You must prorate the cost from the table if less than a full month of coverage is involved.

COST PER $1,000 OF PROTECTION
FOR ONE MONTH

If you pay any part of the cost of the insurance, your entire payment reduces, dollar for dollar, the amount you would otherwise include in your income. However, you cannot reduce the amount to include in your income by:

• Payments for coverage in a different tax year,
• Payments for coverage through a cafeteria plan, unless the payments are after-tax contributions, or
• Payments for coverage not taxed to you because of the exceptions discussed later under Entire cost excluded.

Example. You are 51 years old and work for employers A and B. Both employers provide group-term life insurance coverage for you for the entire year. Your coverage is $35,000 with employer A and $45,000 with employer B. You pay premiums of $4.15 a month under the employer B group plan. You figure the amount to include in your income as follows:

The total amount to include in income for the cost of excess group-term life insurance is $33. Because neither employer provided over $50,000 insurance coverage, the wages shown on your Forms W-2 do not include any part of that $33. You must add it to the wages shown on your Forms W-2 and include the total on your return.

Entire cost excluded. You are not taxed on the cost of group-term life insurance if any of the following circumstances apply.

1. You are permanently and totally disabled and have ended your employment.
2. Your employer is the beneficiary of the policy for the entire period the insurance is in force during the tax year.
3. A charitable organization to which contributions are deductible is the only beneficiary of the policy for the entire period the insurance is in force during the tax year. (You are not entitled to a deduction for a charitable contribution for naming a charitable organization as the beneficiary of your policy.)
4. The plan existed on January 1, 1984, and:
1. You retired before January 2, 1984, and were covered by the plan when you retired, or
2. You reached age 55 before January 2, 1984, and were employed by the employer or its predecessor in 1983.

Entire cost taxed. You are taxed on the entire cost of group-term life insurance if either of the following circumstances apply.

• The insurance is provided by your employer through a qualified employees' trust, such as a pension trust or a qualified annuity plan.
• You are a key employee and your employer's plan discriminates in favor of key employees.

Meals and Lodging

You do not include in your income the value of meals and lodging provided to you and your family by your employer at no charge if the following conditions are met.

1. The meals are:
1. Furnished on the business premises of your employer, and
2. Furnished for the convenience of your employer.
2. The lodging is:
1. Furnished on the business premises of your employer,
2. Furnished for the convenience of your employer, and
3. A condition of your employment (you must accept it in order to be able to properly perform your duties).

You also do not include in your income the value of meals or meal money that qualifies as a de minimis fringe benefit. See De Minimis (Minimal) Benefits, earlier.

Faculty lodging. If you are an employee of an educational institution or an academic health center and you are provided with lodging that does not meet the three conditions above, you still may not have to include the value of the lodging in income. However, the lodging must be qualified campus lodging, and you must pay an adequate rent.

Academic health center. This is an organization that meets the following conditions.

• Its principal purpose or function is to provide medical or hospital care or medical education or research.
• It receives payments for graduate medical education under the Social Security Act.
• One of its principal purposes or functions is to provide and teach basic and clinical medical science and research using its own faculty.

Qualified campus lodging. Qualified campus lodging is lodging furnished to you, your spouse, or one of your dependents by, or on behalf of, the institution or center for use as a home. The lodging must be located on or near a campus of the educational institution or academic health center.

Adequate rent. The amount of rent you pay for the year for qualified campus lodging is considered adequate if it is at least equal to the lesser of:

1. 5% of the appraised value of the lodging, or
2. The average of rentals paid by individuals (other than employees or students) for comparable lodging held for rent by the educational institution.

If the amount you pay is less than the lesser of these amounts, you must include the difference in your income.

The lodging must be appraised by an independent appraiser and the appraisal must be reviewed on an annual basis.

Example. Carl Johnson, a sociology professor for State University, rents a home from the university that is qualified campus lodging. The house is appraised at $100,000. The average rent paid for comparable university lodging by persons other than employees or students is $7,000 a year. Carl pays an annual rent of $5,500. Carl does not include in his income any rental value since the rent he pays equals at least 5% of the appraised value of the house (5% × $100,000 = $5,000). If Carl paid annual rent of only $4,000, he would have to include $1,000 in his income ($5,000 - $4,000).

Moving Expense Reimbursements

Generally, if your employer pays for your moving expenses (either directly or indirectly) and the expenses would have been deductible if you paid them yourself, the value is not included in your income. Get Publication 521 for more information.

No-Additional-Cost Services

The value of services you receive from your employer for free, at cost, or for a reduced price is not included in your income if your employer:

• Offers the same service for sale to customers in the ordinary course of the line of business in which you work, and
• Does not have a substantial additional cost (including any sales income given up) to provide you with the service (regardless of what you paid for the service).

Generally, no-additional-cost services are excess capacity services, such as airline, bus, or train tickets; hotel rooms; or telephone services.

Example. You are employed as a flight attendant for a company that owns both an airline and a hotel chain. Your employer allows you to take personal flights (if there is an unoccupied seat) and stay in any one of their hotels (if there is an unoccupied room) at no cost to you. The value of the personal flight is not included in your income. However, the value of the hotel room is included in your income because you do not work in the hotel business.

Transportation

If your employer provides you with a qualified transportation fringe benefit, it can be excluded from your income, up to certain limits. A qualified transportation fringe benefit is:

• Transportation in a commuter highway vehicle (such as a van) between your home and work place,
• A transit pass, or
• Qualified parking.

Cash reimbursement by your employer for these expenses under a bona fide reimbursement arrangement is also excludable. However, cash reimbursement for a transit pass is excludable only if a voucher or similar item that can be exchanged only for a transit pass is not readily available for direct distribution to you.

Exclusion limit. The exclusion for commuter highway vehicle transportation and transit pass fringe benefits cannot be more than a total of $65 a month, regardless of the total value of both benefits.

The exclusion for the qualified parking fringe benefit cannot be more than $180 a month, regardless of its value.

If the benefits have a value that is more than these limits, the excess must be included in your income.

Commuter highway vehicle. This is a highway vehicle that seats at least six adults (not including the driver). At least 80% of the vehicle's mileage must reasonably be expected to be:

• For transporting employees between their homes and work place, and
• On trips during which employees occupy at least half of the vehicle's adult seating capacity (not including the driver).

Transit pass. This is any pass, token, farecard, voucher, or similar item entitling a person to ride mass transit (whether public or private) free or at a reduced rate or to ride in a commuter highway vehicle operated by a person in the business of transporting persons for compensation.

Qualified parking. This is parking provided to an employee at or near the employer's place of business. It also includes parking provided on or near a location from which the employee commutes to work in a commuter highway vehicle or carpool. It does not include parking at or near the employee's home.

Tuition Reduction

You can exclude a qualified tuition reduction from your income. This is the amount of a reduction in tuition for education (below graduate level) furnished by an educational institution to an employee (or former employee) or his or her family. For more information, get Publication 520.

Working Condition Benefits

If your employer provides you with a product or service and the cost of it would have been deductible as a business expense or depreciation if you paid for it yourself, the cost is not included in your income.

Example. You work as an engineer and your employer provides you with a subscription to an engineering trade magazine. The cost of the subscription is not included in your income since the cost would have been deductible to you if you had paid for the subscription yourself.

Valuation of Fringe Benefits

If a fringe benefit is included in your income, the amount included is generally its value determined under the general valuation rule or under the special valuation rules. For an exception, see Group-Term Life Insurance, earlier.

General valuation rule. You must include in your income the amount by which the fair market value of the fringe benefit is more than the sum of:

1. The amount, if any, you paid for the benefit, plus
2. The amount, if any, specifically excluded from your income by law.

If you pay fair market value for a fringe benefit, no amount is included in your income.

Fair market value. The fair market value of a fringe benefit is determined by all the facts and circumstances. It is the amount you would have to pay a third party to buy or lease the benefit. This is determined without regard to:

• Your perceived value of the benefit, or
• The amount your employer paid for the benefit.

Employer-provided vehicles. If your employer provides a car (or other highway motor vehicle) to you, your personal use of the car is usually a taxable noncash fringe benefit.

Under the general valuation rules, the value of an employer-provided vehicle is the amount you would have to pay a third party to lease the same or a similar vehicle on the same or comparable terms in the same geographic area where you use the vehicle. An example of a comparable lease term is the amount of time the vehicle is available for your use, such as a 1-year period. The value cannot be determined by multiplying a cents-per-mile rate times the number of miles driven unless you prove the vehicle could have been leased on a cents-per-mile basis.

Flights on employer-provided aircraft. Under the general valuation rules, if your flight on an employer-provided piloted aircraft is primarily personal and you control the use of the aircraft for the flight, the value is the amount it would cost to charter the flight from a third party.

If there is more than one employee on the flight, the cost to charter the aircraft must be divided among those employees. The division must be based on all the facts, including which employee or employees control the use of the aircraft.

Special valuation rules. You generally can use a special valuation rule for a fringe benefit only if your employer uses the rule. If your employer uses a special valuation rule, you cannot use a different special rule to value that benefit. You can always use the general valuation rule discussed earlier, based on facts and circumstances, even if your employer uses a special rule.

If you and your employer use a special valuation rule, you must include in your income the amount your employer determines under the special rule minus the sum of:

1. Any amount you repaid your employer, plus
2. Any amount specifically excluded from income by law.

The special valuation rules are the following.

1. The automobile lease rule.
2. The vehicle cents-per-mile rule.
3. The commuting rule.
4. The unsafe conditions commuting rule.
5. The employer-operated eating-facility rule.

For more information on these rules, see Publication 15-B, Employer's Tax Guide to Fringe Benefits.

For information on the non-commercial flight and commercial flight valuation rules, see sections 1.61-21(g) and 1.61-21(h) of the regulations.

Retirement Plan Contributions

Generally, you must include in income amounts you pay into a retirement plan through payroll deductions. You recover your contributions tax free when you retire and receive benefits from the plan. See Publication 575 for information about the tax treatment of retirement plan benefits.

Employer's contributions to qualified plan. Your employer's contributions to a qualified retirement plan for you are not included in income at the time contributed. (Your employer can tell you whether your retirement plan is qualified.) However, the cost of life insurance coverage included in the plan may have to be included. See Group-Term Life Insurance, earlier, under Fringe Benefits.

Employer's contributions to nonqualified plan. If your employer pays into a nonqualified plan for you, you generally must include the contributions in your income as wages for the tax year in which the contributions are made. However, if your interest in the plan is subject to a substantial risk of forfeiture (you have a good chance of losing it) at the time of the contribution, you do not have to include the value of your interest in your income until it is no longer subject to a substantial risk of forfeiture.

Elective Deferrals

If you are covered by certain kinds of retirement plans, you can choose to have part of your compensation contributed by your employer to a retirement fund, rather than have it paid to you. The amount you set aside (called an elective deferral) is treated as an employer contribution to a qualified plan. It is not included in wages subject to income tax at the time contributed. However, it is included in wages subject to social security and Medicare taxes.

Elective deferrals include elective contributions to the following retirement plans.

• Cash or deferred arrangements (section 401(k) plans).
• Section 457 plans.
• The Thrift Savings Plan for federal employees.
• Salary reduction simplified employee pension plans (SARSEP).
• Simple retirement account (SIMPLE) plans.
• Tax-sheltered annuities.
• Section 501(c)(18)(D) plans. (But see Reporting by employer, later.)

Limit on deferrals. For 2001, you generally should not have deferred more than a total of $10,500 for all qualified plans by which you are covered. This amount may be further limited if you are a highly compensated employee. The amount deferred by a highly compensated employee as a percentage of pay can be no more than 125% of the average deferral percentage (ADP) of all eligible nonhighly compensated employees. Your employer or plan administrator can probably tell you the amount of the deferral limit under this ADP test and whether it applies to you.

Your employer or plan administrator should apply the proper annual limit when figuring your plan contributions. However, you are responsible for monitoring the total you defer to ensure that the limit is not exceeded.

Under new law, the general limit on elective deferrals for 2002 is $11,000. This amount will increase by $1,000 each year until it reaches $15,000 in 2006. In addition, beginning in 2002, you generally can make an additional elective deferral if you are age 50 or older. For more information, see Publication 553, Highlights of 2001 Tax Changes.

Special limit for deferrals under SIMPLE plans. If you are a participant in a SIMPLE plan, you generally should not have deferred more than $6,500 in 2001. Amounts you defer under a SIMPLE plan count toward the general limit ($10,500 for 2001) and may affect the amount you can defer under other elective deferral plans.

Under new law, the special limit on elective deferrals for SIMPLE plans for 2002 is $7,000. This amount will increase by $1,000 each year until it reaches $10,000 in 2005.

Special limit for deferrals under section 457 plans. If you are a participant in a section 457 plan (a deferred compensation plan for employees of state or local governments or tax-exempt organizations), you should generally have deferred no more than 1/3 of your compensation, up to $8,500 in 2001. Your plan may also allow a special catch-up limit of up to $15,000 for each of your last 3 years of service before reaching normal retirement age. Amounts you defer under other elective deferral plans may affect your limits under section 457 plans. Amounts you defer under section 457 plans may affect the amount you can defer in tax-sheltered annuities under the special limit discussed next.

Under new law, beginning in 2002, the special limit on elective deferrals for section 457 plans no longer applies. Deferrals under these plans are subject to the general limit for elective deferrals ($11,000 for 2002). The special catch-up limit in the last 3 years before retirement is twice the general limit amount (twice $11,000 for 2002, or $22,000). Also, beginning in 2002, deferrals under section 457 plans are no longer coordinated with other plans in applying the deferral limit.

Special limit for tax-sheltered annuities. If you are a participant in a tax-sheltered annuity plan with at least 15 years of service at an educational organization, a hospital, a home health service agency, a health and welfare service agency, a church, or a convention or association of churches (or associated organization), the limit on elective deferrals to the plan is the general limit ($10,500 for 2001) plus the lesser of the following amounts.

1. $3,000.
2. $15,000, reduced by elective deferrals exceeding the basic amount that you were allowed in earlier years because of this years-of-service rule.
3. $5,000 times the number of your years of service for the organization, minus the total elective deferrals under the plan for earlier years.

Reporting by employer. Your employer generally should not include elective deferrals in your wages in box 1 of Form W-2. Instead, your employer should mark the Retirement plan checkbox in box 13 and show the total amount deferred in box 12.

Section 501(c)(18)(D) contributions. Wages shown in box 1 of your Form W-2 should not have been reduced for contributions you made to a section 501(c)(18)(D) retirement plan. The amount you contributed should be identified with code "H" in box 12. You may deduct the amount deferred subject to the limits that apply. Include your deduction in the total on line 32 (Form 1040). Enter the amount and "501(c)(18)" on the dotted line next to line 32.

Excess deferrals. If your deferrals exceed the annual limit, you must notify your plan by the date required by the plan. If the plan permits, the excess amount will be distributed to you. If you participate in more than one plan, you can have the excess paid out of any of the plans that permit these distributions. You must notify each plan by the date required by that plan of the amount to be paid from that particular plan. The plan must then pay you the amount of the excess, along with any income earned on that amount, by April 15 of the following year.

You must include the excess deferral in your income for the year of the deferral. File Form 1040 to add the excess deferral amount to your wages on line 7. Do not use Form 1040A or Form 1040EZ to report excess deferral amounts.

Excess not distributed. If you do not take out the excess amount, you cannot include it in the cost of the contract even though you included it in your income. Therefore, you are taxed twice on the excess deferral left in the plan--once when you contribute it, and again when you receive it as a distribution.

Excess distributed to you. If you take out the excess after the year of the deferral and you receive the corrective distribution by April 15 of the following year, do not include it in income again in the year you receive it. If you receive it later, you must include it in income in both the year of the deferral and the year you receive it. Any income on the excess deferral taken out is taxable in the tax year in which you take it out. If you take out part of the excess deferral and the income on it, allocate the distribution proportionately between the excess deferral and the income.

You should receive a Form 1099-R, Distributions From Pensions, Annuities, Retirement or Profit-Sharing Plans, IRAs, Insurance Contracts, etc., for the year in which the excess deferral is distributed to you. Use the following rules to report a corrective distribution shown on Form 1099-R for 2001.

• If the distribution was for a 2001 excess deferral, your Form 1099-R should have the code "8" in box 7. Add the excess deferral amount to your wages on your 2001 tax return.
• If the distribution was for a 2000 excess deferral, your Form 1099-R should have the code "P" in box 7. If you did not add the excess deferral amount to your wages on your 2000 tax return, you must file an amended return on Form 1040X. If you did not receive the distribution by April 16, 2001, you must also add it to your wages on your 2001 tax return.
• If the distribution was for a 1999 excess deferral, your Form 1099-R should have the code "D" in box 7. If you did not add the excess deferral amount to your wages on your 1999 tax return, you must file an amended return on Form 1040X. You must also add it to your wages on your 2001 income tax return.
• If the distribution was for the income earned on an excess deferral, your Form 1099-R should have the code "8" in box 7. Add the income amount to your wages on your 2001 income tax return, regardless of when the excess deferral was made.

Report a loss on a corrective distribution of an excess deferral in the year the excess amount (reduced by the loss) is distributed to you. Include the loss as a negative amount on line 21 (Form 1040) and identify it as "Loss on Excess Deferral Distribution."

Even though a corrective distribution of excess deferrals is reported on Form 1099-R, it is not otherwise treated as a distribution from the plan. It cannot be rolled over into another plan, and it is not subject to the additional tax on early distributions.

Excess Contributions

If you are a highly compensated employee, the total of your elective deferrals and other contributions made for you for any year under a section 401(k) plan or SARSEP can be, as a percentage of pay, no more than 125% of the average deferral percentage (ADP) of all eligible nonhighly compensated employees.

If the total contributed to the plan is more than the amount allowed under the ADP test, the excess contributions must be either distributed to you or recharacterized as after-tax employee contributions by treating them as distributed to you and then contributed by you to the plan. You must include the excess contributions in your income as wages on line 7 of Form 1040. You cannot use Form 1040A or Form 1040EZ to report excess contribution amounts.

If you receive excess contributions from a 401(k) plan and any income earned on the contributions within 2 1/2 months after the close of the plan year, you must include them in your income in the year of the contribution. If you receive them later, or receive less than $100 excess contributions, include the excess contributions and earnings in your income in the year distributed. If the excess contributions are recharacterized, you must include them in income in the year a corrective distribution would have occurred. For a SARSEP, the employer must notify you by March 15 following the year in which excess contributions are made that you must withdraw the excess and earnings. You must include the excess contributions in your income in the year of the contribution (or the year of the notification if less than $100) and include the earnings in your income in the year withdrawn.

You should receive a Form 1099-R for the year in which the excess contributions are distributed to you (or are recharacterized). Add excess contributions or earnings shown on Form 1099-R for 2001 to your wages on your 2001 tax return if code "8" is in box 7. If code "P" or "D" is in box 7, you may have to file an amended 2000 or 1999 return on Form 1040X to add the excess contributions or earnings to your wages in the year of the contribution.

Even though a corrective distribution of excess contributions is reported on Form 1099-R, it is not otherwise treated as a distribution from the plan. It cannot be rolled over into another plan, and it is not subject to the additional tax on early distributions.

Excess Annual Additions

The amount contributed in 2001 to a defined contribution plan is generally limited to the lesser of 25% of your compensation or $35,000. Under certain circumstances, contributions that exceed these limits (excess annual additions) may be corrected by a distribution of your elective deferrals or a return of your after-tax contributions and earnings from these contributions.

Under new law, the dollar limit on contributions to a defined contribution plan for 2002 is $40,000.

A corrective payment of excess annual additions consisting of elective deferrals or earnings from your after-tax contributions is fully taxable in the year paid. A corrective payment consisting of your after-tax contributions is not taxable.

If you received a corrective payment of excess annual additions, you should receive a separate Form 1099-R for the year of the payment with the code "E" in box 7. Report the total payment shown in box 1 of Form 1099-R on line 16a of Form 1040 or line 12a of Form 1040A. Report the taxable amount shown in box 2a of Form 1099-R on line 16b of Form 1040 or line 12b of Form 1040A.

Even though a corrective distribution of excess annual additions is reported on Form 1099-R, it is not otherwise treated as a distribution from the plan. It cannot be rolled over into another plan, and it is not subject to the additional tax on early distributions.

Stock Options

If you receive a nonstatutory option to buy or sell stock or other property as payment for your services, you will usually have income either when you receive the option or when you exercise the option (use it to buy or sell the stock or other property). However, if your option is a statutory stock option (defined later), you usually will not have any income until you sell or exchange your stock. Your employer can tell you which kind of option you hold.

Nonstatutory Stock Options

If you are granted a nonstatutory stock option, the amount of income to include and the time to include it depend on whether the fair market value of the option can be readily determined. The fair market value of an option can be readily determined if it is actively traded on an established market.

The fair market value of an option that is not traded on an established market can be readily determined only if all of the following conditions exist.

• You can transfer the option.
• You can exercise the option immediately in full.
• The option or the property subject to the option is not subject to any condition or restriction (other than a condition to secure payment of the purchase price) that has a significant effect on the fair market value of the option.
• The fair market value of the option privilege can be readily determined.

The option privilege for an option to buy is the opportunity to benefit during the option's exercise period from any increase in the value of property subject to the option without risking any capital. For example, if during the exercise period the fair market value of stock subject to an option is greater than the option's exercise price, a profit may be realized by exercising the option and immediately selling the stock at its higher value. The option privilege for an option to sell is the opportunity to benefit during the exercise period from a decrease in the value of the property subject to the option.

Option with readily determined value. If you receive a nonstatutory stock option that has a readily determined fair market value at the time it is granted to you, the option is treated like other property received as compensation. See Restricted Property, later, for rules on how much income to include and when to include it. However, the rule described in that discussion for choosing to include the value of property in your income for the year of the transfer does not apply to a nonstatutory option.

Option without readily determined value. If the fair market value of the option is not readily determined at the time it is granted to you (even if it is determined later), you do not have income until you transfer or exercise the option. When you exercise this kind of option, the restricted property rules apply to the property received. The amount to include in your income is the difference between the amount you pay for the property and its fair market value when it becomes substantially vested. Your basis in the property you acquire under the option is the amount you pay for it plus any amount you must include in your gross income under this rule. For more information on restricted property, see Restricted Property, later.

If you transferred this kind of option in an arm's-length transaction, you must include in your income the money or other property you received for the transfer, as if you had exercised the option.

Statutory Stock Options

There are two kinds of statutory stock options.

• Incentive stock options (ISOs), and
• Options granted under employee stock purchase plans.

For either kind of option, you must be an employee of the company granting the option, or a related company, at all times beginning with the date the option is granted, until 3 months before you exercise the option (for an incentive stock option, 1 year before if you are disabled). Also, the option must be nontransferable except at death. If you do not meet the employment requirements, or you receive a transferable option, your option is a nonstatutory stock option. See Nonstatutory Stock Options, earlier in this discussion.

If you receive a statutory stock option, do not include any amount in your income either when the option is granted or when you exercise it. You have taxable income or deductible loss when you sell the stock that you bought by exercising the option. Your income or loss is the difference between the amount you paid for the stock (the option price) and the amount you receive when you sell it. You generally treat this amount as capital gain or loss and report it on Schedule D (Form 1040), Capital Gains and Losses, for the year of the sale.

However, you may have ordinary income for the year that you sell the stock in either of the following situations.

• You do not meet the holding period requirement. This situation applies only if you sell the stock within 1 year after its transfer to you or within 2 years after the option was granted.
• You meet the holding period requirement but the option was granted under an employee stock purchase plan for an option price that was less than the stock's fair market value at that time.

Report your ordinary income as wages on line 7, Form 1040, for the year of the sale.

Incentive stock options (ISOs). If you sell stock acquired by exercising an ISO and meet the holding period requirement, your gain or loss from the sale is capital gain or loss.

If you do not meet the holding period requirement and you have a gain from the sale, the gain is ordinary income up to the amount by which the stock's fair market value when you exercised the option exceeded the option price. Any excess gain is capital gain. If you have a loss from the sale, it is a capital loss and you do not have any ordinary income.

Example. Your employer, X Corporation, granted you an ISO on March 11, 1999, to buy 100 shares of X Corporation stock at $10 a share, its fair market value at the time. You exercised the option on January 19, 2000, when the stock was selling on the open market for $12 a share. On January 25, 2001, you sold the stock for $15 a share. Although you held the stock for more than a year, less than 2 years had passed from the time you were granted the option. In 2001, you must report the difference between the option price ($10) and the value of the stock when you exercised the option ($12) as wages. The rest of your gain is capital gain, figured as follows:

Alternative minimum tax (AMT). For the AMT, you must treat stock acquired through the exercise of an ISO as if no special treatment applied. This means that, when your rights in the stock are transferable and no longer subject to a substantial risk of forfeiture, you must include as an adjustment in figuring alternative minimum taxable income the amount by which the fair market value of the stock exceeds the option price. Enter this adjustment on line 10 of Form 6251, Alternative Minimum Tax--Individuals. Increase your AMT basis in any stock you acquire by exercising the ISO by the amount of the adjustment. However, no adjustment is required if you dispose of the stock in the same year you exercise the option.

See Restricted Property, later, for more information.

Your AMT basis in stock acquired through an ISO is likely to differ from your regular tax basis. Therefore, keep adequate records for both the AMT and regular tax so that you can figure your adjusted gain or loss.

Example. The facts are the same as in the previous example. On January 19, 2001, when the stock was selling on the open market for $14 a share, your rights to the stock first became transferable. You include $400 ($1,400 value when your rights first became transferable minus $1,000 purchase price) as an adjustment on line 10 of Form 6251.

Employee stock purchase plan. If you sold stock acquired by exercising an option granted under an employee stock purchase plan, determine your ordinary income and your capital gain or loss as follows.

Option granted at discount. If you meet the holding period requirement and you have a gain from the sale, the gain is ordinary income up to the amount by which the stock's fair market value when the option was granted exceeded the option price. Any excess gain is capital gain. If you have a loss from the sale, it is a capital loss, and you do not have any ordinary income.

Example. Your employer, Y Corporation, granted you an option under its employee stock purchase plan to buy 100 shares of stock of Y Corporation for $20 a share at a time when the stock had a value of $22 a share. Eighteen months later, when the value of the stock was $23 a share, you exercised the option, and 14 months after that you sold your stock for $30 a share. In the year of sale, you must report as wages the difference between the option price ($20) and the value at the time the option was granted ($22). The rest of your gain ($8) is capital gain, figured as follows:

Holding period requirement not met. If you do not meet the holding period requirement, your ordinary income is the amount by which the stock's fair market value when you exercised the option exceeded the option price. This ordinary income is not limited to your gain from the sale of the stock. Increase your basis in the stock by the amount of this ordinary income. The difference between your increased basis and the selling price of the stock is a capital gain or loss.

Example. The facts are the same as in the previous example, except that you sold the stock only 6 months after you exercised the option. Because you did not hold the stock long enough, you must report $300 as wages and $700 as capital gain, figured as follows:

Restricted Property

Generally, if you receive property for your services, you must include its fair market value in your income in the year you receive the property. However, if you receive stock or other property that has certain restrictions that affect its value, you do not include the value of the property in your income until it has been substantially vested. (You can choose to include the value of the property in your income in the year it is transferred to you, as discussed later, rather than the year it is substantially vested.)

Until the property becomes substantially vested, it is owned by the person who makes the transfer to you, usually your employer. However, any income from the property, or the right to use the property, is included in your income as wages in the year you receive the income or have the right to use the property.

When the property becomes substantially vested, you must include its fair market value, minus any amount you paid for it, in your income for that year.

Example. Your employer, the RST Corporation, sells you 100 shares of its stock at $10 a share. At the time of the sale the fair market value of the stock is $100 a share. Under the terms of the sale, the stock is under a substantial risk of forfeiture (you have a good chance of losing it) for a 5-year period. Because your stock is not substantially vested when it is transferred, you do not include any amount in your income in the year you buy it. At the end of the 5-year period, the fair market value of the stock is $200 a share. You must include $19,000 in your income [100 shares × ($200 fair market value - $10 you paid)]. Dividends paid by the RST Corporation on your 100 shares of stock are taxable to you as wages during the period the stock can be forfeited.

Substantially vested. Property is substantially vested when:

• It is transferable, or
• It is not subject to a substantial risk of forfeiture (you do not have a good chance of losing it).

Transferable property. Property is transferable if you can sell, assign, or pledge your interest in the property to any person (other than the transferor), and if the person receiving your interest in the property is not required to give up the property, or its value, if the substantial risk of forfeiture occurs.

Substantial risk of forfeiture. A substantial risk of forfeiture exists if the rights in the property transferred depend on the future performance (or refraining from performance) of substantial services by any person, or the occurrence of a certain condition related to the transfer.

Example. The Spin Corporation transfers to you as compensation for services 100 shares of its corporate stock for $100 a share. Under the terms of the transfer, you must resell the stock to the corporation at $100 a share if you leave your job for any reason within 3 years from the date of transfer. Because you must perform substantial services over a period of time and you must resell the stock to the corporation at $100 a share (regardless of its value) if you do not perform the services, your rights to the stock are subject to a substantial risk of forfeiture.

Choosing to include in income for year of transfer. You can choose to include the value of the property at the time of transfer (minus any amount you paid for the property) in your income for the year it is transferred. If you make this choice, the substantial vesting rules do not apply and, generally, any later appreciation in value is not included in your compensation when the property becomes substantially vested. Your basis for figuring gain or loss when you sell the property is the amount you paid for it plus the amount you included in income as compensation.

If you make this choice, you cannot revoke it without the consent of the Internal Revenue Service. Consent will be given only if you were under a mistake of fact as to the underlying transaction.

If you forfeit the property after you have included its value in income, your loss is the amount you paid for the property minus any amount you realized on the forfeiture.

How to make the choice. You make the choice by filing a written statement with the Internal Revenue Service center where you file your return. You must file this statement no later than 30 days after the date the property was transferred. A copy of the statement must be attached to your tax return for the year the property was transferred. You also must give a copy of this statement to the person for whom you performed the services and, if someone other than you received the property, to that person.

You must sign the statement and indicate on it that you are making the choice under section 83(b) of the Internal Revenue Code. The statement must contain all of the following information.

• Your name, address, and taxpayer identification number.
• A description of each property for which you are making the choice.
• The date or dates on which the property was transferred and the tax year for which you are making the choice.
• The nature of any restrictions on the property.
• The fair market value at the time of transfer (ignoring restrictions except those that will never lapse) of each property for which you are making the choice.
• Any amount that you paid for the property.
• A statement that you have provided copies to the appropriate persons.

Dividends received on restricted stock. Dividends you receive on restricted stock are extra compensation to you. Your employer should include these payments on your Form W-2. If they are also reported on a Form 1099-DIV, Dividends and Distributions, you should list them on Schedule B (Form 1040), Interest and Ordinary Dividends, with a statement that you have included them as wages. Do not include them in the total dividends received.

Stock you chose to include in your income. Dividends you receive on restricted stock you chose to include in your income in the year transferred are treated the same as any other dividends. You should receive a Form 1099-DIV showing these dividends. Do not include the dividends in your wages on your return. Report them as dividends.

Sale of property not substantially vested. These rules apply to the sale or other disposition of property that you did not choose to include in your income in the year transferred and that is not substantially vested.

If you sell or otherwise dispose of the property in an arm's-length transaction, include in your income as compensation for the year of sale the amount realized minus the amount you paid for the property. If you exchange the property in an arm's-length transaction for other property that is not substantially vested, treat the new property as if it were substituted for the exchanged property.

If you sell the property in a transaction that is not at arm's length, include in your income as compensation for the year of sale the total of any money you received and the fair market value of any substantially vested property you received on the sale. In addition, you will have to report income when the original property becomes substantially vested, as if you still held it. Report as compensation its fair market value minus the total of the amount you paid for the property and the amount included in your income from the earlier sale.

Example. In 1998, you paid your employer $50 for a share of stock that had a fair market value of $100 and was subject to forfeiture until 2001. In 2000, you sold the stock to your spouse for $10 in a transaction not at arm's length. You had wage income of $10 from this transaction. In 2001, when the stock had a fair market value of $120, it became substantially vested. For 2001, you must report additional wage income of $60, figured as follows:

Inherited property not substantially vested. If you inherit property not substantially vested at the time of the decedent's death, any income you receive from the property is considered income in respect of a decedent and is taxed according to the rules for restricted property received for services. For information about income in respect of a decedent, get Publication 559.

Previous| First | Next

Publication Index | IRS-Forms Main | Home