Tax Law and News Tax Reform Brings Changes to Qualified Moving Expenses Read the Article Open Share Drawer Share this:Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) Written by Intuit Accountants Team Modified Dec 13, 2018 2 min read For businesses that have employees, there are changes to fringe benefits that can affect a business’s bottom line and their employee’s tax liabilities. One of these changes is to qualified moving expenses. Under previous law, payment or reimbursement of an employee’s qualified moving expenses were not subject to income or employment taxes, but under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, employers must include all moving expenses in employees’ wages, subject to income and employment taxes. Exception Generally, members of the U.S. Armed Forces can still exclude qualified moving expense reimbursements from their income if: They are on active duty. They move pursuant to a military order and incident to a permanent change of station. The moving expenses would qualify as a deduction if the employee didn’t get a reimbursement. Transition rule There is a transition rule under the new law. Under this rule, certain payments or reimbursements aren’t subject to federal income or employment taxes. This includes amounts that: An employer pays a third party in 2018 for qualified moving services provided to an employee prior to 2018. An employer reimburses an employee in 2018 for qualified moving expenses incurred prior to 2018. To qualify for the transition rule, the payments or reimbursements must be for qualified expenses which would have been deductible by the employee if the employee had directly paid them before Jan. 1, 2018. The employee must not have deducted them in 2017. Corrections Employers who have included amounts covered by the exception or the transition rule in individuals’ wages or compensation can take steps to correct taxable wages and employment taxes. More information: Circular E: Employer’s Tax Guide Instructions for Form 941-X, Adjusted Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return or Claim for Refund Editor’s note: Check out these articles for more information on tax reform and how it affect your clients. Previous Post Changes Ahead for Lessors With the New Lease Standards Next Post IRS Releases Draft of QBI Section of Publication 535 Written by Intuit Accountants Team The Intuit® Accountants team provides ProConnect™ Tax, Lacerte® Tax, ProSeries® Tax, and add-on software and services to enable workflow for its customers. Visit us at https://proconnect.intuit.com, or follow us on Twitter @IntuitAccts. More from Intuit Accountants Team Comments are closed. Browse Related Articles Tax Law and News Consultant Spotlight: John Trammell Practice Management Why you should care about green cloud computing Practice Management Consultant spotlight: Steven G. Advisory Services Understanding your client’s relationship with mon… Practice Management Consultant spotlight: Jonathan Lovitt Practice Management ProConnect™ Tax spotlight: Megan Leesley, CPA Tax Law and News Boo! Extension season horror stories Tax Law and News Tax relief for victims of Hurricane Milton Practice Management Tax Season Readiness virtual conference—Nov. 13-14 Practice Management Lacerte® Tax spotlight: Tania Santos, EA