Tax Tips for Higher Education

The “Governance Section” of Form 990 has several questions regarding policies. Form 990, Part VI, Lines 16a and 16b ask about whether an institution invests in, contributes assets to, or participates in a “joint venture” and whether or not you have a written joint venture policy. Does your team know how to answer these items?

When an employee is in the process of moving from one state to another and the move “straddles” a calendar year, how do you determine which state they were a resident of?

More and more, cyber criminals are attempting to “scam” employers – including private colleges and universities – in an attempt to facilitate various “flavors” of on-line crime. The IRS has issued information to help you to not stumble into these scams.

As the March 15th deadline for filing Form 1042 and Forms 1042-S approaches, the IRS has released Fact Sheet 2017-3 with reminders for non-U.S. Citizen taxpayers (such as international students) and withholding agents (this may be you) of their obligations with respect to filing.

There always seems to be confusion around the arena of “allowable” fringe benefits for employees. The IRS has just released an updated version of Publication 15=B, Employer’s Tax Guide to Fringe Benefits. The new guide includes examples of de minimis (non-taxable) fringe benefits and lists some examples of benefits that are taxable.