We have been telling our clients that no matter the outcome of this Presidential election, your taxes are going up. Not for just some of us, but for all of us. No matter what the politicians tell you there is no hiding the fact that we are all deeply in debt. Below is a list of 2013 tax changes that specifically affect employee compensation and benefits:
The Payroll Tax
Barring a last minute extension by the coming lame duck Congress, the 2% FICA reduction for 2011 and 2012 is going away as of January 2013, with the employee’s portion of this tax rising from 4.1% to 6.1%. For a family with a $50,000 income that means a $1,000 increase in your taxes. This increase will affect 163 million of us.
Medicare Payroll Tax Increase on High Earners
Employee earnings in excess of $200,000 will be subject to a 0.9% Medicare tax increase, although this will impact a very small percentage of wage earners. For an employee with a $250,000 income that represents a $450 tax increase.
Flexible Spending Account Limits
The amount of contributions to a health FSA will be limited to $2,500 annually. It should be noted that the and does not apply to contributions or amounts available for reimbursement under other types of FSAs (such as a dependent care FSA), health savings accounts (HSAs), or health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs), or to salary reduction contributions to cafeteria plans that are used to pay an employee’s share of health coverage premiums (such as a premium only plan (POP) or the corresponding employee share under a self-insured employer-sponsored health plan).
Health Savings Account Contribution Limits
On the plus side, the amounts that may be contributed to a Health Savings Account (“HSA”) will increase in 2013 to $3,250 single and $6,450 family. The age 55 and older catch-up provision remains at $1,000.
There are a variety of other taxes that will impact the cost of healthcare but may not impact everyone the same. These include a 2.3% medical device tax and a 3.8% tax on unearned income of taxpayers with more than $200,000 in income.