Relief for homeowners with corrosive drywall. The IRS is allowing individuals with corrosive drywall to apply a safe harbor formula to treat the costs of repairing the defective drywall as a casualty loss. The safe harbor applies for original and amended federal income tax returns filed after Sept. 29, 2010. Reported problems have occurred with certain imported drywall installed in homes between 2001 and 2008. Homeowners have reported blackening or corrosion of copper electrical wiring and copper components of household appliances, as well as the presence of sulfur gas odors. In the case of any individual who pays to repair damage to his personal residence or household appliances that results from corrosive drywall, the IRS won’t challenge his treatment of damage resulting from corrosive drywall as a casualty loss (which might otherwise be difficult to achieve under the regular rules) if the loss is determined and reported under the safe harbor rule. A taxpayer who does not have a pending claim for reimbursement may claim as a loss all unreimbursed amounts paid during the tax year to repair damage to his personal residence and household appliances resulting from corrosive drywall. A taxpayer who has a pending claim (or intends to pursue reimbursement) may claim a loss for 75% of the unreimbursed amount paid during the tax year to repair damage to the taxpayer’s personal residence and household appliances that resulted from corrosive drywall.
Over-the-counter drug costs will no longer be reimbursable. Effective Jan. 1, 2011, unless prescribed or insulin, the cost of over-the-counter medicines cannot be reimbursed from flexible spending arrangements (FSA), health reimbursement arrangements (HRA), Health Savings Accounts (HSA) and Archer Medical Savings Accounts (Archer MSA). The IRS has issued guidance explaining that an individual may be reimbursed for over-the counter medicines or drugs, so long as the individual obtains a prescription for the medicines or drugs. It also makes clear that expenses incurred for over-the-counter medicines or drugs purchased without a prescription before Jan. 1, 2011 may be reimbursed tax-free at any time by an employer-provided plan, including an FSA or HRA, under the terms of the employer’s plan.
Simplified per diem rates lowered effective Oct. 1, 2010. Reimbursements of an employee’s business travel costs (lodging, meal and incidental expenses (M&IE)) at a per diem rate are payroll-and income-tax free if simplified substantiation is provided and the daily rate doesn’t exceed the federal per diem rate (the maximum amount that the federal government reimburses its employees) for the locality of travel for that day. While the per diem rates vary by travel destination, employers can make reimbursements at the simplified “high-low” per diem rates, which assign one per diem rate to high-cost areas within the continental U.S., and another to non-high-cost areas. The IRS has issued the “high-low” simplified per diem rates for post-Sept. 30, 2010, travel. An employer may reimburse up to $233 for high-cost localities ($168 for lodging and $65 for M&IE) and $160 for other localities ($108 for lodging and $52 for M&IE). The list of high-cost areas is also updated.