What is a highly compensated employee for FSA?

Asked by: Buster Jakubowski  |  Last update: August 28, 2023
Score: 4.7/5 (43 votes)

Special Limits for Highly Compensated Faculty and Staff
For the 2022 plan year, an employee who earns more than $135,000 is considered an HCE. If you are an HCE, your Dependent Care FSA deduction may not exceed $3,600 per family for a married couple filing jointly, or for a single parent.

What is considered highly compensated for FSA?

Individuals are considered highly compensated as an HCE for purposes of the dependent care FSA NDT if they are: A more-than-5% owner of the employer in the current or preceding plan year; or. An employee who earned more than $135,000 (2023 testing) or $150,000 (2024 testing) in the prior plan year.

What is considered a highly compensated employee for 2023 FSA?

If you are determined to be a highly compensated employee and the contribution you elected for 2023 exceeds $3,000, you will be notified by mail and your payroll deduction and WEX DepCare account will be updated. You may log in to your WEX account at uc-fsa.com to check your DepCare FSA balance.

Who are the HCE employees for 2023?

4 For the 2023 plan year, an employee who earns more than $135,000 in 2022 is an HCE. For the 2024 plan year, an employee who earns more than $150,000 in 2023 is an HCE. This information is not intended to provide tax or legal advice. Please consult a tax or legal professional as necessary.

How do I know if I am a highly compensated employee?

If you receive compensation in 2023 that's more than $150,000 and you're in the top 20% of employees as ranked by compensation, your employer can classify you as a highly compensated employee. 82 Compensation includes overtime, bonuses, commissions, and salary deferrals made toward cafeteria plans and 401(k)s.

Highly Compensated Employees (HCE)

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What happens if you have too much FSA?

If you contribute more than you can reasonably use within a year, the money will ultimately return to your employer. More than likely, your employer will then use this extra money to pay administrative costs on FSA accounts. That said, some employers offer a grace period that bumps the annual deadline to a later month.

What to do if you are a highly compensated employee?

There are alternatives for the HCE regarding saving and reducing taxable income.
  1. Catch-up contribution. ...
  2. Contribute to a Health Savings Account (HSA) ...
  3. Make Non-Deductible Traditional IRA Contributions. ...
  4. The Backdoor Roth IRA strategy. ...
  5. Deferred Compensation. ...
  6. Open a Taxable Account. ...
  7. Deferred variable annuity.

What is the HCE test for exemption?

Under the HCE, if an employer pays an employee at least $107,432 (previously $100,000) in total annual compensation, the employee will be deemed exempt if the employee customarily and regularly satisfies the executive employee's duties test (or the duties test set forth under the administrative or professional ...

What is the difference between highly compensated and key employee?

The terms “key employee” and “highly compensated employee” are sometimes mistakenly interchanged. The main difference is that HCEs earning more than a certain dollar amount in the prior year are not considered key employees unless they meet the ownership or officer2 criteria.

Who is considered a non highly compensated employee?

A Non-Highly Compensated Employee (NHCE) is an employee who does not meet the income and ownership thresholds defined by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs). NHCEs play a significant role in employee compensation and benefits.

What is the 20% rule for HCE?

Is within the top 20 percent of all individuals at the company when they are ranked by compensation during the look-back year. More than 5% owners would also be HCEs if a Top Paid Group election is made.

What is the HCE top 20 rule?

The top-paid group election allows the plan to limit the number of employees determined to be HCEs via the compensation test to only 20% of the total employees. To determine who would be within the top-paid group, you need to first calculate the number of HCEs by compensation.

Can HCE make catch up contributions?

A catch-up contribution is an elective deferral made by a participant age 50 or older that exceeds a statutory limit, a plan-imposed limit, or the actual deferral percentage (ADP) test limit for highly compensated employees (HCEs).

Is there a salary limit for FSA?

Maximum Annual Dependent Care FSA Contribution Limits

If your tax filing status is Single, your annual limit is: $5,000 if your 2022 earnings were less than $135,000; however, your contributions may not be in excess of your earned income for the plan year. $3,600 if your 2022 earnings were $135,000 or more.

Should you max out your FSA?

In 2022, the limit is $2,750 per year per employer. “Maxing out your contributions is only a good idea if you know you'll spend that much or more on medical bills during the year,” says Melanie Musson. Musson is a finance expert with U.S. Insurance Agents, an online insurance comparison site.

How much is highly compensated?

Classification of Highly Compensated Employees

They own 5% or more of the company regardless of their compensation. Ownership applies to spouses, children, and grandchildren working under a single company. Their annual earning will be more than $150,000 in 2023.

What is top 25 HCE restriction?

This restriction, sometimes known as the “High 25” or claw back rule, affects the top 25 highest paid HCEs. The rule is intended to ensure large lump sum distributions made to the top HCEs don't jeopardize the funding status of the plan and its ability to make benefit payments to other participants.

Is a 5% owner an HCE?

Ownership test: An employee is considered to be an HCE if he or she owns more than 5% of the company sponsoring the plan at any time during the current or previous plan year, regardless of compensation.

What is HCE for 401k for 2023?

The threshold for determining who is a highly compensated employee (HCE) will increase to $150,000 (up from $135,000).

Can a highly compensated employee be non exempt?

This week the United States Supreme Court held that highly compensated employees are not exempt from overtime requirements unless they are paid on a salary basis. In other words, employers cannot avoid paying overtime to employees simply because they earn a high hourly or daily rate.

What is a key employee 1%?

Understanding Key Employee

It refers: to an employee who owns more than 5 percent of the business, owns more than 1% of the business, and has annual compensation greater than a certain amount or is an officer with compensation greater than a certain amount.

What is a highly compensated employee section 125?

A highly compensated individual is defined by Section 125 as an individual who is: An officer. A shareholder owning more than 5 percent of the voting power or value of all classes of employer stock. Highly compensated (threshold adjusted annually).

What is the HCE for 401k testing?

The Major 401(k) Nondiscrimination Tests

For 2023, an HCE is defined as an individual that meets one of the following criteria: They own more than 5% of the employer (either directly or by family attribution) at any time during 2023 or 2022.