Taxation of Employee Benefit Programs

Washington University School of Law | 3 credits

This course provides a substantive overview of the issues related to federal taxation of employee benefit programs (including executive compensation). The legal and policy sources this course will address include statutes and regulations related to the taxation of employee benefit programs and executive compensation, including applicable ERISA statutes, Internal Revenue Code regulations as well as related regulatory and other guidance issued by other federal agencies. Emphasis will be placed on helping students properly understand the policy considerations and legal concepts that drive statutory and regulatory initiatives in the field of employee benefit program taxation. This class will cover various planning concepts related to the field of employee benefit program taxation. Finally, this class will provide students with a working knowledge of various legal and compliance challenges found in the employee benefit taxation area. This course is most relevant for students having an interest in employee benefits, employment law, labor law, business law, or securities law as the class will put these important legal concepts into perspective and allow students to advise clients in understanding and avoiding compliance issues related to the taxation of employee benefit programs.