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Welfare Benefit Plans Funded with Permanent Life Insurance Are Abusive Tax Scams
Similarly, the IRS position on single employer welfare benefit plans invested in permanent life insurance where the employer deducts more than the term cost of insurance is that those plans are also abusive tax scams.
• Millennium Plan
• Insured Security Plan
• Corporate Benefit Services Plan
• Sea Nine Associates VEBA
• Niche National Benefit Plans
• Professional Benefit Trust (PBT)
• Koresko STEP Plan
• Bisys Plan
• Xelan Plan
• Sterling Plan
Question: What is the IRS position on these plans?
Answer: The IRS position appears to be that all multiple employer welfare benefit plans funded with permanent life insurance are abusive tax scams. Their history is to open promoter audits on every such plan and eventually to obtain the client lists from the promoters and then audit their clients. The IRS position on single employer welfare benefit plans that are spin-offs of the multiple employer plans appears to be the same.
Question: Has the IRS approved any multiple or single employer welfare benefit plan invested in permanent life insurance?
Answer: Though an IRS private letter ruling is not immediately public, it is my understanding that the IRS has never “approved” of any multiple or single employer welfare benefit plan where permanent life insurance was used as a funding vehicle and the participating employer took a deduction for anything other than the current term insurance cost.
Question: Are the IRS audits coordinated?
Answer: Yes. The IRS audits are both targeted and coordinated. They are targeted meaning that the IRS obtains a list of the participating employers in a plan promotion and audits the participating employers (and owners) for the purpose of challenging the deductions taken with respect to the plan. The audits are coordinated meaning that there is an IRS Issue Management Team for each promotion that has responsibility for both managing the promoter audit(s) and also developing the coordinated position to be followed by the Examination Agents. Their intention is that all taxpayers under audit will receive the similar treatment in Exam. There are also IRS Offices that specialize in 419 audits. For example, IRS offices in upstate New York and in El Monte California will manage many audits of specific promotions.
Question: What is the general IRS position on these plans?
Answer: Though there can be some differences among plans, the basic IRS position is that the plans are not welfare benefit plans, but really plans of deferred compensation. As such, the contributions remain deductible at the business level but are included in the owner’s 1040 income for every open year and the value of the insurance policy with respect to contributions in closed years is included in the owner’s income either in the first open year or the year of termination or transfer. The IRS will normally apply 20% penalties on the tax applied and 30% with respect to non-reporting cases (see discussion below).
The above sales pitch was not written by Lance Wallach. Lance gets hundreds of phone calls yearly about 419 and other abusive tax shelters. As an expert witness Lance Wallach’s side has never lost a case. The above sales pitch fails to mention that unless the business owner has properly filed under 6707a they will probably receive an additional large IRS fine.
The information provided herein is not intended as legal, accounting, financial or any type of advice for any specific individual or other entity. You should contact an appropriate professional for any such advice.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Lance Wallach
Lance Wallach, National Society of Accountants Speaker of the Year and member of the AICPA faculty of teaching professionals, is a frequent speaker on retirement plans, abusive tax shelters, financial, international tax, and estate planning. He writes about 412(i), 419, Section79, FBAR, and captive insurance plans. He does expert witness testimony and has never lost a case.
Copyright Lance Wallach, CLU, CHFC
More information about Lance Wallach, CLU, CHFC
Disclaimer: While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this publication, it is not intended to provide legal advice as individual situations will differ and should be discussed with an expert and/or lawyer. For specific technical or legal advice on the information provided and related topics, please contact the author.
• Insured Security Plan
• Corporate Benefit Services Plan
• Sea Nine Associates VEBA
• Niche National Benefit Plans
• Professional Benefit Trust (PBT)
• Koresko STEP Plan
• Bisys Plan
• Xelan Plan
• Sterling Plan
Question: What is the IRS position on these plans?
Answer: The IRS position appears to be that all multiple employer welfare benefit plans funded with permanent life insurance are abusive tax scams. Their history is to open promoter audits on every such plan and eventually to obtain the client lists from the promoters and then audit their clients. The IRS position on single employer welfare benefit plans that are spin-offs of the multiple employer plans appears to be the same.
Question: Has the IRS approved any multiple or single employer welfare benefit plan invested in permanent life insurance?
Answer: Though an IRS private letter ruling is not immediately public, it is my understanding that the IRS has never “approved” of any multiple or single employer welfare benefit plan where permanent life insurance was used as a funding vehicle and the participating employer took a deduction for anything other than the current term insurance cost.
Question: Are the IRS audits coordinated?
Answer: Yes. The IRS audits are both targeted and coordinated. They are targeted meaning that the IRS obtains a list of the participating employers in a plan promotion and audits the participating employers (and owners) for the purpose of challenging the deductions taken with respect to the plan. The audits are coordinated meaning that there is an IRS Issue Management Team for each promotion that has responsibility for both managing the promoter audit(s) and also developing the coordinated position to be followed by the Examination Agents. Their intention is that all taxpayers under audit will receive the similar treatment in Exam. There are also IRS Offices that specialize in 419 audits. For example, IRS offices in upstate New York and in El Monte California will manage many audits of specific promotions.
Question: What is the general IRS position on these plans?
Answer: Though there can be some differences among plans, the basic IRS position is that the plans are not welfare benefit plans, but really plans of deferred compensation. As such, the contributions remain deductible at the business level but are included in the owner’s 1040 income for every open year and the value of the insurance policy with respect to contributions in closed years is included in the owner’s income either in the first open year or the year of termination or transfer. The IRS will normally apply 20% penalties on the tax applied and 30% with respect to non-reporting cases (see discussion below).
The above sales pitch was not written by Lance Wallach. Lance gets hundreds of phone calls yearly about 419 and other abusive tax shelters. As an expert witness Lance Wallach’s side has never lost a case. The above sales pitch fails to mention that unless the business owner has properly filed under 6707a they will probably receive an additional large IRS fine.
The information provided herein is not intended as legal, accounting, financial or any type of advice for any specific individual or other entity. You should contact an appropriate professional for any such advice.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Lance Wallach
Lance Wallach, National Society of Accountants Speaker of the Year and member of the AICPA faculty of teaching professionals, is a frequent speaker on retirement plans, abusive tax shelters, financial, international tax, and estate planning. He writes about 412(i), 419, Section79, FBAR, and captive insurance plans. He does expert witness testimony and has never lost a case.
Copyright Lance Wallach, CLU, CHFC
More information about Lance Wallach, CLU, CHFC
Disclaimer: While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this publication, it is not intended to provide legal advice as individual situations will differ and should be discussed with an expert and/or lawyer. For specific technical or legal advice on the information provided and related topics, please contact the author.
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