Rather than set up a health insurance plan of their own, some small companies reimburse their workers for the premiums they pay for individual policies or Medicare. Under the health care law, however, those firms faced a hefty excise tax: $10 a day per worker.

The IRS has granted temporary relief for companies with fewer than 50 fulltime-equivalent workers through June 30 of this year, and several in Congress are working on a bill to allow such plans to continue permanently on a pretax basis.

Similar relief has been announced for S corporations. They, too, are protected from the $10-a-day tax when they reimburse health insurance premiums for those who own more than 2 percent of the corporation. They get an even better deal: their relief runs all the way through 2015 and maybe longer.

The Internal Revenue Service is expected to publish further guidance on S corporation reimbursement plans. Larger companies will still need to prepare reports on health-insurance coverage for each of their workers on Form 1095-C, and to the IRS on Form 1094-C, which will require more detailed information. 

For nearly 30 years, Mike Nickerson has owned and managed a small, full-service accounting practice in the Midcoast. He holds a bachelor's degree in accounting from University of Southern Main and a master's degree in financial planning from Bentley University. He is a past board member and president of the Maine Society of Certified Public Accountants and currently serves on the Maine Board of Accountancy.

An aged rock musician, Nickerson now finds musical enjoyment playing upright and electric bass in a variety of bands spanning folk to jazz music genres. He and his wife have three grown children, and they enjoy their free time hiking, kayaking, golfing, bicycling and motorcycling.

nickersonpa.com