#employee-benefits
Discover employee benefit options to attract talent and reduce turnover in small businesses
The IRS raised 2026 HSA limits to $4,400 self-only and $8,750 family (Revenue Procedure 2025-19). A small business owner's guide to the S-corp more-than-2% shareholder rules, the 35% comparability excise tax, cafeteria plan workarounds, and how to avoid excess-contribution penalties.
Connecticut's paid sick leave law now covers employers with 11 or more employees as of January 1, 2026, dropping to zero threshold by 2027, while 17 states plus D.C. mandate some form of paid sick leave with accrual typically at one hour per 30 hours worked.
Employer HSA contributions outside a Section 125 cafeteria plan must be identical across comparable employees, or the IRS imposes a 35% excise tax on the full contribution pool, not just the excess.
Utah, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, and West Virginia now let businesses contribute to an independent contractor's portable benefit account without that contribution counting as evidence of employment. How the state safe harbors work, what Utah's 50% tax credit (up to $2,000 per contractor) covers, and how to track contributions in your books.
Section 125 cafeteria plans must pass three IRS nondiscrimination tests each year — eligibility, benefits and contributions, and the 25% key employee concentration test. This guide covers the 2026 thresholds ($220,000 officer and $160,000 HCI compensation, $3,400 FSA and $7,500 DCAP limits), what a failed test costs your top earners, and when a Simple Cafeteria Plan under Section 125(j) lets employers with 100 or fewer employees skip testing entirely.
For 2026 the standard SIMPLE IRA elective deferral limit is $17,000, but employers with 25 or fewer employees (or 26-100 that raise their match) get an enhanced $18,100 limit under SECURE 2.0 — and a rounding quirk means the enhanced-tier catch-up contribution is actually lower than the standard one.
How an ESOP lets founders exit on their own terms — 6,411 US ESOPs hold $2.1 trillion for 15.1 million employees. Covers Section 1042 capital gains deferral, the S-corp federal tax exemption, 2–4% deal costs, fiduciary and repurchase obligations, and which businesses actually fit the structure.
SECURE 2.0 Section 110 lets employers match 401(k), 403(b), SIMPLE IRA, or governmental 457(b) contributions based on an employee's student loan payments instead of elective deferrals, and plan sponsors adopting the feature must formally amend their plan documents by December 31, 2026.
OBBBA Section 71308 and IRS Notice 2026-05 let you pair a Direct Primary Care membership of up to $150/month per adult ($300 family) with an HSA starting January 2026, reclassify all Bronze and Catastrophic marketplace plans as HSA-eligible, and make the telehealth pre-deductible safe harbor permanent. Here is how freelancers, solo S-corp owners, and small employers should stack DPC, marketplace coverage, HSAs, and QSEHRA/ICHRA reimbursements without double-dipping.
What the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act requires under 29 CFR Part 1636, how the PUMP Act layers on top under FLSA Section 7(r), what the 2025 federal court rulings actually vacated, and the six-step interactive process records small and mid-size employers need to defend an EEOC charge in 2026.
SECURE 2.0 requires new 401(k) and 403(b) plans established after December 29, 2022 to adopt an Eligible Automatic Contribution Arrangement with a 3% default deferral, 1% annual escalation up to a 10–15% cap, QDIA investment, and 90-day permissible withdrawal — with plan document amendments due by December 31, 2026.
ASC 710-10 requires employers to accrue a balance-sheet liability for PTO, vacation, and sick leave that vests or carries over. This guide covers the four-part test, sabbatical and unlimited PTO rules, the reserve calculation, and the journal entries.
