2017 Imputed Income Resources Now Available

To support your cooperative’s year-end reporting requirements, NRECA’s benefits compliance team has once again prepared calculation worksheets to help you report the taxable value of group term life insurance to your employees. These worksheets and accompanying frequently asked questions (FAQs) are now available on the Employee Benefits website.

Imputed income is the taxable value of group term life insurance above an employee’s first $50,000 of coverage, including supplemental, spouse, and child life coverage. Even though employees don’t receive cash, they’re taxed on the value of this additional coverage. Internal Revenue Code §79 contains the imputed income calculation rules. The IRS Imputed Income Table I rates remain unchanged for 2017.

If your co-op offers group term life insurance (either through the NRECA Group Benefits Program or another group plan), don’t forget to report imputed income on your co-op’s 2016 W-2 forms. Use the 2016 worksheet for your calculations. If you plan to report imputed income on a per pay-period or monthly basis during 2017, use the 2017 worksheet.

To address many common questions and assist you better, we’ve expanded the 2017 calculation worksheet. A new tab contains step-by-step instructions for how to enter your employees’ coverage and salary data and read the worksheet output. These instructions will help ensure you’ve included the value of all types of coverage (employee basic and supplemental coverage, spousal coverage, and dependent coverage) in your calculations and reporting.

If you have any questions about imputed income, contact the group compliance team at 866.673.2299, option 7, or group.compliance@nreca.coop. If you need help locating the imputed income resources, call the Member Contact Center at 866.673.2299 or contactcenter@nreca.coop.