IRS simplifies accountable plan rules for certain employers.(Brief Article)

Under the new Industry Issue Resolution program (see the article on page 7), the pipeline construction industry asked for clarification of the proper treatment of amounts paid to employees who provide welding and mechanics rigs. These employees incur substantial expenses as a condition of employment, and typically work for multiple companies for short periods of time, so the proper allocation of fixed costs is difficult to determine. Mileage-based substantiation does not accurately reflect true costs because the rigs are used primarily while stationary.

New procedure. Acknowledging that these issues make it extremely difficult for pipeline construction employers to …