26 CFR § 1.105-1 - Amounts attributable to employer contributions.

(a) In general. Under section 105(a), amounts received by an employee through accident or health insurance for personal injuries or sickness must be included in his gross income to the extent that such amounts (1) are attributable to contributions of the employer which were not includible in the gross income of the employee, or (2) are paid by the employer, unless such amounts are excluded therefrom under section 105(b), (c), or (d). For purposes of this section, the term “amounts received by an employee through an accident or health plan” refers to any amounts received through accident or health insurance, and also to any amounts which, under section 105(e), are treated as being so received. See § 1.105-5. In determining the extent to which amounts received for personal injuries or sickness by an employee through an accident or health plan are subject to the provisions of section 105(a), rather than section 104(a)(3), the provisions of paragraphs (b), (c), (d), and (e) of this section shall apply. A self-employed individual is not an employee for purposes of section 105 and §§ 1.105-1 through 1.105-5. See paragraph (g) of § 1.72-15. Thus, such an individual will not be treated as an employee with respect to benefits described in section 105 received from a plan in which he participates as an employee within the meaning of section 401(c)(1) at the time he, his spouse, or any of his dependents becomes entitled to receive such benefits.

(b) Noncontributory plans. All amounts received by employees through an accident or health plan which is financed solely by their employer, either by payment of premiums on an accident or health insurance policy (whether on a group or individual basis), by contributions to a fund which pays accident or health benefits, or by direct payment of the benefits under the plan, are subject to the provisions of section 105(a), except to the extent that they are excludable under section 105(b), (c), or (d). This rule may be illustrated by the following examples:

Example 1.

Employer A maintains a plan for his employees which provides that he will continue to pay regular wages to employees who are absent from work due to sickness or personal injuries. Employees make no contributions to the plan and all benefits are paid by the employer. Amounts received by employees under the plan are subject to section 105(a), and must be included in gross income unless excluded therefrom under section 105(b), (c), or (d).

Example 2.

Pursuant to a State nonoccupational disability benefits law, employer B maintains an accident and health plan for his employees. Although under the State law B is authorized to withhold from his employees' wages a specified amount for employee contributions to the State fund, in actual practice B does not so withhold and makes all contributions out of his own funds. All amounts received by B's employees from the State fund are subject to section 105(a), and must be included in gross income unless excluded therefrom under section 105 (b), (c), or (d).

(c) Contributory plans.

(1) In the case of amounts received by an employee through an accident or health plan which is financed partially by his employer and partially by contributions of the employee, section 105(a) applies to the extent that such amounts are attributable to contributions of the employer which were not includible in the employee's gross income. The portion of such amounts which is attributable to such contributions of the employer shall be determined in accordance with paragraph (d) of this section in the case of an insured plan, or paragraph (e) of this section in the case of a noninsured plan. As used in this section, the phrase “contributions of the employer” means employer contributions which were not includible in the gross income of the employee. See section 106 for the exclusion from an employee's gross income of employer contributions to accident or health plans.

(2) A separate determination of the portion of the amounts received under the accident or health plan which is attributable to the contributions of the employer shall be made with respect to each class of employees in any case where the plan provides that some classes of covered employees contribute but others do not, or that the employer will make different contributions for different classes of employees, or that different classes of employees will make different contributions, and where in any such case both the contributions of the employer on account of each such class of employees and the contributions of such class of employees can be ascertained. For example, if employees contribute during the first year of employment but not thereafter, there will have to be a separate determination for first year employees, provided that the amount of the contributions of the employer on account of first-year employees and the contributions of such first-year employees can be ascertained for the required periods to apply the rules of paragraph (d) or (e) of this section. If in such a case the contributions of the employer to the plan on account of first-year employees are not distinguishable from his other contributions to the plan, then the determination shall be made for all employees under the plan, and such determination shall be used by all employees under the plan.

(3) Except as provided in paragraph (c)(2) of § 1.72-15, if the plan provides accident or health benefits as well as other benefits for the employees, and if the respective contributions made by the employer and the employees to provide the accident or health benefits cannot be ascertained, the determination of the portion of the accident or health benefits received under such plan which is attributable to the contributions of the employer shall be made in accordance with the rules of paragraph (d) or (e) of this section on the basis of the contributions of the employer and of the employees to the entire plan.

(4) A determination of the portion attributable to the contributions of the employer, once made in accordance with the rules of this section, shall as to such portion be used for all purposes. For example, if an employee receives amounts under a wage continuation plan during the month of January and terminates his services during February, the portion of such amounts which is attributable to the contributions of the employer may be determined in order to provide the employee with such information at the time he is provided his Form W-2. The determination made for such purpose will also be used by the employee to report his income for his taxable year in which such amounts are received, without regard to the experience under the plan for the rest of the year.

(d) Insured plans—(1) Individual policies. If an amount is received from an insurance company by an employee under an individual policy of accident or health insurance purchased by contributions of the employer and the employee, the portion of the amount received which is attributable to the employer's contributions shall be an amount which bears the same ratio to the amount received as the portion of the premiums paid by the employer for the current policy year bears to the total premiums paid by the employer and the employee for that year. This rule may be illustrated by the following example:

Example.

Employer A maintains a plan whereby he pays two-thirds of the annual premium cost on individual policies of accident and health insurance for his employees. The remainder of each employee's premium is paid by a payroll deduction from the wages of the employee. The annual premium for employee X is $24, of which $16 is paid by the employer. Thus, 16/24 or two-thirds of all amounts received by X under such insurance policy are attributable to the contributions of the employer and are subject to section 105(a), and the remaining one-third of such amounts is excludable from X's gross income under section 104(a)(3).

(2) Group policies. If the accident or health coverage is provided under or is a part of a group insurance policy purchased by contributions of the employer and of the employees, and the net premiums for such coverage for a period of at least three policy years are known at the beginning of the calendar year, the portion of any amount received by an employee which is attributable to the contributions of the employer for such coverage shall be an amount which bears the same ratio to the amount received as the portion of the net premiums contributed by the employer for the last three policy years which are known at the beginning of the calendar year, bears to the total of the net premiums contributed by the employer and all employees for such policy years. If the net premiums for such coverage for a period of at least three policy years are not known at the beginning of the calendar year but are known for at least one policy year, such determination shall be made by using the net premiums for such coverage which are known at the beginning of the calendar year. If the net premiums for such coverage are not known at the beginning of the calendar year for even one policy year, such determination shall be made by using either (i) a reasonable estimate of the net premiums for the first policy year, or (ii) if the net premiums for a policy year are ascertained during the calendar year, by using such net premiums. These rules may be illustrated by the following example:

Example.

An employer maintains a plan under which a portion of the cost of a group policy of accident and health insurance for his employees is paid through payroll deductions from wages of the employees. The remainder of the cost is borne by the employer. The policy year begins on November 1 and ends on October 31. The net premium for the policy year ended October 31, 1954, is not known on January 1, 1955, because certain retroactive premium adjustments, such as dividends and credits, are not determinable until after January 1. Therefore, for purposes of this computation the last three policy years are the policy years ended October 31, 1951, 1952, and 1953. The net premium for the policy year ended October 31, 1953, was $8,000, of which the employer contributed $3,000; the net premium for the policy year ended October 31, 1952, was $9,000, of which the employer contributed $3,500; and the net premium for the policy year ended October 31, 1951, was $7,000, of which the employer contributed $1,500. The portion of any amount received under the policy by an employee at any time during 1955 which is attributable to the contributions of the employer is to be determined by using the ratio of $8,000 ($3,000 plus $3,500 plus $1,500) to $24,000 ($8,000 plus $9,000 plus $7,000. Thus, $8,000 ÷ $24,000 or one-third, of the amounts received by an employee at any time during 1955 is attributable to contributions of the employer.

(e) Noninsured plans. If the accident or health benefits are a part of a noninsured plan to which the employer and the employees contribute, and such plan has been in effect for at least three years before the beginning of the calendar year, the portion of the amount received which is attributable to the employer's contributions shall be an amount which bears the same ratio to the amount received as the contributions of the employer for the period of three calendar years next preceding the year of receipt bear to the total contributions of the employer and all the employees for such period. If, at the beginning of the calendar year of receipt, such plan has not been in effect for three years but has been in effect for at least one year, such determination shall be based upon the contributions made during the 1-year or 2-year period during which the plan has been in effect. If such plan has not been in effect for one full year at the beginning of the calendar year of receipt, such determination may be based upon the portion of the year of receipt preceding the time when the determination is made, or such determination may be made periodically (such as monthly or quarterly) and used throughout the succeeding period. For example, if an employee terminates his services on April 15, 1955, and 1955 is the first year the plan has been in effect, such determination may be based upon the contributions of the employer and the employees during the period beginning with January 1 and ending with April 15, or during the month of March, or during the quarter consisting of January, February, and March.

[T.D. 6500, 25 FR 11402, Nov. 26, 1960, as amended by T.D. 6722, 29 FR 5071, Apr. 14, 1964]