Nev. Rev. Stat. § 363A.135 — Payroll tax: Deduction of certain amounts paid for health insurance or health benefit plan for employees

NRS  363A.135    Payroll tax: Deduction of certain amounts paid for health
insurance or health benefit plan for employees.
1.  Except as otherwise provided in
subsection 2, an employer may deduct from the total amount of wages reported
and upon which the excise tax is imposed pursuant to NRS 363A.130 any amount authorized
pursuant to this section that is paid by the employer for health insurance or a
health benefit plan for its employees in the calendar quarter for which the tax
is paid. The amounts for which the deduction is allowed include:
(a) For a self-insured employer, all amounts paid
during the calendar quarter for claims, direct administrative services costs,
including such services provided by the employer, and any premiums paid for
individual or aggregate stop-loss insurance coverage. An employer is not
authorized to deduct the costs of a program of self-insurance unless the
program is a qualified employee welfare benefit plan pursuant to the Employee
Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, 29 U.S.C. §§ 1001 et seq.
(b) The premiums for a policy of health insurance
or reinsurance for a health benefit plan for employees.
(c) Any amounts which are:
(1) Paid by an employer to a Taft-Hartley
trust which:
(I) Is formed pursuant to 29 U.S.C.
§ 186(c)(5); and
(II) Qualifies as an employee
welfare benefit plan; and
(2) Considered by the Internal Revenue
Service to be fully tax deductible pursuant to the provisions of the Internal
Revenue Code.
(d) Such other similar payments for health care
or insurance for health care for employees as are authorized by the Department.
2.  An employer may not deduct from the
wages upon which the excise tax is imposed pursuant to NRS 363A.130 :
(a) Amounts paid for health care or premiums paid
for insurance for an industrial injury or occupational disease for which
coverage is required pursuant to chapters 616A
to 616D , inclusive, or 617 of NRS; or
(b) Any payments made by employees for health
care or health insurance or amounts deducted from the wages of employees for
such health care or insurance.
3.  If the amount of the deduction allowed
pursuant to this section to an employer for a calendar quarter exceeds the
amount of reported wages for that calendar quarter, the excess amount of that
deduction may be carried forward to the following calendar quarter until the
deduction is exhausted. An employer claiming the deduction allowed pursuant to
this section shall, upon the request of the Department, explain the amount
claimed to the satisfaction of the Department and provide the Department with
such documentation as the Department deems appropriate for that purpose.
4.  As used in this section:
(a) “Claims” means claims for those categories of
health care expenses that are generally deductible by employees on their
individual federal income tax returns pursuant to the provisions of 26 U.S.C. §
213 and any federal regulations relating thereto, if those expenses had been
borne directly by those employees.
(b) “Direct administrative services costs” means,
if borne directly by a self-insured employer and reasonably allocated to the
direct administration of claims:
(1) Payments for medical or office
supplies that will be consumed in the course of the provision of medical care
or the direct administration of claims;
(2) Payments to third-party administrators
or independent contractors for the provision of medical care or the direct
administration of claims;
(3) Rent and utility payments for the
maintenance of medical or office space used for the provision of medical care
or the direct administration of claims;
(4) Payments for the maintenance, repair
and upkeep of medical or office space used for the provision of medical care or
the direct administration of claims;
(5) Salaries and wages paid to medical,
clerical and administrative staff and other personnel employed to provide
medical care or directly to administer claims; and
(6) The depreciation of property other
than medical or office supplies, used for the provision of medical care or the
direct administration of claims.
(c) “Employee welfare benefit plan” has the
meaning ascribed to it in 29 U.S.C. § 1002.
(d) “Employees” means employees whose wages are
included within the measure of the excise tax imposed upon an employer by NRS 363A.130 , and their spouses, children
and other dependents who qualify for coverage under the terms of the health
insurance or health benefit plan provided by that employer.
(e) “Health benefit plan” means a health benefit
plan that covers only those categories of health care expenses that are
generally deductible by employees on their individual federal income tax
returns pursuant to the provisions of 26 U.S.C. § 213 and any federal
regulations relating thereto, if those expenses had been borne directly by
those employees.
(f) “Self-insured employer” means an employer
that provides a program of self-insurance for its employees.