‘TIS THE SEASON to check executive deferred compensation practices for operational compliance with section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code and the specific terms of company plans and employment agreements.

Common operational errors include deferring too much or too little and making distributions too large, too small, too early or too late.

Even a minor operational error can cause trouble unless it is corrected promptly. Some types of operational errors discovered in the year of the error or one of the next two years can be corrected without ruinous results under IRS procedures. This makes it appropriate to review your 2011 deferral and distribution records to make sure everything is just right or to identify issues and make prompt corrections. If you did not review your records for 2009 or 2010, that also would be worth doing now. Although the corrections approved by the IRS are more difficult and more

The IRS recently released Revenue Ruling 2011-29 clarifying the deductibility of bonuses. The question posed in the Ruling was:

“Can I deduct a bonus in the current tax year if I know how much I will pay in bonuses by the end of the year, even if I don’t know who will get them until next year?”

The Facts: The more detailed facts are as follows:

A company (we’ll call it “X” to protect the innocent) uses an accrual method of accounting for federal tax purposes. X pays bonuses to a group of employees pursuant to a program that defines the terms and conditions under which the bonuses are paid for a taxable year. X communicates the general terms of the bonus program to employees when they become eligible and whenever the program is changed.

Under the program, bonuses are paid to X’s employees for services performed during the taxable