At the end of each calendar year, PeopleKeep sends your employer the necessary information about your benefit to help finalize your W-2s for tax season.
In order to send this information, each time you've submitted an expense, we've asked you if you or your dependent who the expense was for had minimum essential coverage (learn more about MEC here).
If you answered this MEC question incorrectly or your coverage has changed, you'll want to update your MEC status by following the instructions below.
Step 1: Click on your name in the top right-hand corner of your dashboard.
Step 2: Select Tax savings
Step 3: Confirm the tax year and family member you want to update
Step 4: Click the T button in the month you want to update
Step 5: Confirm whether you had MEC or not
Step 6: Click SAVE
(The video above shows how to easily change your MEC status in your PeopleKeep account)
How do I know if an expense is tax-free or tax-advantaged?
For reimbursements to be tax-free, you or your eligible family member who incurred the expense needs to be covered by a major medical policy that provides minimum essential coverage (MEC) at the time of the expense.
Example:
Let’s say your spouse went to the doctor for a lab test in June. If they had a major medical policy that covered them in June, then your reimbursement for that lab test would be 100 percent tax-free.
If they did not have coverage in June, your reimbursement would be tax-advantaged. If they were covered by a policy providing MEC for part of a month, you would answer “yes” to having MEC for that month.
What’s the difference between tax-free and tax-advantaged?
- Tax-free - This reimbursement is 100 percent tax-free. The amount won’t be included in your W-2 gross income or taxed on your paycheck.
- Tax-advantaged - This reimbursement is free of payroll taxes (like Medicare and Social Security) but will be included as gross income on your W-2.