Retirement Advice From Your Plan Can Be Tax-Free.
Section 132(m) lets an employer that maintains a qualified retirement plan provide retirement planning advice without adding its value to wages. This page explains what is covered, what is carved out and the fairness test for higher earners.
What The Exclusion Covers.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Check the cited sources before you act.
Employee Fringe Benefit Tax Rules
The overview of all six exclusions in Publication 15-B.
De Minimis And Employee Discount Fringe Benefits
Small perks that are not worth tracking, and staff discounts with percentage caps.
On-Premises Athletic Facility Tax Exclusion
When a gym you operate for staff and their families stays outside wages.
What The Exclusion Covers.
If you maintain a qualified retirement plan, you may leave out of an employee’s wages the value of any retirement planning advice or information you provide to the employee or the employee’s spouse. Publication 15-B defines a qualified retirement plan by reference to section 219(g)(5) of the Code, which lists the kinds of plan, contract, pension and account that count.
The benefit is broader than advice about your own plan. The Publication says the services may include general advice and information on retirement in addition to employer plan advice and information. A session on how to think about saving, or on how plan choices fit an employee’s timeline, reads naturally as advice and information.
Spouses are included, so inviting a spouse to a planning session does not create wages for the employee.
Where It Fits In A Benefits Program.
Many employers run retirement education alongside open enrollment or a plan anniversary, through the plan’s provider or an outside adviser. The exclusion is the reason employees do not receive a taxable item for attending. Because a plan must exist for the exclusion to apply, the benefit sits naturally with your retirement plan rather than as a stand-alone perk.
The carve-out matters in practice. The exclusion does not apply to services for tax preparation, accounting, legal or brokerage services. A free tax return preparation session or a brokerage account setup offered as part of a retirement day falls outside the exclusion, and its value is generally wages unless another rule covers it.
Table 2-1 of the Publication shows this benefit as exempt from income tax withholding, Social Security and Medicare taxes and FUTA, subject to that same carve-out. We can help line up the education with your plan provider’s calendar, while the payroll treatment remains a question for your tax adviser.
Setting Up A Compliant Program.
Open the program to the group of employees you normally educate about the plan. The fairness rule in the Code looks at whether the services are available on the same terms across that group.
Ask the presenter to keep the session to retirement planning. If a vendor wants to add tax filing help or account opening, treat those pieces separately for payroll purposes and check them with your tax adviser.
Keep the agenda and the invitation list. A short record shows who was eligible and what was offered, which is what a reviewer would ask to see.
Common Misreadings.
Treating the exclusion as available without a plan. The text ties it to an employer that maintains a qualified retirement plan.
Overlooking the higher earner rule. You cannot exclude retirement planning services from the wages of a highly compensated employee if the services are not available on the same terms to each member of a group of employees normally provided education and information about the employer’s qualified retirement plan. A private planning session offered only to executives is the clearest way to lose the exclusion.
Folding in excluded services. A planning day that includes a tax preparer or an attorney is not wholly covered, so split the pieces.
Related Rules And Tools.
Cafeteria Plans For Employers
How pre-tax salary reduction works for benefits that run through a plan.
De Minimis Gifts To Employees
Which small gifts stay tax-free and where the line falls.
A Compliance Calendar For Your Plan Year
A plan-year view of the dates that matter.
Laws And Sources
IRS Publication 15-B (2026) — Source for the plan requirement, the carve-out for tax, accounting, legal and brokerage services and the highly compensated employee rule.
26 U.S.C. 132 — Subsection (m) is the qualified retirement planning services exclusion.
26 U.S.C. 219 — Subsection (g)(5) lists the plan types the Publication refers to.
General information, not legal or tax advice.
Quick Answers.
Short replies on this page’s topic, each tied to a fuller guide.
Does the exclusion cover tax preparation help?
No. Publication 15-B says the exclusion does not apply to services for tax preparation, accounting, legal or brokerage services.
Do spouses count?
Yes. The exclusion covers retirement planning advice or information provided to an employee or the employee’s spouse.
Can we offer planning only to executives?
Not with the exclusion intact. It cannot be applied to a highly compensated employee unless the services are available on the same terms to each member of the group normally provided education and information about the plan.
The Rest Of This Series.
On-Premises Athletic Facility Tax Exclusion
When a gym you operate for staff and their families stays outside wages.
Working Condition Fringes And Employer-Provided Cell Phones
The deductibility test, its exceptions and the Notice 2011-72 phone rules.
Moving Expense Reimbursements After The Federal Suspension
Why most reimbursements are wages, and who keeps the exclusion.
Achievement Award Exclusion And Deduction Limits
Tangible service and safety awards, with the $400 and $1,600 ceilings.
De Minimis And Employee Discount Fringe Benefits
Small perks that are not worth tracking, and staff discounts with percentage caps.
An independent employee benefits consulting firm. We look at the entire benefits program — cost, plan performance, risk and administration.
Switch to CFH. Unhappy with your broker? Your employees won’t notice. You will. →