Control Group

[goldtpa]

A husband and wife are both doctors. Each has their own practice. The husband has a db and the wife has a psp. In addition they share an ee. The ee works part time for the husband and part time for the wife. I don't know if she is covered under either of the plans since she is part time.

I am pretty sure that this is a control group since there is attribution between husband and wife. Not to mention that they share an ee.The doctors disagree with me stating that if it was a control group, their current tpa would have told them.

Any help is appreciated.

[Belgarath]

Take a look at IRC 1563(e) to see if the "spousal noninvolvement" clause applies. It might. And beware that in a community property state, there's a debate among even some of the experts (and believe me, I'm not an expert in this area!) as to whether you are considered to have direct ownership in your spouse's business, even if you think you don't. If you come down on the side that there IS direct ownership, then the spousal noninvolvement clause CAN'T apply, because one of the conditions for it to apply is that there can't be direct ownership. I ALWAYS refer clients to their legal counsel for a determination of whether they are a CG/ASG.

[goldtpa]

Thanks for the input. I will follow your advice and refer them to an attorney. I just think that there may be a cg/asg issue, since their share the employee. Who knows what else they share (space, expenses, etc)