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BenefitsLink > Q&A Columns >

Who's the Employer?

Answers are provided by S. Derrin Watson, JD, APM

Welcome to the column!

Employers who sponsor pension, profit-sharing, ESOP and other tax-qualified retirement plans are encouraged to ask questions here about:

Employee/Independent Contractor Issues
Leased Employees
Controlled Groups
Trades or Businesses Under Common Control
Affiliated Service Groups

Answers are provided by attorney S. Derrin Watson, of Goleta, California. Mr. Watson advises clients and lectures widely on these subjects. He is the author of Who's the Employer-- A Guide to Employer and Aggregation Issues Affecting Qualified Plans.

New: view these Q&As by topic (click).

Q&A 347: Counting service before group formation: November 21, 2017
Q&A 346: Service Crediting in Affiliated Service Group: July 24, 2017
Q&A 345: What Is a Church Plan and Who Can It Cover?: July 12, 2017
Q&A 344: Summary of Supreme Court Decision on Church Plans: June 13, 2017
Q&A 343: On-Call Fees As an ASG With Professional Practice: April 24, 2019
Q&A 342: Overlapping Controlled Group and Affiliated Service Group: April 14, 2017
Q&A 341: Moving Out of a Multiple Employer 401(k) Plan: April 13, 2017
Q&A 340: Statutory Employees Are Not Employees: April 12, 2017
Q&A 339: Private Equity Firms and Common Control: April 6, 2017
Q&A 338: 7th Edition Coming April 24; Private Equity Firms in ASGs: March 31, 2017
Q&A 337: Effect of ASG Determination Letter: March 16, 2017
Q&A 336: No More ASG Determination Letters: January 13, 2017
Q&A 335: Parent-Child Controlled Group Attribution: January 12, 2017
Q&A 334: Predecessor Employer 'Facts and Circumstances': January 4, 2017
Q&A 333: Understanding Single Owner LLCs: December 16, 2016
Q&A 332: Related Employers Don't Need Mirror Plans: November 29, 2016
Q&A 331: Who Is Counted in Applying the General Nondiscrimination Test?: November 24, 2016
Q&A 330: "Regularly Associated With": November 2, 2016
Q&A 329: PEO MEPs after Advisory Opinion 2012-04A: June 28, 2012
Q&A 328: Open MEPs in the Courts or Congress: June 26, 2012
Q&A 327: Remaining Advantages of Using an Open MEP: June 19, 2012
Q&A 326: Trying to Avoid the Effect of Advisory Opinion 2012-04A: June 15, 2012
Q&A 325: Arguments the DOL Rejected in Its Open MEP Opinion: June 14, 2012
Q&A 324: Effect of DOL Advisory Opinion on Fidelity Bond Requirement for an Open MEP: June 12, 2012
Q&A 323: Audits (CPA and IRS) of an Open MEP: June 11, 2012
Q&A 322: Open MEPs and Form 8955-SSA: June 11, 2012
Q&A 321: Open MEPs and Form 5500: June 7, 2012
Q&A 320: Working Without a Net: June 6, 2012
Q&A 319: Who's the Fiduciary (of an Open MEP)?: June 1, 2012
Q&A 318: After Advisory Opinion 2012-04A, Who's the Sponsor of an Open MEP?: May 30, 2012
Q&A 317: When Would a MEP be a Single ERISA Plan?: May 29, 2012
Q&A 316: Open MEPs Are NOT Single ERISA Plans: May 28, 2012
Q&A 315: DOL Takes a Stand on Open MEPs: May 17, 2012
Q&A 314: Two Companies = Two Section 415 Limits?: May 3, 2012
Q&A 313: Attribution of Stock Ownership Between Spouses Can Trigger Required Minimum Distributions: May 2, 2012
Q&A 312: Understanding 'Commonality' in Multiple Employer Plans: April 27, 2012
Q&A 311: What Can and Cannot Be Done With an Affiliated Service Group: April 20, 2012
Q&A 310: Hey, Who Are You Calling a SLOB?: April 16, 2012
Q&A 309: Can LLP Partner's Spouse Be Treated as Employee?: April 12, 2012
Q&A 308: Laying Out the Facts on 'Common Control': April 10, 2012
Q&A 307: 6th Edition of My Book, Who's the Employer: April 10, 2012
Q&A 306: As a Pastor, Am I an Employee? Or an Independent Contractor?: April 10, 2012
Q&A 305: The Role of Deferrals in Computing Earned Income: April 4, 2012
Q&A 304: Is a County Hospital a Governmental Unit?: April 4, 2012
Q&A 303: Who's the Employer: Partnership or Partner?: January 3, 2012
Q&A 302: What a Difference a Share Makes: October 13, 2011
Q&A 301: Related Employer Definition: October 13, 2011
Q&A 300: Can 'open multiple employer plans' be treated as multiple plans under ERISA?: October 7, 2011
Q&A 299: Credit Unions Under New Common Control Rules: December 29, 2008
Q&A 298: 5th edition of Who's the Employer Coming Soon: December 13, 2008
Q&A 297: Room for Reasonable Compensation?: December 3, 2008
Q&A 296: Parental Attribution Bypasses Spousal Exception: November 28, 2008
Q&A 295: Section 267 Rules Not Needed When Section 707 Rules Are Enough to Aggregate Corporation and Limited Partnership: July 25, 2008
Q&A 294: No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Retirement Contributions for a Butler or Other Domestic: September 21, 2007
Q&A 293: Determination of Controlled Group Status; Is It a Question That Should Be Handled by a Lawyer?: September 12, 2007
Q&A 292: 1 Corporation Plus 1 Individual Shareholder Plus 1 Subsidiary Can Equal 1 Controlled Group: September 8, 2007
Q&A 291: Shared Employee or Unrelated Employee?: September 3, 2007
Q&A 290: Effect of HCE Status on Deferrals: August 11, 2007
Q&A 289: Foreign Compensation: August 24, 2006
Q&A 288: Profit and Nonprofit Under Common Control?: July 11, 2006
Q&A 287: Check All Types of Attribution: July 5, 2006
Q&A 286: [Q&A 286 has been deleted]
Q&A 285: Compensation for Controlled Groups: June 30, 2006
Q&A 284: Controlled Groups and Welfare Benefit Plans: June 29, 2006
Q&A 283: Coverage Testing for Controlled Groups: December 7, 2005
Q&A 282: Predecessor Employers Under Proposed 415 Regulations: December 6, 2005
Q&A 281: [Q&A 281 has been deleted]
Q&A 280: Post-Severance Compensation Rules Appreciated: July 9, 2005
Q&A 279: Oops! Proposed 415(h) Regulations Include a Mistake: July 7, 2005
Q&A 278: Top-Heavy Multiple Employer Plans: June 2, 2005
Q&A 277: Audits of Multiple Employer Plans: May 31, 2005
Q&A 276: "What are the functions of management?" and Other Homework Problems: May 4, 2005
Q&A 275: Attribution Mechanics: April 27, 2005
Q&A 274: 79.9% Isn't 80%; But Wait-- There's More!: March 31, 2005
Q&A 273: Attribution Ends at the Courthouse: December 8, 2004
Q&A 272: Disregarded FSO: December 1, 2004
Q&A 271: No Double Family Attribution: November 30, 2004
Q&A 270: Proposed Regulations Applying Section 414 to Tax-Exempt Organizations: November 15, 2004
Q&A 269: Lack of Data Yields Lack of Answers: October 15, 2004
Q&A 268: HCE LLC Attribution: October 14, 2004
Q&A 267: [Q&A 267 has been deleted]
Q&A 266: Common Control Might Not Require Coverage: September 25, 2004
Q&A 265: PEO Write-offs and More: May 11, 2004
Q&A 264: SIMPLEs and Qualified Plans Don't Mix: May 7, 2004
Q&A 263: 1099 for Bonus Only: May 4, 2004
Q&A 262: How Can I Aggregate Thee? Let Me Count the Ways.: April 30, 2004
Q&A 261: Subsidiary Employees Left In The Cold: April 24, 2004
Q&A 260: First Look at Rev. Proc. 2003-86: November 25, 2003
Q&A 259: Trusts and Losing Businesses: September 10, 2003
Q&A 258: Excluding Outside Salespeople: August 29, 2003
Q&A 257: Small Plan Audits and IRC 414(c): June 21, 2003
Q&A 256: Hours in Controlled Groups: June 20, 2003
Q&A 255: Effective Control, But No Ceegar: June 20, 2003
Q&A 254: LLC Members as Employees: April 8, 2003
Q&A 253: Change in the Employer: February 27, 2003
Q&A 252: Half-Year Exclusion for ASGs: February 22, 2003
Q&A 251: Excluding "Leased" Employees: February 22, 2003
Q&A 250: PEO to Client Plan: February 10, 2003
Q&A 249: Comments by IRS Officials at Los Angeles ASPA-IRS Conference: February 8, 2003
Q&A 248: HCEs in controlled groups: January 27, 2003
Q&A 247: Leased Employees Represented by Collective Bargaining Unit: January 18, 2003
Q&A 246: PEOs in Controlled Groups: January 16, 2003
Q&A 245: Most Frequently Asked Controlled Group Question: January 3, 2003
Q&A 244: Derrin Watson-- Employee or Independent Contractor?: December 31, 2002
Q&A 243: Foreign Independent Contractor or Employee: December 17, 2002
Q&A 242: Multiple Family Attribution: December 11, 2002
Q&A 241: Controlled Groups and Loan Defaults: December 11, 2002
Q&A 240: Controlled Groups and Loans: December 6, 2002
Q&A 239: Incorporated Officer: November 26, 2002
Q&A 238: Professional Service Corporation Exemption to the Rescue: November 15, 2002
Q&A 237: Differing Provisions In Multiple Employer Plan: November 14, 2002
Q&A 236: Attribution Adds Owners, Not Shares: November 13, 2002
Q&A 235: What's a Trade or Business Under IRC 414(c)?: November 13, 2002
Q&A 234: Progress Report: Who's the Employer, 3rd Edition: October 29, 2002
Q&A 233: WSJ Forgets ASG Rules: October 2, 2002
Q&A 232: Management Company Might Be PEO: September 19, 2002
Q&A 231: Regularly Providing Services as an A-Organization: September 10, 2002
Q&A 230: Common Control in Partnerships: September 6, 2002
Q&A 229: Overlapping Groups and Filing Requirements: September 3, 2002
Q&A 228: Status of Third Edition of Book: September 3, 2002
Q&A 227: Controlled Groups Without Employees: August 29, 2002
Q&A 226: Collapsing an ASG: August 23, 2002
Q&A 225: W-2, 1099, or Both?: August 15, 2002
Q&A 224: Bury Your Controlled Group Problems in Vogel Fertilizer: August 9, 2002
Q&A 223: Attribution From Entities Under Different Rules: August 8, 2002
Q&A 222: Employee for Exclusion Rules: August 6, 2002
Q&A 221: Inadequate Facts Lead To Inadequate Answers: August 5, 2002
Q&A 220: Rev. Proc. 2002-21-- Where Are We Now?: July 31, 2002
Q&A 219: Employee for B-Org HCE Purposes: June 25, 2002
Q&A 218: Multiple Employer Plan Involving Controlled Group: July 22, 2002
Q&A 217: HCE Attribution from Trusts: July 19, 2002
Q&A 216: What Is a Management Function?: July 19, 2002
Q&A 215: Change in Status and Top Heavy Minimums: July 17, 2002
Q&A 214: Domestic and Business Not Aggregated: July 15, 2002
Q&A 213: ASG with Separate Plans: July 11, 2002
Q&A 212: EGTRRA and Controlled Groups: July 10, 2002
Q&A 211: No Back Office Employees in PEO Multiple Employer Plan: July 10, 2002
Q&A 210: Third Edition of 'Who's The Employer' Book Coming Soon: July 8, 2002
Q&A 209: Client Termination In PEO Plan: July 4, 2002
Q&A 208: Expense Sharing Arrangements As ASGs: July 3, 2002
Q&A 207: No Sibling Attribution In Controlled Groups: July 1, 2002
Q&A 206: Proprietorship as Partner in an Emergency Medical Partnership: July 1, 2002
Q&A 205: Illegal Aliens and the Supreme Court: June 24, 2002
Q&A 204: "Safe Harbor" Leased Employee Plans After Rev. Proc. 2002-21: June 21, 2002
Q&A 203: Laser Surgery Center in ASG: June 19, 2002
Q&A 202: Are Sole Proprietorship and 60%-Owned Corporation Subject to 415(h)?: June 19, 2002
Q&A 201: Common Control Depends on Controlled Group Type: June 18, 2002
Q&A 200: How Derrin Watson Would Fix Rev. Proc. 2002-21: June 14, 2002
Q&A 199: Temp Firms as PEOs: June 14, 2002
Q&A 198: Hospital as PEO: June 12, 2002
Q&A 197: Independent Contractors on Health Plan: June 12, 2002
Q&A 196: Testing a PEO Multiple Employer Plan: June 12, 2002
Q&A 195: PEOs and Retirement Deductions: June 5, 2002
Q&A 194: Excluding Amish Workers: June 5, 2002
Q&A 193: Handling Assets of a Client Organization's Terminating 401(k) Plan: June 4, 2002
Q&A 192: Excluding Workers by Classification: June 4, 2002
Q&A 191: Rev. Proc. 2002-21 and Leased Employees: June 3, 2002
Q&A 190: Employee Becomes Treated as Independent Contractor: June 3, 2002
Q&A 189: Commissioned Insurance Sales: May 31, 2002
Q&A 188: Rev. Proc. 2002-21 and Employee Status: May 29, 2002
Q&A 187: Common Control and 401(a)(26): May 28, 2002
Q&A 186: Client Organizations and Recipients: May 27, 2002
Q&A 185: Temporary Employees Lose Under Rev. Proc. 2002-21: May 27, 2002
Q&A 184: Multiple Employer Plan or Multiple Plans?: May 18, 2002
Q&A 183: Definition of Compensation in a Multiple Employer Plan: May 15, 2002
Q&A 182: Adopting a Single Employer PEO Plan After May 13, 2002: May 13, 2002
Q&A 181: Are Clergy Members Considered Self-Employed?: May 13, 2002
Q&A 180: Over Half Isn't At Least 80%: May 13, 2002
Q&A 179: Is a CO Required to Cosponsor a PEO Multiple Employer Plan Under Rev. Proc. 2002-21?: May 9, 2002
Q&A 178: PEOs and Welfare Plans After Rev. Proc. 2002-21: May 9, 2002
Q&A 177: Rev. Proc. 2002-21 Deadlines: May 8, 2002
Q&A 176: Entering or Leaving a Multiple Employer Plan: May 7, 2002
Q&A 175: PEO Client Maintaining Its Own Plan; Why the PEO Likely Isn't the Employer: May 7, 2002
Q&A 174: Bootstrapping Employer Status: May 7, 2002
Q&A 173: Rev. Proc. 2002-21 Relief For Multiple Employer Plans: May 6, 2002
Q&A 172: PEO Plans and Determination Letters: May 6, 2002
Q&A 171: Rev. Proc. 2002-21 and the Separate CO Plan: May 6, 2002
Q&A 170: PEO Spinoff Plan under Rev. Proc. 2002-21: May 6, 2002
Q&A 169: Employee Status in PEO Multiple Employer Plan: May 4, 2002
Q&A 168: Mutiple Employer PEO Issues: May 1, 2002
Q&A 167: Attribution Through Grantor Trust: May 1, 2002
Q&A 166: Additional Guidance on Rev. Proc. 2002-21: April 29, 2002
Q&A 165: Rev. Proc. 2002-21 Transition Rule Revisited; Other Compliance Problems: April 27, 2002
Q&A 164: Insurance ASG Issues; Referral of Clients Means "Regularly Associated"?: April 26, 2002
Q&A 163: [Q&A 163 has been deleted]
Q&A 162: Rev Proc 2002-21; Relief for the Compliant: April 25, 2002
Q&A 161: Counting Shareholders: April 22, 2002
Q&A 160: Voting Power Creating Controlled Group: April 19, 2002
Q&A 159: ESOP as Majority Owner: April 18, 2002
Q&A 158: Exclusion of ESOP Stock: April 16, 2002
Q&A 157: HCEs and ASGs: April 15, 2002
Q&A 156: Attribution Through Children's Trust: April 15, 2002
Q&A 155: What About Effect of IRS Notice 99-6 on Single-Member LLCs Not Taxed As Corporations?: April 12, 2002
Q&A 154: Single Member LLCs/Limited Partners as Employees: April 10, 2002
Q&A 153: Watson's Take on PEO Controversy: April 9, 2002
Q&A 152: B-Orgs and Significant Services: April 8, 2002
Q&A 151: Convertible Stock Constituting An Option: April 6, 2002
Q&A 150: Royalties as Compensation: April 1, 2002
Q&A 149: Husband and Wife, Each Practicing Medicine as Sole Proprietors: March 29, 2002
Q&A 148: Treatment of LLCs Under the ASG Rules: March 26, 2002
Q&A 147: What's the Difference Between Sections 267 and 318?: March 25, 2002
Q&A 146: Is 267 or 318 Attribution Used for Affiliated Service Groups?: March 24, 2002
Q&A 145: ASG Arising from Shared Administrative Functions?: March 21, 2002
Q&A 144: ASG Attribution to Entities: March 19, 2002
Q&A 143: Excluding ESOP Stock: March 18, 2002
Q&A 142: Leasing Doctors: March 17, 2002
Q&A 141: Consequences of Separate Status for Partnerships; Owner-Employee Rules: March 16, 2002
Q&A 140: Professional Partnerships: March 13, 2002
Q&A 139: What's an Entity?: February 11, 2002
Q&A 138: Community Ownership Affects HCE Status: January 11, 2002
Q&A 137: State Law and Professional Employer Organizations: January 10, 2002
Q&A 136: Breaks in Service for 414(n)(4)(B) Service: December 28, 2001
Q&A 135: Lease to Own and Code Section 414(n)(4)(B): December 27, 2001
Q&A 134: [Q&A 134 has been deleted]
Q&A 133: [Q&A 133 has been deleted]
Q&A 132: Foreign Parents of Multilevel Group: November 21, 2001
Q&A 131: Marital Attribution Strikes Again!: September 26, 2001
Q&A 130: Mortgage Company as Service Organization: September 18, 2001
Q&A 129: No Mandatory Coverage for Housekeeper: September 14, 2001
Q&A 128: [Q&A 128 has been deleted]
Q&A 127: Merged Business Can Be Separate From Earlier Businesses: September 11, 2001
Q&A 126: Proprietorship and Corporation not an ASG: September 11, 2001
Q&A 125: Filing for Midyear Changes in Controlled Group Status: September 8, 2001
Q&A 124: Stock Options and Leased Employees: September 5, 2001
Q&A 123: Controlled Groups, Common Control and SEPs: September 4, 2001
Q&A 122: Use Of LLCs To Change Employee Status: August 30, 2001
Q&A 121: Dentists as Investors: August 28, 2001
Q&A 120: SIMPLEs and ASGs: August 16, 2001
Q&A 119: Trustees as Managers: August 15, 2001
Q&A 118: Effect of S Corp Status on Controlled Group Determination: August 8, 2001
Q&A 117: Who Takes the Work Tax Credits If We Use a Staffing Firm?: August 7, 2001
Q&A 116: Company Splitup: July 9, 2001
Q&A 115: Avoiding Controlled Groups By Staying Unincorporated?: June 28, 2001
Q&A 114: Attribution Arising From a Lien?: June 27, 2001
Q&A 113: Community Ownership of Attributed Stock?: June 26, 2001
Q&A 112: Family Management Company: June 25, 2001
Q&A 111: Marriage as Common Control: June 12, 2001
Q&A 110: Attribution to Entities: June 11, 2001
Q&A 109: Contingent Beneficiary As Shareholder-Employee: June 4, 2001
Q&A 108: Doctor as Management Firm: May 31, 2001
Q&A 107: Partner as Affiliated Service Group Entity: May 29, 2001
Q&A 106: Testing an Ending Controlled Group: May 25, 2001
Q&A 105: Leased Employees and Self-Employed Medical Reimbursement Plans: May 25, 2001
Q&A 104: Substantial Presence Test for Residency Status: May 24, 2001
Q&A 103: Exclusion of Nonresident Aliens: May 24, 2001
Q&A 102: Construction Management Function Group: May 23, 2001
Q&A 101: Parental Attribution: May 23, 2001
Q&A 100: Illegal Aliens As Employees: May 22, 2001
Q&A 99: Avoiding the Substantially Full-Time Rule for Leased Employees: May 17, 2001
Q&A 98: Grandchildren as Highly Compensated Employees: May 15, 2001
Q&A 97: Directors As Managers: May 5, 2001
Q&A 96: Ignoring the Leasing Company: May 2, 2001
Q&A 95: Inlaws as HCEs: April 30, 2001
Q&A 94: Are Brothers and Sisters Related Parties?: April 16, 2001
Q&A 93: Is Attributed Stock Counted Once, or Twice?: April 11, 2001
Q&A 92: Triple Attribution In Controlled Group: April 2, 2001
Q&A 91: Restricted Stock and HCEs: March 26, 2001
Q&A 90: Multiple Restaurants; One Plan?: March 26, 2001
Q&A 89: Does an Independent Contractor Agreement Matter?: March 26, 2001
Q&A 88: 414(m) Proposed Regs Withdrawn?: March 21, 2001
Q&A 87: Multiple A-Orgs in an Affiliated Service Group: March 21, 2001
Q&A 86: Handling "Leased" Employees on 5500 Forms: March 21, 2001
Q&A 85: Nonprofits and Controlled Groups: March 19, 2001
Q&A 84: Plan For Independent Contractor Truckers: March 12, 2001
Q&A 83: Stepchildren Under Attribution Rules: March 8, 2001
Q&A 82: Top Heavy Rules for Plan Covering Leased Executives: February 16, 2001
Q&A 81: Overlapping Groups and Options in Family Situations: February 15, 2001
Q&A 80: Billing Corporation as B-Org?: February 14, 2001
Q&A 79: Excluding Employees of Controlled Group Members: February 14, 2001
Q&A 78: 415 Limits with Similar Businesses: February 14, 2001
Q&A 77: Equipment Leases and Affiliated Service Groups: February 12, 2001
Q&A 76: Having Just a Single Customer Doesn't Mean Aggregation is Required: February 12, 2001
Q&A 75: How to Handle Ex-Employees After Spinoff to Form an Unrelated Company: February 7, 2001
Q&A 74: LLC Member's Compensation for 401(k) Purposes: January 23, 2001
Q&A 73: Does a plan automatically cover employees of an affiliated employer?: January 18, 2001
Q&A 72: Look Both Ways When Crossing Railroad Tracks or When Analyzing Affiliated Service Groups: January 3, 2001
Q&A 71: Community Property Constituting Direct Ownership: December 29, 2000
Q&A 70: De Minimis Shared Employee: December 22, 2000
Q&A 69: HCE Attribution Rules Between Parent and Child: December 21, 2000
Q&A 68: Owner as Leased Employee: December 19, 2000
Q&A 67: Parent-Child Attribution: December 14, 2000
Q&A 66: 50% Isn't More Than 50%: Dec 13, 2000
Q&A 65: LLC Member as Employer: December 6, 2000
Q&A 64: 401(k) Plans Using Professional Employer Organizations-- Miscellaneous Questions: December 1, 2000
Q&A 63: Co-sponsorship of plans: November 22, 2000
Q&A 62: Common Control Sponsor Withdrawal: October 24, 2000
Q&A 61: Attendant as Independent Contractor: October 23, 2000
Q&A 60: Attribution for Highly Compensated Employees: October 7, 2000
Q&A 59: Current Status of "Dual Employer" Arrangements for PEOs: October 3, 2000
Q&A 58: Second Edition of Who's the Employer: August 31, 2000
Q&A 57: Re the Earlier Shared Employees Q&A -- What About the Proposed Regulations?: August 24, 2000
Q&A 56: Shared Employees: August 22, 2000
Q&A 55: Are rights of first refusal considered "options"?: July 26, 2000
Q&A 54: Attribution to Mother-in-Law?: July 24, 2000
Q&A 53: Controlled group determination for ESOP that covers owner of plan sponsor: July 20, 2000
Q&A 52: Who's the Employer of an LLC Member?: June 21, 2000
Q&A 51: Transfer of Employment from Fifty Percent Subsidiary to Parent Corporation: June 14, 2000
Q&A 50: SIMPLE IRAs and Related Employers: June 14, 2000
Q&A 49: Statutory Employees: May 17, 2000
Q&A 48: Employees Working for Franchisor: April 13, 2000
Q&A 47: Sole Proprietorship and Affiliated Service Group: April 11, 2000
Q&A 46: Employee Becomes an Independent Contractor: April 11, 2000
Q&A 45: Wholly-owned subsidiaries of controlled groups: March 16, 2000
Q&A 44: Attribution at age 18 or 21?: February 18, 2000
Q&A 43: PEO Sponsoring a Cafeteria Plan: January 25, 2000
Q&A 42: Combination of leasing company plan and recipient's plan: January 19, 2000
Q&A 41: Repeal of Family Aggregation Does Not Eliminate Controlled Group: January 18, 2000
Q&A 40: Management Function Group and Common Control Group: December 10, 1999
Q&A 39: More on options: December 8, 1999
Q&A 38: Should we treat these two as a controlled group just to be safe?: December 7, 1999
Q&A 37: Is a Professional Employer Organization a "co-employer" with its customer companies?: November 24, 1999
Q&A 36: Deduction Limits for ASG: November 19, 1999
Q&A 35: Controlled Groups and SIMPLE IRAs: November 18, 1999
Q&A 34: LLC and Employee Leasing Firm - How to Cover the LLC members?: November 4, 1999
Q&A 33: Effect of ASG on SARSEP: November 3, 1999
Q&A 32: I have a foreign parent with subsidiaries in the U.S. and foreign subsidiaries - how many do I include?: November 3, 1999
Q&A 31: Overlapping Groups: October 29, 1999
Q&A 30: Corp and LLCs as Controlled Group: October 29, 1999
Q&A 29: What does it mean to be part of a controlled group: July 28, 1999
Q&A 28: Parent-Subsidiary Groups: July 14, 1999
Q&A 27: Classic ASG with multiple plans: June 22, 1999
Q&A 26: Using options to create controlled groups: June 19, 1999
Q&A 25: Foreign parent of controlled group: May 3, 1999
Q&A 24: Employee on someone else's payroll: April 19, 1999
Q&A 23: Family Attribution: April 8, 1999
Q&A 22: Qualified Plan as Shareholder for Controlled Group: March 30, 1999
Q&A 21: Principal business of a management organization: March 25, 1999
Q&A 20: Hours of Service for Leased Employees: March 25, 1999
Q&A 19: Tax Exempt Organizations and Common Control: March 22, 1999
Q&A 18: Can Options Break Up Controlled Groups?: March 19, 1999
Q&A 17: Transfer Within A Controlled Group: March 16, 1999
Q&A 16: Management function group and controlled group: March 16, 1999
Q&A 15: Parent child attribution rules: March 11, 1999
Q&A 14: Multiple 75% corporations: March 10, 1999
Q&A 13: Audit Guidelines and Independent Contractors: March 6, 1999
Q&A 12: Separation from Service for Pension Plan in CG Situation: March 4, 1999
Q&A 11: Counting Hours in Lease to Own: March 2, 1999
Q&A 10: Different Employee Definitions for Different Agencies: March 1, 1999
Q&A 9: Controlled Groups in Marriages Continued: February 26, 1999
Q&A 8: Separation from Service in Controlled Group: February 26, 1999
Q&A 7: Attribution from Options Granted by Corporation: February 26, 1999
Q&A 6: Common Control with Sole Proprietorship and Corporation: February 26, 1999
Q&A 5: Existing plan with new staffing firm: February 26, 1999
Q&A 4: Staffing Firms as Common Law Employers: February 26, 1999
Q&A 3: Parent Child Attribution and family aggregation: February 26, 1999
Q&A 2: Recipient Offsetting Staffing Firm Contributions: February 25, 1999
Q&A 1: [Q&A 1 has been deleted]

Important notice:

Answers are provided as general guidance on the subjects covered in the question and are not provided as legal advice to the questioner or to readers. Any legal issues should be reviewed by your legal counsel to apply the law to the particular facts of this and similar situations.

The law in this area changes frequently. Answers are believed to be correct as of the posting dates shown. The completeness or accuracy of a particular answer may be affected by changes in the law (statutes, regulations, rulings, court decisions, etc.) that occur after the date on which a particular Q&A is posted.