Notice on E-Filing Mandate

FinCEN Reminds Financial Institutions to Adopt New Report Format by April 1, 2013

On February 23, 2012, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued a Final Notice requiring the electronic filing of most Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) reports by July 1, 2012.1Specifically, this action mandates the electronic submission of Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs), Currency Transaction Reports (CTRs), Registration of Money Services Business (RMSBs), and Designation of Exempt Person Reports (DOEPs). These reports are collectively referred to herein as "mandated reports." With very limited exception,2 FinCEN considers financial institutions filing mandated reports in paper format to be noncompliant with the electronic filing mandate.

Financial institutions are reminded that they must begin using the new FinCEN reports, which are available only electronically through the BSA E-Filing System, by April 1, 2013. FinCEN's new SAR, CTR, RMSB, and DOEP reports have been available for use through the E-Filing System since March 29, 2012,3 and industry's adoption of the new reports continues to increase. The BSA E-Filing System will continue to accept submissions of the legacy versions of the SAR, CTR, DOEP, and RMSB only until March 31, 2013. The FinCEN BSA E-Filing User Test System website has been updated to allow for testing of all the reports now available for E-Filing.

Financial Institutions May Be Subject to Civil Money Penalties

Financial institutions that continue to file mandated reports in paper format will fail to meet BSA reporting requirements and may be subject to civil money penalties.4

After March 31, 2013, FinCEN may reject any mandated reports filed in paper format and return them to the filing institution.

For more information about BSA E-Filing, please review the E-Filing Section on FinCEN's website. Any general questions regarding this notice should be directed to the FinCEN Regulatory Helpline at 1-800-949-2732. For other technology-related questions specific to E-Filing, please call the BSA E-Filing Help desk at 1-866-346-9478.

1 Final Notice 77 Fed. Reg. 12367(2012) mandates electronic filing of certain BSA reports by July 1, 2012. 

What's New? No More myRA

The U.S. Department of the Treasury discontinued the myRA program in 2017. New deposits will no longer be accepted beginning December 4, 2017. Savers who want to continue to enjoy the tax benefits the myRA provided will need to roll over their balance to a Roth IRA. Read more in The Gold Book.

Standard Mileage Rates for 2018 Increase

The Internal Revenue Service has issued the 2018 optional standard mileage rates used to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical or moving purposes.

Beginning on Jan. 1, 2018, the standard mileage rates for the use of a car (also vans, pickups or panel trucks) will be:

• 54.5 cents for every mile of business travel driven, up 1 cent from the rate for 2017.
• 18 cents per mile driven for medical or moving purposes, up 1 cent from the rate for 2017.
• 14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations.

More information may be found in Notice 2018-03, posted on IRS.gov. 

IRS Issues New 5305 Documents

On September 6, 2017, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) posted to its website updated traditional, Roth, and Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees of Small Employers (SIMPLE) Individual Retirement Account (IRA) Trust and Custodial model agreements (i.e., 5305 series documents). An IRS Form 5305 is used to establish one of the IRA types as well as Health Savings Accounts (HSA) and Coverdell Education Savings Accounts (CESA).

NYC Transit Ordinance

A law known as the New York City (NYC) Transit Ordinance went into effect January 1, 2016 and mandates that NYC companies with 20 or more full-time employees (working an average of 30 hours or more per week) MUST offer pre-tax transit benefits. 

 

The program allows employees to pay for monthly commuting expenses with pretax earnings, potentially saving them hundreds of dollars on annual payroll and income taxes.  The benefit covers all types of commuting - subway, bus, train, ferry, vanpool, bicycle and parking. 

 

Learn more here. 

What's New? IRS Cost of Living Adjustments

The Internal Revenue Service announcd cost of living adjustments affecting dollar limitations for pension plans and other retirement-related items for tax year 2018. For details see:

Cost of Living Adjustments for Pension Plans

Traditional IRA Deductions

Roth IRA Contribution Limitations

What's New? Amendments to Equal Credit Opportunity Act (Regulation B)

On September 20, 2017, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has issued a final rule that amends Regulation B to permit creditors additional flexibility in complying with Regulation B in order to facilitate compliance with Regulation C, adds certain model forms and removes others from Regulation B, and makes various other amendments to Regulation B and its commentary to facilitate the collection and retention of information about the ethnicity, sex, and race of certain mortgage applicants. Read more about Equal Credit Opportunity Act (Reg B) in The Gold Book.

HMDA Updated Charts and Timeline

On Sept. 28, 2017, the Bureau updated the 2018 HMDA institutional coverage chart , the 2018 HMDA transactional coverage chart , and the key dates timeline . The updated documents reflect the changes in the Bureau’s 2017 HMDA final rule  amending Regulation C. 

CFPB Issues Reg B Final Rule and Executive Summary

On Sept. 20, 2017, the Bureau issued a final rule to amend Regulation B to allow creditors flexibility in complying with Regulation B in order to facilitate compliance with Regulation C and transition to the 2016 Uniform Residential Loan Application. To support implementation of the rule, the Bureau issued an executive summary. 

Check back soon for notice of updated sections The Gold Book.

What's New? NYS Pay Equity Law

New legislation was signed on June 21, 2017 that bans the request and requirement of a prospective employee's salary history as a condition to receive an interview, an offer of employment, or in determining wages or salary. This legislation aims to prevent wage discrimination in the work place.

Read more in the NYS Pay Equity Law section of The Gold Book. 

What's New? NYS Paid Family Leave Act

The New York State Paid Family Leave Program (PFLP) will provide New Yorkers job-protected, paid leave to bond with a new child, care for a loved one with a serious health condition or to help relieve family pressures when someone is called to active military service. These benefits fully phase in over a four-year period—by Jan. 1, 2021—and will increase annually in both maximum duration of leave and the amount of weekly paid benefits.

Read more in the Paid Family Leave Program section of The Gold Book. 

What's New? NYS Minimum Wage Increases

The New York State minimum wage increased on December 31, 2016. In New York City, it is $10.50 per hour for businesses with 10 or fewer employees, and $11.00 per hour for businesses with 11 or more employees. In Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester counties, it is $10.00 per hour. In the remainder of the state, it is $9.70 per hour. There are different hourly rates for workers in the fast food industry and those who receive tips. These rates remain in effect until December 30, 2017.

Read more under New York Rules in the Fair Labor Standards Act section of The Gold Book.

What's New? NYS Anti-Terrorism & Money Laundering Regs

New York State requires its financial institutions to adopt anti-money laundering programs, including customer identification and foreign asset controls. Prior to January 1, 2017, compliance with applicable federal requirements (Bank Secrecy Act, USA PATRIOT Act and OFAC) constitutes compliance with the state requirements under Parts 115 and 116 of the General Regulations of the Banking Board. The NYS Department of Financial Services (DFS) has adopted a risk-based anti-terrorism and anti-money laundering regulation that requires institutions to maintain programs to monitor and filter transactions for potential Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and anti-money laundering (AML) violations and prevent transactions with sanctioned entities. See more in The Gold Book.

What's New? Annual CRA Asset-Size Threshold Adjustments

The federal bank regulatory agencies announced the annual adjustment to the asset-size thresholds used to define small bank, small savings association, intermediate small bank, and intermediate small savings association under the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) regulations.

The annual adjustments are required by the CRA rules.  Financial institutions are evaluated under different CRA examination procedures based upon their asset-size classification.  Those meeting the small and intermediate small institution asset-size thresholds are not subject to the reporting requirements applicable to large banks and savings associations unless they choose to be evaluated as a large institution.

Annual adjustments to these asset-size thresholds are based on the change in the average of the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W).

Read more on Bank Size Criteria in The Gold Book.

What's New? IRS Form 1098 Reporting

The Gold Book section has been updated to include changes related to Form 1098 mortgage interest reporting. See Form 1098 under the Reporting Compliance chapter.

What's New? NJ Estate Tax Repeal

On October 14 Governor Christie signed into law a repeal of the New Jersey estate tax. More specifically, as of January 1, 2017 the $675,000 exemption amount will be increased to $2 million, and as of January 1, 2018 the estate tax will be repealed altogether. 

See The Gold Book for more information on Estate and Inheritance Tax Waivers.

What's New? 2017 Cost-of-Living Adjustments

The Internal Revenue Service announced cost‑of‑living adjustments affecting dollar limitations for pension plans and other retirement-related items for tax year 2017. In general, the pension plan limitations will not change for 2017 because the increase in the cost-of-living index did not meet the statutory thresholds that trigger their adjustment.

However, other limitations will change because the increase in the index did meet the statutory thresholds.

See the following sections in The Gold Book for updates:

Income phase-out for IRA deductions, click here.

Roth IRA contribution phase-out, click here.

AGI limit for Saver's Credit, click here.

Cost-of Living Chart, click here.

Military Lending Act: Examination Procedures, Interpretive Rule, and the FDIC'S Supervisory Expectations

In July 2015, the Department of Defense (DOD) issued a final rule amending the implementing regulations of the Military Lending Act of 2006 (MLA). The final rule expands specific protections provided to servicemembers and their dependents under the MLA and addresses a wider range of credit products than the DOD's previous regulation.

In August 2016, DOD published an interpretive rule in the Federal Register that provides guidance on certain questions received regarding compliance with the July 2015 Final Rule. The DOD issued its interpretive rule to inform the public of its views. The interpretive rule, comprised of 19 questions and answers, does not substantively change the regulation implementing the MLA, but rather merely states DOD's preexisting interpretation of an existing regulation.

The FDIC has released examination procedures that reflect the Department of Defense's (DOD) 2015 amendments to the implementing regulations of the Military Lending Act of 2006 (MLA).

See The Gold Book, Military Lending Act for details.

What's New? Reclamation of Federal Benefits

The Preauthorized Electronc Transfer chapter of The Gold Book has been updated to include information pertaining to the reclamation of federal benefits.

Reclamation is a procedure used by the Federal government (government) to recover benefitpayments made through the Automated Clearing House (ACH) to the account of a recipient who died or became legally incapacitated or a beneficiary who died before the date of the payment(s).

What's New? IRA Rollover Waivers

New IRS Revenue Procedure 2016-47 permits eligible taxpayers, encountering a variety of mitigating circumstances, can qualify for a waiver of the 60-day time limit and avoid possible early distribution taxes. In addition, the revenue procedure includes a sample self-certification letter that a taxpayer can use to notify the administrator or trustee of the retirement plan or IRA receiving the rollover that they qualify for the waiver. See Waivers in the Pension Chapter of The Gold Book.