Eiduk Tax & Wealth
Promoter structures library · 2026-08-26
419 Welfare Benefit Plans
Classification A, no legitimate version. There is no compliant way to do this as it is marketed.
Sold as: "10-or-more-employer plan", "419 plan", "welfare benefit trust", "deductible life insurance"
Notice 95-34 predates the 2004 statute, so unlike most listed-transaction notices it survived the IRS's 2024 concession. This one is still fully enforceable.
The pitch
Contribute to a trust providing welfare benefits to the employees of ten or more employers, deduct the contribution in full under the Sec. 419A(f)(6) exemption, and fund it with life insurance.
What it costs you if it is wrong
Deduction disallowed, Sec. 6707A nondisclosure penalties, and importantly for a CPA practice, PREPARERS AND ADVISORS HAVE BEEN PENALIZED.
Red flags
- Your contributions are held in a separate account
- The benefit being funded is life insurance on the owner
- The deduction is the reason the plan was presented to you
- You are told the arrangement is no longer reportable
Questions to ask the person selling this
- 1Is my contribution tracked in an account separate from the other employers?
- 2Who are the other participating employers?
- 3What benefit is actually being funded, and for whom?
- 4Is this a listed transaction, and does Notice 95-34 reach it?
- 5Has any advisor been penalized for selling this arrangement?