1.132-1T—Exclusion from gross income of certain fringe benefits—1985 through 1988 (temporary).
Code of Federal Regulations
(b) Definition of employee—
(1) No-additional-cost services and qualified employee discounts.
For purposes of section 132(a)(1) (relating to no-additional-cost services) and section 132(a)(2) (relating to qualified employee discounts), the term “employee” (with respect to a line of business of an employer) means—
(ii)
Any individual who was formerly employed by the employer in the line of business and who separated from service with the employer in the line of business by reason of retirement or disability, and
(iii)
Any widow or widower of an individual who died while employed by the employer in the line of business or who separated from service with the employer in the line of business by reason of retirement or disability.
For purposes of this paragraph (b)(1), any partner who performs services for a partnership is considered employed by the partnership. In addition, any use by the spouse or dependent child (as defined in this paragraph (b)) of the employee will be treated as use by the employee.
(2) Working condition fringes.
For purposes of section 132(a)(2) (relating to working condition fringes), the term “employee” means—
Code of Federal Regulations
(3) De minimis fringe.
For purpose of section 132(a)(4) (relating to de minimis fringes), the term “employee” means any recipient of a fringe benefit.
(4) Dependent child.
For purposes of this paragraph (b), the term “dependent child” means any son, stepson, daughter or stepdaughter of the employee who is a dependent of the employee, or both of whose parents are deceased. Any child to whom section 152(e) applies will be treated as the dependent of both parents.
(c) Special rules for employers—Effect of
All employees treated as employed by a single employer under section 414(b), (c) or (m) will be treated as employed by a single employer for purposes of this section. Thus, employees of one corporation that is part of a controlled group of corporations may under certain circumstances be eligible to receive section 132 benefits from the other corporations that comprise the controlled group. However, the aggregation of employers described in this paragraph (c) does not change the other requirements for an exclusion, such as the line of business requirement. Thus, for example, if a controlled group of corporations consists of two corporations that operate in different lines of business, the corporations are not treated as operating in the same line of business even though the corporations are treated as one employer.
(d) Customers not to include employees.
For purposes of section 132 and the regulations thereunder, the term “customer” means customers who are not employees. However, the preceding sentence does not apply to section 132(c)(2) (relating to the gross profit percentage for determining a qualified employee discount). Thus, an employer that provides employee discounts cannot exclude sales made to employees in determining the aggregate sales to customers.
(e) Treatment of on-premises athletic facilities—
(1) In general.
Gross income does not include the value of any on-premises athletic facility provided by the employer to its employees. For purposes of section 132 and this paragraph (e), the term “on-premises athletic facility” means any gym or other athletic facility (such as a pool, tennis court, or golf course)—
(iii)
Where substantially all of the use of which is, during the calendar year, by employees of the employer, their spouses, and their dependent children.
For purposes of this paragraph (e)(1)(iii), the term “dependent children” has the same meaning as the plural of the term “dependent child” in paragraph (b)(4) of this section. The exclusion of this paragraph (e) does not apply to any athletic facility if access to the facility is made available to the general public through the sale of memberships, the rental of the facility, etc.
(2) Premises of the employer.
The athletic facility need not be located on the employer's business premises. However, the athletic facility must be located on premises of the employer. The exclusion provided in this paragraph (e) applies whether the premises are owned or leased by the employer; in addition, the exclusion is available even if the employer is not a named lesse on the lease so long as the employer pays reasonable rent. The exclusion provided in this paragraph (e) does not apply to any athletic facility that is a facility for residential use. Thus, for example, a resort with accompanying athletic facilities (such as tennis courts, pool, and gym) would not qualify for the exclusion provided in this paragraph (e).
(3) Application of rules to membership in an athletic facility.
The exclusion provided in this paragraph (e) does not apply to any membership in an athletic facility (including health clubs or country clubs) unless the facility is owned (or leased) and operated by the employer and substantially all the use of the facility is by employees of the employer, their spouses, and their dependent children. Therefore, membership in health club or country club not meeting the rules provided in this paragraph (e) would not quality for the exclusion.
(4) Operation by the employer.
An employer is considered to operate the athletic facility if the employer itself operates the facility through its own employees, or if the employer contracts out to another to operate the athletic facility. For example, if an employer hires an independent contractor to operate the athletic facility for the employer's employees, the facility is considered to be operated by the employer. In addition, if an athletic facility is operated by more than one employer, it is considered to be operated by each employer. For purposes of paragraph (e)(1)(iii) of this section, substantially all the use of a facility operated by more than one employer must be by employees of all of the employers, their spouses, and their dependent children. Where the facility is operated by more than one employer, an employer that either pays rent directly to the owner of the premises or pays rent to a named lessor of the premises is eligible for the exclusion.
(5) Nonapplicability of nondiscrimination rules.
The nondiscrimination rules of section 132 and § 1.132-8T do not apply to on-premises athletic facilities.
(f) Nonapplicability of
If the tax treatment of a particular fringe benefit is expressely provided for in another section of Chapter 1, section 132 and the applicable regulations (except for section 132 (e) and the regulations thereunder) do not apply to such fringe benefits. For example, since section 129 provides an exclusion from gross income for amounts paid or incurred by the employer for dependent care assistance for an employee, the exclusions under section 132 and this section do not apply to the provision by an employer to an employee of dependent care assistance.