HomeResourcesArticles
March 25, 2020

Qualified Disaster Relief Account (QDR)

Donna Wilkinson
Donna Wilkinson
General Counsel

Keep your employees safe and financially secure when disaster strikes

Under IRS Code Section 139, a Qualified Disaster Relief (QDR) account gives employers the ability to reimburse their employees for disaster-related expenses resulting from COVID-19 on a pre-tax basis. Employers may make payments to cover the increased per-employee costs such as:

Examples of these expenses include: medical expenses incurred as a result of COVID-19, Child care expenses due to school or daycare closures, increased home utilities and expenses as individuals are at home all day working, internet or phone to connect to WiFi/intranet in order to work from home due to COVID-19, and payments to the care taker of a dependent.

Key Features of the QDR

QDR Account Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can a group set the start and end date for the QDR?
A: Yes, a group can absolutely set those parameters.

Q: Who can be a care taker?
A: A grandparent, neighbor, aunt, cousin, the employee’s child who is 19 or older and is not a tax dependent.

Q: Are owners exempt from participating?
A: Except for owners of C-corporations, owners of all other entities are barred from participation in tax-favored plans. This is because they would benefit twice – once as the owner of the business and again as an individual participant. This is not permitted.

What’s in this article?

Other Recent Posts
It’s true that Health Savings Accounts can pay for medical expenses now, but the most powerful tax advantages and benefits come from saving the balance for later, even into retirement. With the growth in HSA popularity over the last few years, anyone looking for employee benefits has read about or heard of the triple-tax advantage...
President Biden has announced that both the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency and the related National Emergency, ongoing since March 2020, came to an end on May 11, 2023. As a result, the corresponding Outbreak Period will end 60 days later on July 11, 2023. Impact on our COBRA and Consumer-Driven Healthplan (CDH) clients COBRA: During...
What are the benefits of a High-Deductible Health Plan and Health Savings Account (HDHP/HSA)? Lower premiums can be one of the most significant benefits of a High-Deductible Health Plan (HDHP). By offsetting the higher deductible, lower premiums can often save participants money in the long run. Another big benefit is the ability to partner an...
Stay Updated

Join us to stay on top of the latest healthcare news, legislation and product features from Ameriflex

We value your privacy
We will not rent or sell your information