The time has arrived for employers impacted by the eligibility reporting requirements of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), as the IRS officially released the 2014 versions of the final forms and instructions on Feb. 8. Posted were the following forms, which fulfill the reporting requirements under ACA sections 6055 and 6056:
- Form 1094-B, Transmittal of Health Coverage Information Returns;
- Form 1095-B, Health Coverage;
- Form 1094-C, Transmittal of Employer-Provided Health Insurance Offer Coverage Information Returns; and
- Form 1095-C, Employer-Provided Health Insurance Offer and Coverage.
Applicable large employers (ALEs) – those with 50 or more full-time or full-time-equivalent (FTE) employees – will be held to the mandatory filing; however, some organizations may receive transitional relief based on:
- their employee count (50-99 employees),
- their use of non-calendar-year plans or
- entering new ALE status.
Regardless, all ALEs are required to file these forms with the IRS and provide statements to full-time employees about health coverage, even if the employers are not required to offer affordable coverage that meets minimum essential coverage or value in 2015.
Information reporting is voluntary for 2014, but all ALEs must submit the forms in early 2016 for calendar year 2015. It is anticipated that the IRS will release the 2015 version of the forms by the end of this year.
If you are a Paycom client, the submission and distribution of these mandatory forms can be done easily through the ACA Dashboard. Paycom’s ACA Dashboard streamlines reporting requirements as users can analyze their information to ensure they are in compliance with the new federal guidelines. In addition, the ACA Dashboard can be autopopulated with an employer’s existing data, and this data also can be autopopulated into the required IRS forms. The ACA Dashboard is provided free of charge to all clients; filing of the forms for 2015 can be done on your behalf for a small fee.
The content of this blog is intended to keep interested parties informed of legal and industry developments for educational purposes only. It is not intended as legal opinion or tax advice and should not be regarded as a substitute for legal or tax advice.
