Recent Tax Updates

Reminder of Employer Reporting and Penalty Provisions Under the Affordable Care Act

September 2, 2015

Below is a reminder for employers that have 50 or more full-time equivalent employees that they will be required to report health insurance coverage information to the IRS and their full-time employees on Form 1095-C for 2015. Also covered below is an explanation of how the employer shared responsibility provision of the Affordable Care Act works.

Reporting Requirements for Applicable Large Employers

All employers with 50 or more full time equivalent employees must report information about the health coverage offered to their full-time employees beginning this year (2015) to the IRS and the employee.

They will do this by completing and providing a Form 1095-C (Employer Provided Health Insurance Offer and Coverage) to all full time employees by January 31, 2016 and to the IRS by February 28, 2016.

To help explain the reporting requirements, the IRS has provided an Employer-Sponsored Health Coverage Information Reporting Requirements for Applicable Large Employers webinar on the IRS Video Portal website that explains:

• Who is required to report
• What information the law requires to be reported
• How to complete the required forms

For more information on these reporting requirements, see the following on the IRS website:

• Information Reporting for Applicable Large Employers
• Questions and Answers on Information Reporting Requirements for ALEs
• Questions and Answers About Information Reporting by Employers on Form 1094-C and Form 1095-C

Employer Shared Responsibility Provision for Employers with 50 or more Full-Time Equivalent Employees

Under the Affordable Care Act, beginning in 2015, an applicable large employer is subject to an employer shared responsibility payment (penalty) in the following situations:

• Employer does not offer health insurance to their employees
• Employer coverage does not meet the minimum value standards or is not affordable to all full time employees

For 2015, the IRS is providing transitional relief from the penalty provisions to employers with between 50 and 100 full-time equivalent employees as long as they meet certain conditions.

To help explain the penalty provisions and transition relief, the IRS has provided a 47 minute Employer Shared Responsibility Provision webinar on the IRS Video Portal website.

For a more detailed explanation of the penalty provisions under the Affordable Care Act, see the following:

• Tax Penalties for Large Employers section of the How the Affordable Care Act will Affect Businesses on the CrosslinkTax website
• Penalties for Employers under Affordable Care Act Flowchart on the Kaiser Family Foundation website
• Employer Shared Responsibility Provisions on the IRS website
• Questions and Answers on Employer Shared Responsibility Payment on the IRS website