IRS Delays Deadlines for ACA Reporting

Employers not only received the gift of a delayed Affordable Care Act (ACA) excise tax deadline in the budget bill signed by President Obama, but the Internal Revenue Service is also giving employers some relief on ACA reporting.

IRS Notice 2016-4 extends the due dates for the 2015 information reporting requirements (both furnishing to individuals and filing with the IRS) for insurers, self-insuring employers, and certain other providers of minimum essential coverage under section 6055 of the Internal Revenue Code (Code), and the information reporting requirements for applicable large employers under section 6056 of the Code.

Code section 6056, as enacted by the ACA, requires “applicable large employer members” subject to the employer “shared responsibility” mandate Internal Revenue Code section 4980H to report to the IRS information about their compliance with the mandate and any health care coverage offered to employees (see “SECOND OPINIONS: Forms and Instructions for ACA Health Coverage Information”). Section 6056 also requires applicable large employer members to furnish related statements to employees so that the employees may use the statements to help determine eligibility for the ACA premium tax credit.

A similar reporting requirement in Code section 6055 requires health insurance issuers, employers that sponsor self-insured plans and other providers of minimum essential coverage to report and provide statements on minimum essential coverage offered under their plans.

The due date for the 2015 Form 1095-B, Health Coverage; and the 2015 Form 1095-C, Employer-Provided Health Insurance Offer and Coverage, has been extended from February 1, 2016, to March 31, 2016. The due date for filing with the IRS the 2015 Form 1094-B, Transmittal of Health Coverage Information Returns; the 2015 Form 1095-B, Health Coverage; the 2015 Form 1094-C, Transmittal of Employer-Provided Health Insurance Offer and Coverage Information Returns; and the 2015 Form 1095-C, Employer-Provided Health Insurance Offer and Coverage, has been extended from February 29, 2016, to May 31, 2016, if not filing electronically. For electronic filers the deadlines is extended from March 31, 2016, to June 30, 2016.

The notice also provides guidance to individuals who might not receive a Form 1095-B or Form 1095-C by the time they file their 2015 tax returns.