Employers and Coverage Providers

Under the Affordable Care Act, insurance companies, self-insured companies, and large businesses and businesses that provide health insurance to their employees must submit information returns to the IRS and individuals reporting on health coverage.

Here is some information about the types of forms, the purpose of each, and noteworthy dates

Form 1095-C, Employer-Provided Health Insurance Offer and Coverage

 This form is filed by applicable large employers, which generally are employers with 50 or more full-time employees, including full-time equivalents. • ALEs send this form to certain employees, with information about what coverage the employer offered.
Employers that offer health coverage referred to as “self-insured coverage” send this form to individuals they cover, with information about who was covered and when.
This form is submitted to the IRS with Form 1094-C, Transmittal of Employer-Provided Health Insurance Offer and Coverage Information Returns.
The deadline for filing this form with the IRS is February 28, 2017, or March 31, 2017 if filing electronically.
The deadline for furnishing this form to the employee is March 2, 2017, which is a 30-day extension from the original due date of January 31.

Form 1095-B, Health Coverage Information Return

This form is filed by providers of minimum essential coverage, including employers that are not applicable large employers, but who offer employer-sponsored self-insured health coverage.
It is used to report information to covered individuals about each person enrolled in coverage – this form is sent to the person identified as the responsible individual on the form.
This form is submitted to the IRS with Form 1094-B, Transmittal of Health Coverage Information Returns.
The deadline for filing this form with the IRS is February 28, 2017, or March 31, 2017 if filing electronically.
The deadline for furnishing this form to the covered individual is March 2, 2017, which is a 30-day extension from the original due date of January 31.

Courtesy of IRS

For more information contact Neikirk, Mahoney and Smith at 502-896-2999

Visit IRS.gov/AIR for Resources about Reporting Process

Under the Affordable Care Act, certain organizations must report information to the IRS and individuals about health insurance coverage. The reporting requirements apply to insurance companies, self-insured companies, applicable large employers and employers that provide health insurance to their employees. ACA information returns and transmittals are electronically filed through the ACA Information Return system, also known as AIR.

The ACA Assurance Testing System opens November 7 for tax year 2016 testing. AATS is a process to test software and electronic transmissions prior to accepting software developers, transmitters, and issuers into the AIR program. Software developers – including employers and issuers – who passed AATS for tax year 2015 will not have to retest for tax year 2016; their tax year software packages will be moved into production status. New participants need to comply with test requirements for tax year 2016.

Other non-ACA information returns – such as Forms 1099 – can be electronically transmitted through the Filing Information Returns Electronically system, also known as FIRE.  Even if you previously used FIRE, if you are transmitting to AIR, you should familiarize yourself with the AIR procedures, which are different than those for FIRE.

If you are required to file 250 or more information returns, you must file them electronically. This requirement applies separately for each type of return and separately to each type of corrected return. All filers are encouraged to electronically file even if you have less than 250 returns.

Courtesy of IRS

For more information contact Neikirk, Mahoney and Smith at 502-896-2999