The Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare, has new reporting requirements for tax season. Beginning in January 2016 the Affordable Care Act’s Employer Shared responsibility Rule will be fully enforced, requiring employers to file annual information returns with the IRS and deliver employee statements containing information about health plan coverage. This reporting requirement is in addition to reporting health care costs on W-2 forms.
IRS Code Section 6055 requires health insurers and employers to provide enrolled employees and former employees with information that shows who has minimum essential coverage (MEC). Employees will use this information to complete their federal tax returns – and those who do not have MEC may receive a penalty on their federal tax returns. (Minimum Essential Coverage is a requirement under the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) in order for people to avoid the Shared Responsibility Tax.)
IRS Code Section 6056 requires health insurers and employers to provide the IRS a list of employees who were provided MEC during a calendar year. An Applicable Large Employer (ALE) can be penalized if they do not offer minimum essential coverage to full-time employees or the coverage is too expensive and the employee purchases coverage on the Exchange Marketplace. An ALE is defined as a business with 50 or more full-time employees.
If an employer fails to file and issue statements to covered individuals, they may face penalties of $100 per filing up to $1.5 million.
This is a significant change in tax reporting requirements. The Affordable Care Act reporting means that new tax forms will be needed. The Supplies Shops carries all the tax forms you need to be compliant. The required forms: 1095-B, 1094-B, 1095-C, and 1094-C are now available for this tax season.
(If any date shown falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the due date is the next business day.)
| Form | What’s Reported? | Who Issues? | Submit to IRS? | Recipient Copies? |
| 1095-B | Which months the insured and his or her family was covered under the plan | Insurance carrier, for employers with fewer than 50 full-time employees (FTEs*). | Insurance carrier submits February 28th for paper; March 31st for electronic. | Yes, by January 31st. Insurance carrier sends to recipients. |
| 1095-B | Which months the insured and his or her family was covered under the plan | Self-insured employers, with fewer than 50 full-time employees (FTEs*), that provide health plans. | February 28th for paper; March 31st for electronic. | Yes, by January 31st. |
| 1094-B | Summary transmittal record of 1095-B’s. | Accompanies 1095-B forms when mailed to IRS. | February 28th for paper; March 31st for electronic. | N/A |
| 1095-C | Whether or not the employer offered health coverage to employees. | Employers with 50 or more full-time employees* (Applicable Large Employers). Both insured and self-insured issue 1095-C. | February 28th for paper; March 31st for electronic. | Yes, by January 31st | 1094-C | Summary transmittal record of 1095-C’s | Accompanies 1095-C forms when mailed to IRS. | February 28th for paper; March 31st for electronic. | N/A |
| Please note that employers will need two copies of the 1095: One for each employee and one for the IRS. Unlike the W-2, there are not assigned copies or “parts: for the employees and government agency. | ||||
*FTEs that worked at least one month out of the year.
| Item Number 1095B | Form 1095-B Health Coverage (2-sided Black/Black) |
| Item Number 1094BT | Form 1094-B Transmittal of Health Coverage Information Returns (one side Black-Transmittal for form 1095-B) |
| Item Number 1095C | Form 1095-C Employer Provided Health Insurance Offer and Coverage (2-sided Black/Black) |
| Item Number 1094CT | Form 1094-C Transmittal of Employer Provided Health Insurance Offer and Coverage Information Returns (2-sided Black/Black combine page 2 & 3 into one backer) |
Click here to View all Affordable Care Act Tax Forms.