A new year brings the promise of a clean slate, new beginnings … and the inevitable tax season. Per the Affordable Care Act, employers with more than 50 full time equivalent (FTE) employees must offer health insurance to all full-time employees – and to prove that they do, employers must file the Form 1094-C and Form 1095-C with the IRS. Luckily, technology can help make this process less time intensive and prevent costly fines and penalties.
What are the forms 1094/95-B and 1094/95-C?
These forms are completed by Applicable Large Employers (ALEs) and provided to employees and the IRS to certify that employers are offering health insurance plans that meet the required minimum essential coverage (MEC) and affordability requirements as outlined under the Affordable Care Act. They are used to report to taxpayers and the IRS the individuals who were offered and covered by minimum essential coverage. The following chart summarizes the forms provided by the applicable entity type based on size and funding arrangement:
Filing Deadlines
Forms 1095-B and 1095-C should be distributed to employees 30 days from January 31st (March 2, 2022).
Forms 1094/95-B and 1094/95-C should be filed with the IRS as follows:
- February 28, 2022 if filing on paper (only available to employers filing fewer than 250 forms)
- March 31, 2022 if filing electronically
How can technology help?
The data required to prove ACA compliance is a combination of benefits and payroll – finding a software that provides an ACA data export will not only help you stay compliant, but also save you time in completing these forms. Instead of scrambling at the last minute, you can check for discrepancies and update throughout the year.
Resources
- Forms 1094-C & 1095-C: IRS Site: https://www.irs.gov/uac/about-form-1095-c
- Form 1095-C – https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1095c.pdf
- Form 1094-C – https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1094c.pdf
- Forms 1094/1095-C Instructions – https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i109495c.pdf
- Forms 1094-B & 1095-B: IRS Site: https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i109495b
- Form 1095-B – https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1095b.pdf
- Form 1094-B – https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1094b.pdf
- Forms 1094/1095-B Instructions – https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i109495b.pdf
- IRS Proposed Reg-109128-21: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/reg-109128-21.pdf