While changes have taken place in many areas of the Affordable Care Act because of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, employer reporting on form 1094-C and 1095-C remains a requirement for 2018.  While TCJA reduced the tax penalty for individuals who don’t have health coverage to $0, effective beginning in 2019, employers are still subject to penalties for failing to report coverage annually.

Legislative Repeal Unlikely Before Year End

Employers who fail to comply with the employer mandate based on the belief that it has been repealed or will be repealed soon are mistaken.  While in July 2018, the House Ways and Means Committee proposed legislation (H.R. 4616) that would temporarily eliminate the penalties associated with the employer mandate from 2015 through 2018, that legislation has yet to be voted on in the House of Representatives.  Absent some further action on H.R. 4616, or similar legislation, the employer mandate will continue to be enforceable.

Little Change in Form 1094/1095

The good news is that the 2018 draft forms are substantially similar to the final 2017 versions. Draft forms and instructions were released by the IRS in July and updated in September. Final versions are expected shortly.  One change is that the revised version of the Form 1095-C clarifies that the “Plan Start Month” box in Part II will remain optional for 2018. (The IRS previously indicated that this box may have been mandatory for the 2018 Form 1095-C.)

Filing Dates in 2019

Filing due dates for 2018 are as follows:

January 31, 2019: Individual statements for 2018 must be furnished by Jan. 31, 2019.

February 28, 2019: IRS returns for 2018 must be filed by Feb. 28, 2019 (April 1, 2019, if filed electronically, since March 31, 2019, is a Sunday).

Keep in mind that while in the past, the IRS has extended the deadline for providing the forms to employees, the deadline for filing with the IRS has not been extended.

Failure to File Can Be Costly

Although  it is expected that Form 1095-C will be modified beginning in 2019 due to the fact that the reporting on employee coverage will have no practical effect after that time, penalties can apply if an employer fails to file with the IRS or provide the forms to employees, and the penalty amount can be doubled if the IRS determines that the employer intentionally disregarded the filing requirement. These penalties can apply if an employer fails to file or provide the forms at all, files and provides the forms late, or if the forms are timely filed and provided, but are incorrect or incomplete.

More Information

For more information on filing your 1094/1095s, contact your Account Manager at Net at Work.  We will be offering training in ACA reporting with Sage “My Workforce Analyzer” on Wednesday, January 9^th from 1:00 – 4:00 PM ET:

Online Training Session:
Topic: Sage HRMS – ACA Reporting
Register Here | Date: January 9