Benefits Bulletin is a quarterly newsletter that covers hot benefit topics in depth. This issue includes information about the delayed DOL overtime rule, the 2016 Kaiser Family Foundation health benefits survey results, the incoming administration’s potential impact on health care and the 2017 health care compliance obligations.
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Form 1095-B, Health Coverage, is used to report certain information to the IRS and to taxpayers about individuals who are covered by minimum essential coverage and therefore aren’t liable for the individual shared responsibility payment.
Minimum essential coverage includes government-sponsored programs, eligible employer-sponsored plans, individual market plans, and other coverage the Department of Health and Human Services designates as minimum essential coverage.
By January 31, 2016, health coverage providers should furnish a copy of Form 1095-B, to you if you are identified as the “responsible individual” on the form.
The “responsible individual” is the person who, based on a relationship to the covered individuals, the primary name on the coverage, or some other circumstances, should receive the statement. Generally, the recipient should be the taxpayer who would be liable for the individual shared responsibility payment for the covered individuals. A recipient may be a parent if only minor children are covered individuals, a primary subscriber for insured coverage, an employee or former employee in the case of employer-sponsored coverage, a uniformed services sponsor for TRICARE, or another individual who should receive the statement. Health coverage providers may, but aren’t required to, furnish a […]
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The IRS has reminded Applicable Large Employers (ALEs) (generally those with 50 or more full-time equivalent employees) that they are subject to new reporting requirements for 2015. The first statements (Form 1095-C for employees and the IRS, and Form 1094-C for the IRS only) must be provided to employees by 2/1/16 and to the IRS by 2/29/16 (3/31/16, if filed electronically). The reports will provide information about health coverage the ALE offered (or didn’t offer) to each full-time employee, which the IRS will use to determine whether the employer shared responsibility payment applies to the ALE and if the employee is eligible for the premium tax credit. All ALEs are subject to this reporting requirement—regardless of whether they offer coverage or are subject to the employer shared responsibility provisions. The IRS will use the information to determine if the ALE is eligible for transition relief under the employer shared responsibility provisions. If you have any questions on how the reporting requirements effect you and your business, please contact your Linkenheimer CPA.
Required Reporting by Employers Providing Self-insured Health Coverage: The IRS reminds taxpayers that, starting with 2015 coverage, all providers of health coverage, including employers that provide self-insured coverage, must file annual returns with the IRS to report information about the coverage and about each covered individual. Applicable large employers subject to the Employer Shared Responsibility (ESR) provisions should report this information on Form 1094-C and Form 1095-C, while employers not subject to the ESR provisions should use Form 1094-B and Form 1095-B. An applicable large employer is one that employs an average of at least 50 full-time employees, including full-time equivalent employees, in the prior calendar year. The information will be reported for the first time on 2015 forms due in early 2016.
The requirement that businesses provide their workers with health insurance or face fines – a key provision contained in President Obama’s sweeping health care law – will be delayed by one year, the Treasury Department said Tuesday.
The postponement came after business owners expressed concerns about the complexity of the law’s reporting requirements and some viewed it to be a potential job killer in an already struggling economy. Under the Affordable Care Act, businesses employing 50 or more full-time workers that don’t provide them health insurance will be penalized. The extra year before the requirements go into effect will allow the government more time to assess ways to simplify the reporting process for businesses.
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