The Affordable Care Act mandates that employers with at least 50 full-time employees in the preceding calendar year must report certain information to their full-time employees and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) about the health care coverage they have offered. With the close of 2017, employers must be aware of certain reporting deadlines:
First, employers must file Forms 1095-C and Form 1094-C, with the IRS no later than February 28, 2018. If the employer is filing electronically, that deadline is April 2, 2018. Employers that file 250 or more Forms 1095-C must file them electronically.
Employers must also provide Form 1095-C to each of its full-time employees by March 2, 2018. This is a new extended deadline from the prior deadline of January 31, 2018.
The IRS has also decided to extend the “good faith” transition relief in 2017. The transition relief is available to employers who can show that they have made good faith efforts to comply with the Affordable Care Act reporting requirements. Identical to the transition relief provided in 2015 and 2016, the relief is only available for incorrect or incomplete information reported on the IRS forms. This would include missing and inaccurate tax identification numbers, dates of birth and other information required on the forms. No relief is provided to an employer who fails to file the forms with the IRS or fails to furnish Forms 1095-C to employees by the due dates.
