Right before the holiday weekend, the IRS released Notice 2018-06: a nice last minute holiday gift for employers. Let’s break it down:

 

The due date for providing Forms 1095-C to employees is extended 30 days to March 2, 2018

 

The ACA employer mandate – which remains as is despite the new tax law – requires all US employers with 50 or more full-time employees to offer their full-time workers ACA-compliant health coverage. These employers must also provide proof of that offer of coverage to the IRS with year-end forms 1095-C and 1094-C.

• The deadline to provide 1095-Cs to employees has been extended by the IRS to March 2, 2018.
• The IRS filing deadline of forms 1094-C & copies of the 1095-Cs remains the same:
  • paper filing needs to be done by Feb 28, 2018
  • electronic filing (required for employers with more than 250 1095-Cs) must happen by April 2, 2018.
• Even with this extension, the IRS encourages employers to send these forms ASAP.

Good Faith transition relief has been extended to 2017 reporting

 

This means that employers who work in good faith to complete the forms will not be assessed penalties due to missing or inaccurate information.

• This relief does not apply if the employer failed to furnish forms or timely file, only for missing or inaccurate information reported on the ACA forms.
• “Good Faith effort” means the IRS will take into account whether the employer made reasonable efforts to prepare for the reporting requirements – for example gathering and transmitting the data to appropriate parties and employer’s efforts in preparing for 2018 reporting.

 

So good news for employers. However, don’t let that detract from making sure your reporting is done accurately and timely - Integrity Data’s ACA compliance solution can help – contact us today.