ACA News Federal government extends Individual 2016 reporting deadline

ACA News: Federal government extends Individual 2016 reporting deadline

December 12, 2016

The federal government has extended the Affordable Care Act (ACA or health care reform law) reporting deadline to give employers more time to meet the requirements.

Previously, employers who provided self-funded coverage had until the end of January 2017 to send a statement —tax form 1095-C — with parts l, ll and lll completed – to all employees eligible for coverage in 2016. With the extension, employers now have until March 2 to get this information to their workers.

The extension also applies to health insurance companies facing similar reporting requirements. So for fully insured groups, Anthem plans to begin sending out tax form 1095-B as originally scheduled, with the goal of having all forms mailed by the end of February.

Impact on individual taxpayers 
In some cases, taxpayers may not receive a Form 1095-B or Form 1095-C by the time they are ready to file their 2016 tax returns. Under these circumstances, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will accept other forms of documentation for proof of insurance coverage, including:

• Insurance cards
• Explanation of benefits
• W-2 or payroll statements reflecting insurance deductions
• Records or advance payments of the premium tax credit and other statements indicating that the taxpayer or a member of his or her family, had health benefits

Individual taxpayers will not need to send the IRS proof of health coverage. However, any documentation should be kept with other tax records.

Why reporting is required
The purpose of health law reporting is to show the IRS that affordable coverage was offered to employees. It also shows which employees and dependents are covered, and for how many months out of the year. As you know, the ACA requires all Americans to have health care coverage or face a penalty. The IRS helps enforce this part of the law. To do so, it requires certain tax forms as proof of coverage.

The IRS can also use these forms to track who does or doesn’t have coverage, what companies are or aren’t offering coverage to workers, and levy penalties accordingly. These forms became mandatory with the 2015 tax year. And reporting is required in 2017 for the 2016 coverage year.

More about this can be found within the IRS web site.  You can also refer to our Employer Mandate Fact Sheet and our Minimum Essential Coverage Fact Sheet on reporting.