Large employers (those with 50 or more full-time equivalent employees - click here for guidance on ALE ) are required to begin employer mandate reporting for the 2015 tax year. So what information must a large employer track and report for 2015?
Employers with 100+ full time equivalent employees in 2015 with a fully insured health plan: Employer mandate penalties begin in 2015 for large employers with 100 or more full-time equivalent employees. Large employers are required, under Section 6056 of the tax code, to complete and submit one Transmittal Form (IRS Form 1094-C) and, for each full time employee, an Employee Statement (IRS Form 1095-C – top half only). It may help you to think of the 1094-C as similar to the W-3 (a transmittal form) and the 1095-C as similar to the W-2 (a separate return for each employee).
Employers with 50-99 full-time equivalent employees in 2015 with a fully insured health plan: Even though the regulations provide transitional relief from the employer mandate penalties in 2015 for most midsized employers, these employers still are required to perform certain reporting tasks under Section 6056. Midsized employers must file a Section 6056 Transmittal (IRS Form 1094-C) to prove that the employer in fact meets the requirements for the transitional relief. As long as the transitional relief requirements are met, employer mandate penalties will not begin for these midsized employers until 2016. Midsized employers will also be required to file an Employee Statement (the top half of IRS Form 1095-C) for each full time employee annually.
Employers with 50+ full time equivalent employees in 2015 with a self-insured health plan: Employers with self-insured health plans are required to perform both the employer reporting requirements (Section 6056) and the insurer reporting requirements (Section 6055). So employers with a self-insured plan are required to complete both the top and bottom half of the IRS Form 1095-C. (The top half of the form includes the Section 6056 reporting information and the bottom half of the form includes the Section 6055 reporting information.) These employers are also required to complete the transmittal form (IRS Form 1094-C).
Employers with less than 50 full time equivalent employees in 2015 with a self-insured health plan: Employers with less than 50 employees need to file a 1094 B transmittal form and a 1095 B for each participating employee. There are no penalties for not offering affordable minimum value coverage for this size employer, but these B forms must be filed and provided to the employees anyway.
We will provide more information about filing requirements and methods on our next post.
