Guest Author Tricia Godin: ACA employer reporting and cadillac tax delayed
This update is part of a Brown & Brown series summarizing new guidance issued in connection with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). For this edition, we are focusing on the delay of two key provisions.
Employer Reporting
On December 28, 2015, the IRS issued welcome
relief to employers regarding the new reporting for 2015 which is due in the first quarter of 2016.
Specifically, 2015 Form 1095-C was required to be distributed to employees by February 1, 2016. The new deadline is March 31, 2016. While some employees may need the information provided in the 1095-C to file their tax return, the actual Form 1095-C is not required to be attached to the 1040 so the delay will not necessarily prevent employees from filing their tax returns earlier. Further, employees can rely on any exchange determination as to whether their employer coverage was affordable as well as any information provided by their employer before the 1095-C is furnished regarding coverage affordability in 2015.
2015 Form 1094-C and copies of the 1095-Cs were required to be filed with the IRS by no later than February 29, 2016 (if mailed) or March 31, 2016 (if filed electronically). The new deadlines are May 31, 2016 (if mailed) or June 30, 2016 (if filed electronically).
These extended deadlines only apply to the reporting required for 2015.
Cadillac Tax
The Cadillac tax is an IRS excise tax imposed on high value employer health plans. The Cadillac tax was set to take effect in 2018. In December 2015, Congress approved an appropriations bill which was signed by President Obama on December 18, 2015, to delay the effective date of the Cadillac tax by two years, to 2020. In addition, the Cadillac tax was previously set to be nondeductible for employers. The new law changes that rule and provides that any Cadillac tax to be paid by an employer will be a deductible business expense.
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Tricia Godin is a benefits producer at Brown & Brown of Detroit.
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