The Internal Revenue Service has announced changes to the filing deadlines for 1094 and 1095 forms reporting 2017.  The 1095 form reports to employees the employer-provided health insurance offer and coverage as required annually by the Affordable Care Act.  Employees use this form in the preparation of their tax return to determine eligibility for the premium tax credit under section 36B and confirm that they had minimum essential coverage offered.

The due date for furnishing the Form 1095 to employees has been extended from January 31, 2018 to March 2, 2018.  However, the due date for submission of the Form 1094 and 1095 to the IRS was not changed and the due date remains February 28, 2018 for paper forms and April 2, 2018 for electronic filing.  The notice does not affect the provisions regarding an automatic extension of time for filing information returns, which remains available under the normal rules by submitting a Form 8809.

Employees may still file without the 2017 1095 form

The IRS recognizes that employees may want to file their taxes before the March 2, 2018 deadline.  According to the IRS release, “Taxpayers may rely on other information received from their employer or other coverage provider for purposes of filing their returns. . . Taxpayers do no need to wait to receive Forms 1095-B and 1095-C before filing their returns.”  As in years past, the actual Form 1095 is not required to be filed with the IRS with an employee’s tax return.

Good Faith Transition Relief Extended

The IRS has extended the good faith relief to employers again this year.  This provides relief from penalties to employers who show that they are making good-faith efforts to comply with the requirements of the law.  According to the IRI this relief applies to incorrect or incomplete information reported on a statement or return and does not cover failure to furnish forms to employees or file a statement to the IRS.  This good-faith relief has been taken in the past to mean as long a employers make an honest effort to get a form into the hands of their employees and the IRS by the deadlines, errors on the form itself will be forgiven.

If you have additional questions about ACA filing, please contact your Net at Work Account Manager for assistance to schedule a consultant to work with you.