A Little Breathing Room: IRS Extends ACA Reporting Deadline and Good Faith Penalty Relief

Matthew P. Chiarello • November 28, 2016

The IRS delivered welcome news to employers gearing up to meet the Affordable Care Act’s (“ACA”) information reporting deadlines for the 2016 calendar year. In Notice 2016-70 , the IRS extended the deadline to furnish Forms 1095-B and 1095-C to employees.  The new deadlines are provided below.

  Old Distribution Deadline New Distribution Deadline
Form 1095-B (to employees) January 31, 2017 March 2, 2017
Form 1095-C (to employees) January 31, 2017 March 2, 2017

Importantly, the Notice does not extend the deadline for filing Forms with the IRS.  The deadline to file with the IRS remains February 28, 2016 (for paper filings) and March 31, 2017 (for electronic filings).

In light of this relief, the IRS will not accept automatic or permissive extensions to furnish Forms 1095 to employees.  However, employers may still seek extensions of time for filing with the IRS by submitting Form 8809.

Employers may be relieved to find that the Notice also extends good faith transition relief for ACA reporting for the 2016 calendar year.  As with last year, employers who submit incorrect or incomplete information returns may be relieved from penalties if they can show that they made good-faith efforts to comply with the reporting requirements.

Even given the extended deadline to furnish Forms and the extended good-faith penalty relief, employers may wish to continue to gather the information required to complete, distribute and file their returns as soon as they are ready.

For more information about the ACA information reporting requirement, see our November 9, 2016 “ 2016 End of Year Plan Sponsor ‘To-Do’ List.”

Employee burnout: what it is and how to prevent it

By Mardy Gould • May 24, 2024
Employee burnout has become an epidemic in today’s modern workplace. So much so that the World Health Organization (WHO) officially recognizes it as an “occupational phenomenon.”1 While many used to consider mounting workplace stress an individual employee problem, these days, it’s become an employer’s responsibility to prevent burnout before it hurts productivity and business performance—not to mention your employees’ physical and mental health. Luckily, you can prevent burnout from affecting your workforce in several ways. This article will explore the causes and signs of employee burnout and the steps you can take to create a positive work environment where employees feel safe from toxic stress levels.

Form 720 and PCORI fee FAQs

By Mardy Gould • May 23, 2024
If you're a small business owner, you may have heard of the acronym PCORI and the fees that come with it. But what is PCORI, and how does it apply to your organization? Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), sponsors of self-insured health plans must pay a fee to fund the federal Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI). PCORI is an independent organization the ACA created to conduct research to help healthcare consumers make better decisions for their specific needs and outcomes. It also performs research related to clinical effectiveness. Employers offering a self-insured medical reimbursement health plan, such as a health reimbursement arrangement (HRA), must pay this fee by July 31 each year via Form 7201. This fee was initially set to expire in 2019, but Congress extended it through September 30, 20292, due to the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 20203.
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