The Affordable Care Act and its associated reporting requirements remain the law of the land after the Senate announced it will not hold a vote on the Graham-Cassidy bill. Here are three things businesses need to keep in mind when planning for ACA reporting season:
- You’re on the hook for reporting. Senate Republicans have tried and failed several time to enact legislation that would repeal and replace Obamacare. As such, the ACA remains intact for the foreseeable future and businesses should be ready to tackle reporting for TY17. This means adhering to ACA reporting requirements under IRC 6055 (Information Reporting for Health Coverage Providers) and 6056 (Reporting of Offers of Health Insurance Coverage by Employers).
- Deadlines are important — stay on top of them. Forms are due to individuals by January 31. The due date for paper filing to the IRS is February 28, while electronic filing is due March 31. Read more about deadlines and other important details in our Q&A.
- Penalties for late or incorrect filings have increased. Penalties were capped at $100 per return and $1.5 million overall until recently. Now, you could be slapped with $260 per return and more than $3 million total. You can find more details about specific penalty scenarios in our blog.
Expect continued conversation on health care reform…
…but don’t be distracted. While Republicans say they will continue to work on health care reform, the ACA and all its associated reporting requirements remain the law of the land. Republicans have also yet to find common ground on several keys health care issues, indicating further attempts to repeal and replace Obamacare may prove to be fruitless, as well.
With a voting deadline of September 30 under the Reconciliation process, Republicans were working to drum up support for the Graham-Cassidy bill among party members in recent weeks. The effort turned out to be unsuccessful. Now that the Reconciliation period has passed, Republicans would need 60 votes to pass any repeal of the ACA after Sept. 30.
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In the meantime, businesses should stay current with any potential changes to ACA legislation, as they could have impacts to reporting requirements ranging from minimal to severe. For updates as more details emerge, subscribe to the Sovos blog.
Find out how Sovos takes the risk and complexity out of ACA reporting.
