This blog was last updated on June 26, 2021
Understandably, one of your clients’ biggest concerns related to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is incurring penalties from incorrect reporting. You can help them avoid these costly mistakes by providing information they need to navigate this tax season. Below we’ve shared two resources to assist you. First is a link to a recent Sovos webinar on how your clients can avoid penalties this coming season. Second are some tips on how to use proactive communication to limit inquiries this time of year. As always, Sovos ACA subject matter experts are available to help answer any questions you might have. As a “thank you” for recommending Sovos to your clients, we will send you a $20 Starbucks gift card. Please submit your contact information here and we will follow up with you. —-
ACA Compliance: Staying Ahead of IRS Penalties
Please share this webinar replay with your clients. During this webinar, Sovos’ VP of Product Jeff Cronin discusses:
- What clients need to know about the “Best Faith Effort” for 2015 ACA filings and potential penalties
- The IRS cycle and communications related to errors and penalties
- Who will be (and should be) involved in managing the corrections and penalty abatement processes
- Best practices for minimizing corrections and future penalties
Click here to access webinar replay. Your clients will thank you for sharing these must-know tips! —-
Broker Tips: How to Limit Inquiries in November/December
ACA is still a relatively new concept, which means it is not yet widely understood and has the propensity to cause headaches for health insurance brokers and your clients alike. The likelihood that you will be bombarded with questions as the reporting season approaches is a cause for concern, given that they will have various other responsibilities to deal with at that time. Read more about how to address your clients’ top concerns about ACA reporting. You should maintain consistent preemptive communication with your clients to avoid such an onslaught of inquiries in November and December. Some of the topics that may be pertinent in addressing clients’ requests in advance are:
- Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliance. Personal Health Information (PHI) falls under HIPAA compliance, and clients will want to know whether any given third-party vendor is certified and qualified.
- Find out whether or not vendors will transmit 1094-B and -C files in .XML format. Reporting organizations are responsible for e-Filing, so clients will want to ensure that vendors are on top of the process.
- If the vendor provides an .XML file, it is important to address the version of the schema with which the file was produced. Schema underwent at least a dozen changes this year as a result of the IRS figuring out how the final version should look on the fly. In many cases, .XML files have been created by service providers with an outdated schema, which can possibly lead to the file being either “accepted with errors” or outright “rejected.”
- It is vital to find out which type of Transmitter Control Code (TCC) third-party vendors are registered with. If a third party is transmitting on behalf of a client, the solution must be created with a “software developer” TCC, not a “Transmitter” TCC.
- Verify whether or not a vendor’s TCC has been approved by the IRS after successful testing in an appropriate environment. A third party must have its TCC fully authorized to avoid being hit with an “accepted with errors” designation.
- Be aware of how vendors will handle IRS responses and any subsequent correction transmittals. Merely submitting information to the IRS is not the end of the process. It is important to know how vendors will work with clients to achieve compliance when transmittals are either accepted with errors or rejected.
Having the answers at the ready for these inquiries will help you be efficient in how you deal with these types of questions from you clients. If you or your clients are unfamiliar with the answers to any of these questions – please fill out the form below. Brokers can find benefits in staying organized when dissecting any particular vendor’s solutions. Click here to access this HR Project Management checklist, which can be of use to both brokers and their clients in making a vendor selection.
