North America

IRS releases draft instructions for ACA reporting forms

Sovos
September 11, 2014

This blog was last updated on June 27, 2021

A little more than a month after the IRS released draft versions of tax information reporting forms under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the agency has published draft instructions for the forms. When the forms were released, several industry groups awaited the arrival of the accompanying instructions so they could better understand their reporting obligations, The Hill reported.

The instructions were released Aug. 28 and provide details for ACA tax information related to the employer mandate. These documents include instructions for the following forms: Form 1095-A, Form 1094-B, Transmittal of Health Coverage Information Returns; Form 1095-B, Health Coverage; Form 1094-C, Transmittal of Employer-Provided Health Insurance Offer and Coverage Information Returns; and Form 1095-C, Employer-Provided Health Insurance Offer and Coverage.

In a statement issued Aug. 28, Neil Trautwein, vice president at the National Retail Federation, said the employer community and retail industry are happy to have the instructions. With the additional guidance, companies can move forward with their ACA tax compliance strategies.

What the forms reveal
The IRS paired instructions for each form with its accompanying transmittal. Instructions for Forms 1094-B and 1095-B, for example, are in the same document. These details can be viewed on the IRS website.

All of the of instructions include guidance regarding who must file and when.

Reporting is to be completed the year following the calendar year of coverage. Forms 1094-B and 1095-B are to be filed by health care providers, and Forms 1094-C and 1095-C are to be filed by employers, including self-insured employers.

“An employer subject to the employer shared responsibility provisions under section 4980H must file one or more Forms 1094-C (including an Authoritative Transmittal, whether or not filing multiple Forms 1094-C), and must file a Form 1095-C (or a substitute form) for each employee who was a full-time employee of the employer for any month of the calendar year,” the IRS said.

Check out our education section for more about ACA reporting requirements for large employers and insurers

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Sovos

Sovos is a global provider of tax, compliance and trust solutions and services that enable businesses to navigate an increasingly regulated world with true confidence. Purpose-built for always-on compliance capabilities, our scalable IT-driven solutions meet the demands of an evolving and complex global regulatory landscape. Sovos’ cloud-based software platform provides an unparalleled level of integration with business applications and government compliance processes. More than 100,000 customers in 100+ countries – including half the Fortune 500 – trust Sovos for their compliance needs. Sovos annually processes more than three billion transactions across 19,000 global tax jurisdictions. Bolstered by a robust partner program more than 400 strong, Sovos brings to bear an unrivaled global network for companies across industries and geographies. Founded in 1979, Sovos has operations across the Americas and Europe, and is owned by Hg and TA Associates.
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