Affordable Care Act (ACA) Employee Benefits Health Care Regulatory

There’s No Crying in ACA Reporting

Lois Gleason, CEBS

Do you need to make corrections on your 1095-Bs or 1095-Cs?

Maybe you didn’t bat a thousand this year on Affordable Care Act (ACA) reporting requirements. To avoid penalties for faulty reporting on 2015 ACA information returns, you need to make a good-faith effort to comply. That means correcting errors. Fortunately, the IRS is providing coaching assistance.

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So you swung at the ACA reporting ball and missed? Or just watched it sail by? Adjust your stance and try again. The IRS recorded a corrections video for your review. This IRS webcast, originally broadcast in May 2016, provides practical examples of mistakes and how to correct them. A PowerPoint outline is also available.

[Related: The Effects of ACA on Medical Expense Accounts (HSAs, FSAs and HRAs)—Free Member Webcast]

ad_ACAU_moreinfo14Questions answered in the IRS webcast include:

  • What types of errors need correction?
  • Who identifies the need for a correction?
  • How do we go about making corrections?
  • What potential penalties do we face?
  • What is a “good-faith effort?”

Great athletes don’t ignore mistakes; they learn from them. Use the coaching assistance the IRS is providing. You’ll need to show improvement in coming years, when it will take more than a good-faith effort to avoid IRS penalties. It will take a strong performance.

Didn’t win the MVP in ACA reporting this year? Try instead for “most improved player.” There’s no shame in that. After all, when it comes to ACA reporting, we’re all rookies.

Additional resources:

So I Made This Little 1095-C Mistake. Big Deal? – Balch & Bingham LLP, April 2016
FAQs on correcting IRS Forms 1094-C and 1095-C – WillisTowersWatson, March 2016


Lois Gleason, CEBS
Manager, Reference/Research Services at the International Foundation

 

Lois Gleason, CEBS

Manager, Reference/Research Services at the International Foundation

Favorite Foundation service/product: The Employee Benefits Survey (conducted every few years; it is very comprehensive)

Benefits-related topic top picks: Affordable Care Act, multiemployer pension plans

Favorite Foundation conference moment: Working the bookstore/information center at the Employee Benefit Symposium and meeting our members

Personal Insight: Lois loves reading, especially literary classics like Jane Eyre and North and South. A Tale of Two Cities isn’t bad either. Every morning at breakfast she reads the daily newspapers…. yes, she still gets the paper versions because it’s not a big deal if a little coffee spills on them.

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