Affordable Care Act (ACA) Reporting Deadline Reminders

This article serves as a reminder for ACA Reporting Deadlines imposed on Applicable Large Employers (ALEs).

There are two components to the ACA reporting requirements.

1. ALEs must furnish individual statements, generally 1095-Cs, to full-time employees by March 1, 2024
2. ALEs must report 1094C and 1095C information to the IRS by April 1, 2024, if filing electronically

Penalties for inaccurate, incomplete or absence of reporting: the IRS made it clear that “good faith relief” is no longer available which means employers must be diligent with regards to inaccurate or incomplete forms.

For 2023, reporting due in 2024, the IRS may impose penalties of up to $310 per form for providing a participant with inaccurate or incomplete forms. A separate $310 per form penalty could be applied for the same mistake in the forms filed with the IRS, potentially triggering a penalty of up to $620 per employee.

There is also state-level reporting of such forms that were introduced via individual coverage mandates in certain states.

CA, RI and MA require ALEs to furnish 1095C to its residents by January 31, 2024, which does not coincide with the federal deadline. This requirement introduced confusion in prior years which seemed to have led to some leniency from the applicable states to not impose penalties for failure to meet the deadline. In fact, as of this writing, the CA Franchise Tax Board (FTB) has posted that it will not impose penalties on employers who fail to provide the forms by the January 31, 2024 deadline.

Special note: CA, RI, MA, NJ and DC impose reporting requirements onto ALEs that employ workers in the applicable states.

CA, RI, MA, and NJ require certain group health plans to submit state-level reporting by April 1, 2024. However, CA applies an automatic extension and will not apply penalties for returns filed by May 31, 2023.

For more information regarding state level reporting for employers with CA residents, click here.

For more information regarding state level reporting for employers with RI, NJ, MA, or DC, please contact your IMA representative.

IMA will continue to monitor regulator guidance and offer meaningful, practical, timely information. This material should not be considered as a substitute for legal, tax and/or actuarial advice. Contact the appropriate professional counsel for such matters. These materials are not exhaustive and are subject to possible changes in applicable laws, rules, and regulations and their interpretations.