Did you know that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has 2015 year-end mandatory IRS filings for organizations considered “large employers” under the ACA?
Do We Need to Comply?
If you had at least 50 full-time employees (including full-time equivalents) in 2014, you will be considered a “large employer” for 2015. You also need to take seasonal workers into account in determining the number of full-time employees.
What Are Our Obligations for Compliance?
The ACA is a highly complex law that requires both innovative technology and expert regulatory guidance. You have a number of compliance obligations related to the ACA, including the following:
- Determining your Employer Shared Responsibility requirement and how it will affect your taxes and fees: Employers with 50 or more full-time employees (including full-time equivalents) must offer affordable, minimum essential coverage of minimum value* or potentially be subject to tax penalties.
- IRS Mandated Section 6056/Annual Healthcare Reporting: You are required to file Form 1094/1095-c for all employees; this form calls for extensive and complex benefit-related information.
*A health plan meets this standard if it’s designed to pay at least 60% of the total cost of medical services for a standard population.
Together, HR Knowledge and ADP Can Help
We understand that ACA compliance is complicated and can be a time-consuming administrative hassle. We have partnered with ADP to ensure your compliance. ADP’s Workforce Now compliance tool for ACA provides you with the payroll, hours worked, and benefits information you need to complete Form 1094/1095-c for all your employees. This new tool comes at a cost, but gives you a way to manage crucial elements of health care reform, including assessing affordability, and providing a critical Regulatory Management solution that helps you identify and address compliance issues before they become a problem. This HR Knowledge/ADP service includes:
- Full-service filing assistance
- Integrated human capital management (HCM) analytics
- An innovative and intuitive dashboard
- Sending notices of coverage to employees
- Managing exchange notices
- Creating annual health care reports (Forms 1094/1095-c)
- Reconciling ACA penalties
If you are not using an ACA compliance tool, you will be required to manually create a 1094/1095 for each employee; not filing this form or filing it incorrectly will subject you to penalties. We strongly suggest you take action to comply with the ACA. HR Knowledge and ADP have partnered to offload this responsibility; if you are interested in signing up for our HR Knowledge/ADP program, please email Benefitsupport@hrknowledge.com and we will provide you with the costs to ensure compliance.
This content is provided with the understanding that HR Knowledge is not rendering legal advice. While every effort is made to provide current information, the law changes regularly and laws may vary depending on the state or municipality. The material is made available for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for legal advice or your professional judgment. You should review applicable laws in your jurisdiction and consult experienced counsel for legal advice. If you have any questions regarding this advisory, please contact HR Knowledge at 508.339.1300 or email us at HR@hrknowledge.com.