For the first time in four years, the IRS adjusted the affordability percentage used for the shared responsibility penalties. The IRS recently announced that the affordability percentage for 2025 will be 9.02%....more
As we’ve previously discussed, the IRS started issuing Letters 226J in late 2017. It continues to send these letters to employers each year proposing that the employer owes an Employer Shared Responsibility Payment (ESRP) for...more
For the third year in a row, the IRS adjusted the affordability percentage used for the shared responsibility penalties down. The IRS recently announced that the affordability percentage for 2024 will be 8.39%. This is down...more
As originally enacted, the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) required most people to maintain health insurance. Those who did not maintain the required insurance were obligated to pay a “shared responsibility payment” (“SRP”),...more
On December 15, 2022, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) finalized regulations regarding Information Reporting of Health Insurance Coverage and Other Issues Under Internal Revenue Code (Code) Sections 5000A, 6055 and 6056...more
On October 13, 2022, the IRS finalized regulations (the “Final Rule”) intended to revise the method of determining affordability under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) for an employee’s family members by considering whether the...more
Applicable large employers must adhere to many Affordable Care Act (ACA) rules to remain compliant regarding group health plan offerings. We offer the following checklist of the five most helpful reminders you should take...more
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has released Rev. Proc. 2022-34, which contains the inflation- adjusted amounts for 2023 that are used to determine whether employer-sponsored coverage is “affordable” for purposes of the...more
A recently released redacted report from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) offers some helpful insights for employers who may be assessed shared responsibility payments because the IRS thinks they...more
The IRS Office of Chief Counsel recently issued a memo which, in a surprise to many, concluded that the filing of the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) Forms 1094-C and 1095-C (“C Forms”) does not start the statute of limitations...more
As you may recall, in late September, we expected a decision from the Fifth Circuit in Texas v. United States—the case challenging the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA)—in the fall of...more
Roughly a year ago, we reported on a district court judge’s determination that the Affordable Care Act’s (“ACA”) individual mandate was unconstitutional and that, therefore, the entire ACA was invalid. A detailed summary of...more
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, often referred to as Obamacare (the “ACA”) has survived two trips to the U.S. Supreme Court. It remains to be seen whether there will be a third. ...more
The IRS has not yet finalized the ACA reporting forms (i.e., the 1094-B/C and 1095-B/C) for the 2019 tax year, so it is no surprise that the IRS issued guidance this week extending the deadline to furnish the forms to...more
As we previously reported, on June 13, the Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and the Treasury (collectively, the “Departments”) issued a coordinated set of final regulations (“final rules”) permitting employers...more
On September 30th, the IRS issued proposed regulations that establish safe harbors for compliance with the employer mandate in the context of individual coverage health reimbursement arrangements (or “ICHRAs”). These proposed...more
Presented below is our summary of significant Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance and relevant tax matters for the week of September 23 – 27, 2019. September 24, 2019: The IRS issued a notice that provides a safe...more
As part of our ongoing series on the final regulations expanding the availability of health reimbursement accounts (“HRAs”), we discussed the newly-created Individual Coverage HRAs, which generally allow for employers to...more
Many employers began to receive notices from the IRS in 2018 proposing the assessment of a payment against the employer for the tax years 2015 and 2016 under Section 4980H of the Internal Revenue Code. The issuance of these...more
Within the last few days, we have received a number of emails and calls from public agency clients stating that the IRS wrote them to demand an Employer Shared Responsibility Payment amounting to millions of dollars. ...more
As reported in our “2018 End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” List (Part 1) Health & Welfare,” the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act repealed the individual mandate, which spawned a lawsuit challenging the whole of the Affordable Care Act...more
In a surprising turn of events, on Friday, December 14th, a district court judge in the Northern District of Texas declared that the Affordable Care Act’s (“ACA”) individual mandate is unconstitutional and that, a result, the...more
Responding to widespread resistance—principally on the part of small businesses—to the increase in the Employer Medical Assistance Contribution (“EMAC”) contributions and the addition of an EMAC supplemental contribution,...more
Watch All of the Company’s Mailboxes for a New Round of Tax Assessments - Another wave of Internal Revenue Service (“Service”) assessments of the employer shared responsibility tax (a/k/a pay or play) were recently released....more
Over the past year, there has been a significant focus in the press on various attempts to overhaul or repeal key elements of the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”), which was originally passed into law almost eight years ago. While...more