What Your Customers Should Be Doing to Prepare For 2016 ACA Filing

2016 ACA Reporting is only 2 months away, so here is what they need to know:

1. Have they completed their 2015 filing? If so, and they have confirmed it when running the Report 1095-C/1094-C info program, the software automatically generates a new 2016 ACA Control record as well as Employee ACA records. These 2016 employee records use the most recent employee ACA data (December of the previous year), which minimizes required maintenance.

2. Have they identified their Full Time and Part Time employees? Employers should be monitoring the Measurement phases to see which way employees are trending and make scheduling adjustments if necessary.

The Initial Measurement Period report is for recent hires.
The Standard Measurement Period report shows ongoing employees who have completed an Initial Measurement Period cycle. The SMP report shows employees in up to three phases.
The Stability phase should be used to confirm that correct FT/PT determinations have been made.
The Administrative phase only displays employees during their designated administration period-typically 1 month a year.
The Measurement phase can be used to monitor employee trends while there is still the opportunity to adjust.

Hint: If they have a large workforce, select the .CSV output for these reports. This will allow them to sort by the data they see fit. We recommend a 2-level sort-first by Assigned ACA Status (FT/PT designation), then by Average Monthly Hours. They will be able to quickly narrow the focus to employees on that 130 hour/month threshold.

3. They should familiarize themselves with the Coverage Codes. It is the combination of the Series 1&2 codes which can trigger employee eligibility for tax credits and shared responsibility penalties for the business. IRS Instructions

4. They should know which Employee Share amounts they should be reporting. Remember, this is all about what an employee has the opportunity to enroll in, not what they actually choose. Further, though coverage must be offered to dependents of Full Time employees, this extra coverage does not need to meet any affordability standards.

5. New electronic filers should apply for a Transmitter Control Code (TCC) as soon as possible. Anyone who has already gone through this can probably attest that it was the most difficult part of the entire ACA reporting process. Companies who already have a TCC will not need to reapply.

Filing deadlines:

January 31st, 2017 - Deadline to provide employee copies of their 1095-C forms (This has now been extended 30 days, to March 2nd.)
February 28th, 2017 - Deadline to file 1095-C and 1094-C paper forms with the IRS.
March 31st, 2017 - Deadline for electronic filing of the 1095-C/1094-C with the IRS.

NOTE: The deadlines will not be extended as they were for 2015 reporting.

The IRS has made minor changes for Tax Year 2016; adding new codes, eliminating Transition Relief, and updated specs for electronic filing. We have already programmed these and will continue to stay abreast and make corresponding changes to the software as required.

If you have any Affordable Care Act questions, please reply to psi@pass-port.com