As discussed in our previous Legal Alert, one of the changes made by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) concerning employer-sponsored health coverage is that employers would now be required to report the employer-paid costs of that health coverage on employees' Forms W-2. In Notice 2010-69, the IRS delayed this new reporting requirement until the 2012 Forms W-2 (i.e., those that are filed in early 2013), although employers still had the option to report the cost on Forms W-2.

IRS has now provided further interim guidance, in Notice 2011-28, which confirms that reporting is still not required until the 2013 filing of the 2012 Forms, whether or not it is voluntarily reported earlier. However, reporting will remain voluntary for certain "small employers" until further guidance is issued, but at least through the filing of the 2012 Forms W-2. IRS also provided some detailed guidance for employers that become subject to the rule, and for those employers that remain exempt but voluntarily choose to comply.