As employers with 50 or more full-time (or full-time equivalent) employees are well aware, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (”ACA”) requires annual submission of Forms 1094-C and 1095-C with the Internal Revenue Service, and distribution of Forms 1095-C.  These submissions and distributions are generally due:

Over the years since these requirements became effective, however, the IRS has often extended these deadlines.  First, such extensions were intended to aid employers as they got used to the new rules. Most recently, an extension was announced via Notice 2020-76 regarding the 2020 deadlines to recognize the challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic.

No such luck, it appears, for the 2021 reporting as no such extension has been announced (nor is one expected).  This means that employers subject to the ACA’s reporting requirements should be working internally or with their outside vendors to meet these deadlines.

One issue we are seeing is that employers who have fluctuated in size a great deal over the past two years (sometimes getting smaller and then growing again quickly, or vice versa) are unsure of whether the ACA reporting requirements apply to them.  Generally, the reporting requirements apply starting the year after which the employer first averages 50 or more full-time (including full-time equivalent) employees on business days.  As with all things tax code, however, there can be a lot more to the analysis.

The Employee Benefits practice group is available to help employers navigate these rules’ nuances and ensure they don’t get tripped up with unexpected reporting penalties.