Who has to file?
All applicable large employers must file annual returns
with the IRS to report the health care coverage offered to fulltime employees and their dependents. An ALE is an employer
that employed (aggregated with members of its controlled
group) an average of at least 50 full-time employees—including
full-time equivalent employees (FTEs) on business days during
the preceding calendar year.
Regardless of whether an ALE offered coverage, all ALEs
must file a return with the IRS that reports substantial information for each employee who was a full-time employee for one
or more months during the calendar year.
Based upon a review of the final rules, Section 6056 returns
will include the following information, at a minimum, within an
Employer Transmittal Return and/or Employee Statements:
ALEs are permitted to utilize a third party to facilitate
filing returns and furnishing employee statements, however,
ALE members are ultimately responsible for the filings. Using
a third party does not transfer any potential liability for failure
to report. Additionally, if you use a third party, you must report
that you did so.
• The name, address, and EIN of the ALE member; the
name and telephone number of the contact person of the ALE
member;
• Certification as to whether the ALE member offered its
full-time employees (and their dependents) the opportunity
to enroll in minimum essential coverage under an eligible
employer-sponsored plan, by calendar month;
• The number of full-time employees for each month
during the calendar year;
• The number of employee statements being submitted;
and,
For each full-time employee, by calendar month:
• The name, address, and taxpayer identification number
of each full-time employee during the calendar year, and
months, if any, during which the employee was covered under
an eligible employer-sponsored plan;
• The months during which minimum essential coverage
was available to the employee;
• The employee’s share of the lowest cost monthly premium
for self-only coverage providing minimum value offered to
that full-time employee under an eligible employer-sponsored
plan;
• Whether minimum essential coverage was offered to:
1) the employee; 2) the employee and dependents; 3) the
employee’s spouse, or 4) to all;
• If coverage was not offered to the employee, whether
the employee was 1) a new variable-hour employee, 2)
in a waiting period, 3) not a full-time employee, or 4) not
employed during that month;
When is reporting due?
It is extremely important to emphasize that ALL applicable
large employers are responsible for complying with employer
reporting in 2015. This includes ALEs with 50-99 full-timeequivalent employees that may qualify for the one-year delay
from 2015 to 2016, announced by the U.S. Treasury in early
2014. Employers with 50-99 full-time-equivalent employees
may delay their compliance with the employer shared responsibility provisions of the ACA (i.e., Employer Mandate) for one
year as long as they meet requirements