Happy New Year! It is our hope that your 2016 is off to great start. If not, then maybe the IRS can help. How? Well, over the holiday break and shortly before the New Year, the IRS granted an extension for submitting the reports that are now required under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“ACA”), also known as Obamacare.

Under the ACA, beginning 2015, insurers, self-insured employers, employers with 50 or more full-time employees (known as “applicable large employers”), and other providers of minimum essential coverage must submit new reports to the IRS and individuals. Providers of insurance—including self-insured employers with less than 50 full-time equivalent employees—must submit to the IRS and individuals who receive coverage forms 1094-B and 1095-B. Applicable large employers—including self-insured employers with 50 or more full-time equivalent employees—must submit to the IRS and full-time employees forms 1094-C and 1095-C.

Prior to the IRS’s extension, these forms were due in either February 2016 or March 2016, depending on whether the entity was filing electronically or not. Now, with the new extension, the forms are due on the following dates:

Because of these extensions, the IRS will not grant any further extensions, and failure to file the returns or failure to file on time may result in penalties. The IRS noted in its guidance that, even if an employer does not meet these deadlines, it should still submit all the required forms, even if they are late. If an employer submits the forms late, the IRS may decide to “abate” the penalties depending on whether the employer made reasonable efforts to prepare the information for reporting and to furnish them to employees.

So, while the extensions are welcome news, the reports still need to be completed. And, because the forms are complex and time consuming, employers should begin working on them as soon as possible. If you have any questions about the forms or any other aspects of the ACA, please contact Abe Howard-Gonzalez at Kemp Smith.

About Kemp Smith

For 150 years, Kemp Smith has provided high quality legal services throughout the Southwest, with offices in El Paso, Austin and Las Cruces. The firm prides itself on the expertise of its attorneys in numerous specialty areas, including trial and appellate litigation; insurance defense; medical malpractice; bankruptcy; labor and employment; tax; corporate and business transactions; environmental, public and administrative law; healthcare administration; trusts and estates; governmental affairs; real estate; and intellectual property. Please visit www.kempsmith.com or call 915.533-4424 for more information.