ACA UPDATE: 2019 Reporting Deadline Extension

Compliance, Employee Benefits

On December 2, 2019, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued IRS Notice 2019-63.  This IRS notice provides a delay for certain Affordable Care Act (ACA) employer reporting requirements.

According to the IRS notice, the following employer reporting deadline was delayed:

  • Individual/Employee Forms: The employer reporting deadline for sending Forms 1095-B or 1095-C to individuals (employees) has been delayed from January 31 to March 2, 2020.
  • Good Faith Transition Relief: Reporting entities (including employers) that can show they made a good-faith effort to comply with the 2019 information reporting requirements will not be subject to penalties otherwise applicable to filing incorrect or incomplete information on a return or statement. No relief is provided where an employer fails to file an information return or fails to furnish a statement within the due dates.
  • Extensions: In light of this relief, the IRS has stated that no further extensions of the reporting deadline associated with sending Forms 1095-B and 1095-C to individuals will be granted.

In addition the Notice provides that due to the individual shared responsibility payment reduction to zero in 2019, a penalty will not be assessed to a reporting entity for failing to furnish a 1095-B to an individual when the following two conditions are met:

  • Notice: The reporting entity posts a notice prominently on its website stating that a 2019 Form 1095-B is available upon request. The notice must include an email address, physical street address, and phone number where the request can be made.
  • Furnish Upon Request: The reporting entity furnishes a 2019 Form 1095-B within 30 days of a request.

Reporting entities must still continue to provide Form 1095-B to the IRS within the due dates.

Note: Self-funded employers must continue to complete Form 1095-C, Part III to meet their reporting obligations.  However, self-funded employers will no longer be required to complete a 1095C for employees that were not full-time during any month in 2019.

The following filing deadlines remain unchanged:

  • Forms to IRS (Paper): The deadline for filing Forms 1094-B, 1095-B, 1094-C, and 1095-C to the IRS via first-class mail is February 28, 2020.
  • Forms to the IRS (Electronic): The deadline for filing forms 1094-B, 1095-B, 1094-C, and 1095-C to the IRS electronically is March 31, 2020.
  • Automatic Extensions (Paper Filings): Employers can obtain an automatic 30-day extension by submitting Form 8809 to the IRS on or before the due date.

Key Takeaways

For the 2019 employer filing requirements, the IRS automatically extended the reporting deadline for providing individuals with a Form 1095-C from January 31 to March 2, 2020.  This extension for 2019 reporting only delays employer compliance with providing individuals with their information returns.  Due dates to file the forms with the IRS remain unchanged.

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Created: 1/4/2018
Updated: 12/4/2019

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