The IRS delayed the due dates for Affordable Care Act (ACA) information reporting. The delay applies to the 1095-B/C Notice sent to individuals and to the 1094- B/C Transmittal to the IRS.
The new timeframes are as follows:
- Reporting to Employees. Form 1095-B and Form 1095-C must be provided to employees/covered individuals by March 31, 2016 (changed from February 1, 2016)
- Reporting to IRS. Form 1094-B and Form 1094-C must be transmitted to the IRS by May 31, 2016 if filing by paper, or by June 30, 2016 if filing electronically (changed from February 29, 2016 and March 31, 2016)
ACA requires all individuals to have health care coverage, qualify for a health coverage exemption, or make an individual shared responsibility payment when filing their federal income tax return.
Individuals do not submit a copy of Form 1095-B/C with their tax returns. If employees had coverage for all of 2015, they simply check a box on their tax return to report that coverage.
The IRS has recognized that some individuals may be affected by the extension of the due date for employers to provide Form 1095-B/C and may not be able to confirm if they had minimum essential coverage. The IRS has advised that employees may use other information they have about their health coverage to answer the coverage question on their income tax return. Individuals will not have to re-file or amend their returns after they receive Form 1095-B/C. They simply need to keep the Form 1095-B/C with their personal records.
