The IRS issued “Tax Tip 2015-31” for employers with fewer than 50 employees.
An employer with fewer than 50 full-time employees (including full-time equivalent employees) on average during the prior year is not an applicable large employer for the current calendar year. Therefore, such an employer would not be subject to the shared responsibility provision and information reporting requirements of the Affordable Care Act.
It is important for employers with close to 50 employees who have a fluctuating workforce to count employees. To do this, the employer should add its total number of full-time employees for each calendar month of the prior calendar year to the total number of full-time equivalent employees for each calendar month of the prior calendar year and divide that result by 12.
Employers with 50 or fewer employees can purchase health insurance for employees through the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP). If an employer with fewer than 25 full-time equivalent employees with average annual wages of less than $50,000 purchases SHOP coverage, the employer may be eligible for a small business health care tax credit.
For information about BAS’ health care reporting tool, contact solutions@BASusa.com.