Benefits Buzz
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Notice 2018-06 which provides some relief for those entities who are subject to reporting requirements under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
In summary:
Forms 1095-B and/or 1095-C now must be furnished to employees and individuals by March 2, 2018, for the 2017 calendar year. This is a 30-day extension from the original deadline of January 31, 2018. No additional extensions will be granted by the IRS, even if requested by an employer.
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, also known as the Tax Act, was signed into law on December 22, 2017. The Tax Act makes several changes to the existing tax code, including the repeal of the Individual Mandate (kind of, sort of). The Individual Mandate was not literally repealed by the Tax Act, but the penalty for failing to have minimum essential coverage (e.g., health insurance) has been reduced to $0 starting on January 1, 2019. This is effectively the equivalent of repeal; however, the Individual Mandate will still be applicable for the 2017 and 2018 tax years. This change to the Individual Mandate has spurred numerous questions and/or speculations, including:
