Unique ACA Challenges Employers with Multiemployer Plans Face

ALEs, or Applicable Large Employers, who contribute to a multiemployer health coverage plan will face some unique challenges when reporting their offers of coverage to the IRS on Forms 1094-C and 1095-C. Multiemployer plans - so we’re all on the same page here - are plans that cover employees of unrelated companies as settled upon in a collective bargaining agreement.

Internal Revenue Code Section 6056 indicates multiemployer plan administrators may prepare their return for employees eligible for the multiemployer plan, reporting information on the plan and the ALE member. However, when the Forms 1094-C and 1095-C were finalized and published by the IRS, the instructions didn’t appear to provide any way for a plan administrator to do this. In other words, it appears that ALE members must report full-time employees eligible for a multiemployer plan and that ALE member is responsible for any incorrect reporting and subsequent penalties incurred.

It is true that ALE members must file a Form 1095-C for each full-time employee and provide information regarding the offer of health coverage. However, in the case of multiemployer arrangements, ALEs typically don’t make the direct offer of coverage. This means you’ll need to get details of the offer(s) from your coverage provider.

As for reporting your data on Forms 1094-C and 1095-C, the Preamble to the Code Section 4980H has included interim guidelines for employers who contribute to a multiemployer plan:

• On Form 1094-C, Part III, column (a), treat all the employees you contribute to the multiemployer plan as if they have been offered minimum essential coverage (MEC), even if they haven’t, for the months you’re eligible to use interim guidance.
• On Form 1095-C, Part II, line 14, enter the code of health coverage that corresponds with the coverage actually offered to the employee, even if it contradicts what you included on Form 1094-C in Part III.
• On Form 1095-C, complete lines 15 and 16 as usual, including the premium amount (line 15) and any applicable Safe Harbor relief code (line 16).
• If you’re completing multiple 1094-C Forms for one ALE member, one of the forms must be marked as the authoritative transmittal copy. This copy must include aggregate employer-level data for all full-time employees.
• Sponsors or insurers of multiemployer plans are required to furnish information about health coverage to any enrolled employees on Forms 1094-B and 1095-B. ALE members should not complete Form 1095-C, Part III for these employees.

ExpressIRSForms works to make sure you’re reporting everything correctly the first time around. Create an account today to get started e-filing ACA forms for your multiemployer plans! And if you have any questions, we’re available by phone (704-684-4751) and live chat Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. EDT. Have questions after hours? Send us an email to support@ExpressIRSForms!



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Employer Shared Responsibility FAQs, Part 2

And we’re back! Let’s jump right into part two of our Employer Shared Responsibility FAQs:


Are companies with employees working outside the US subject to the Employer Shared Responsibility provisions?
Typically, for determining whether or not you’re an ALE (Applicable Large Employer), you’ll only take into account the work performed in the United States. In other words, if a foreign employer has a large workforce worldwide but doesn’t have at least 50 workers in the US, they wouldn’t be subject to the Employer Shared Responsibility provisions.

Are companies that employ US citizens working abroad subject to the Employer Shared Responsibility provisions?
If you employ US citizens abroad, you’d typically only be subject to Employer Shared Responsibility provisions if you have at least 50 FT employees performing work in the US. Generally, US citizens working only abroad will not be taken into consideration when determining ALE status.

How does an employer that wasn’t in existence throughout the preceding calendar year determine if it employs enough people to be subject to the Employer Shared Responsibility provisions?
If your business wasn’t in existence any day in the previous calendar year, you’d only be considered an ALE (and therefore need to file) if in the current year you’re expected to hire/employ an average of 50 or more full-time employees. To determine next year’s status (a.k.a. the year after the first year your business was in existence), you’ll use the same general rules as everyone else: counting up your full-time employees to determine if there are more than 50 of them.

If two or more companies have a common owner (or are otherwise related), are they combined to determine whether they employ enough people to be subject to the Employer Shared Responsibility provisions?
Yes, according to Section 4980H, in order to determine ALE status, you would need to combine the number of employees for any groups with a common owner, or that are otherwise related. If the combined total is more than 50 full-time employees, each employer is subject to the Employer Shared Responsibility provisions.

Do the Employer Shared Responsibility provisions apply to employers in states where a federally-facilitated exchange (or Marketplace) has been established on behalf of the state?
Yes. As an ALE, you’re subject to an Employer Shared Responsibility payment if at least one (1) of your FT employees receives a premium tax credit, which is only available to eligible individuals who receive coverage through a Marketplace.


So now that your questions have been answered, are you ready to get started e-filing your ACA return? Just log into your ExpressIRSForms account to create your forms, or let us do it for you over at ExpressACAForms!

Didn’t see your question in either of our posts? Just reach out to our friendly customer service center and we’ll try to help any way we can! We’re available by phone Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. EDT, at (704) 684-4751 and by email 24/7 at support@ExpressIRSForms.com.

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Employer Shared Responsibility FAQs, Part 1

Welcome to the first of our two-part post on some of the questions surrounding the Affordable Care Act - more specifically, the Employer Shared Responsibility parts of it. If there’s something about employers’ responsibilities under the ACA you’ve been wondering about, we’re going to do our best to answer it!


Which employers are subject to the Employer Shared Responsibility provisions?
The employers subject to the Employer Shared Responsibility provisions are ALEs or Applicable Large Employers.

Which are employers not subject to the Employer Shared Responsibility provisions?
For the calendar year, any employers who do not employ at least 50 full-time employees and are therefore not ALEs are not subject to the Employer Shared Responsibility provisions.

How many employees does an employer have to have to be subject to the Employer Shared Responsibility provisions?
ALEs have an average of at least 50 full-time employees, including full-time equivalents, throughout the year.

Do the Employer Shared Responsibility provisions apply only to large employers that are for-profit businesses?
No, any type of employer can be considered an ALE and therefore be liable for the Employer Shared Responsibility provisions, including tax-exempt and non-profit organizations.

Do the Employer Shared Responsibility provisions apply to government entities?
Yes, as stated before, any employer can be an ALE, including all government entities.


Didn’t see your question here? Stay tuned for our next installment of the Employer Shared Responsibility FAQs! In the meantime, if you need to get started e-filing your ACA return, you can do so through ExpressIRSForms, or let us do it for you at ExpressACAForms!

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Measurement Methods for Identifying Full-time Employees for ACA Purposes

One of the most important parts in ACA compliance is identifying which full-time employees to whom you’re required to make offers of health care coverage. First things first, however, you’ll need to determine if you’re an Applicable Large Employer (ALE). In other words, determine if you have 50 or more full-time employees. And keep in mind that the IRS considers 30+ hours a week (or 130 or more hours/month) to be full-time.

There are two methods for determining full-time employee status:

• The monthly measurement method
• The employer looks at each month the employee has worked individually to see which ones exceeded 130 hours of service
• The look-back measurement method
• The employee goes through a standard measurement period, where they work their usual hours as determined by the employee and employer upon hire.
• Then, the employer determines the employee’s full-time status based on the measurement period, during what is known as a stability period.
• Employers may not use the look-back method when determining ALE status, only for an individual employee’s full-time status.

When determining an employee’s status, an hour of service is considered to be each hour the employee is paid (or should be paid) for performing his/her duties as set by the employer, including the hours the employee is entitled to payment during which no duties are performed (like vacation pay, holiday pay, sick leave, disability, layoff period, jury duty, military duty, or leave of absence). For the purpose of the employer shared responsibility provisions, this does not include these hours of service/employees:

• Volunteer employees
• Students performing work-study
• Members of religious orders
• Compensation that isn’t US source income

You can find more information about totalling hours of employees in more nuanced categories, like adjunct faculty, those who work layover hours (like airline industry employees), and on-call employees, here.

If you have any questions regarding your ACA filing, you can give us a call at the ExpressIRSForms headquarters in Rock Hill, SC. We’re available by phone Monday-Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. EDT at (704) 684-4751, and we also offer 24/7 email assistance at support@ExpressIRSForms.com.




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