2016 Tax Year Changes for Form 1094-C

Yesterday we learned about the new changes coming to Form 1095-C in 2017 for the 2016 filing season. And we’d certainly be remiss to not mention the changes to its accompanying form, Form 1094-C.

Transmittal Form 1094-C
As you may know, Form 1094-C is the transmittal form of Form 1095-C, and it summarizes the data found in its accompanying ACA return. It’s filed by Applicable Large Employers who are required to offer health insurance coverage to their fifty or more full-time employees. You don’t need to send a copy of Form 1094-C to your employees with their Form 1095-C, but it is required to have the Form 1094-C to the IRS by their ACA filing deadlines, which are:

• February 28, 2017, for paper filers and
• March 31, 2017, for e-filers.

So now that we’ve got all the basics out of the way…

The Changes
There are two form revisions to Form 1094-C that you’ll want to make note of:

• Line 22, box B has been designated “Reserved” and should not be used. This box used to indicate the Qualifying Offer Method Transition Relief, which is no longer available for 2016.
• “Section 4980H” was put in before “Full-Time Employee Count for ALE Member” in Part III, column (b), to remind those filing that the section 4980H definition of “full-time employee” should be used for filling out this column, not any other definition an ALE may use for other purposes.

So there you have it. And don’t forget that ExpressIRSForms is here to guide you through all the changes the ACA Forms encounter while helping you e-file them accurately and on time!


For more information on e-filing your ACA Forms with ExpressIRSForms, check out our website, or give us a call! Our friendly support team is here to help by phone (704-684-4751) and live chat Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. EST and by email 24/7 at support@ExpressIRSForms.com.

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Affordable Care Act Forms: An Overview

Coming this tax season to the best* IRS-authorized e-filing service (ExpressIRSForms) are the newly required Affordable Care Act Forms 1094-B, 1094-C, 1095-B, and 1095-C. These forms were created by the IRS so that insurance providers (including government-sponsored programs, eligible employer-sponsored plans, and individual market plans) could report certain health care coverage information to the IRS and to their recipients.

So what are these forms all about anyway? Well, ExpressIRSForms is here to answer your questions. Our next few blogs will be ACA-themed to get you as prepared as possible for filing these new forms! Today, we’ll start with the basics and a general overview of the forms.

Form 1094
Form 1094 is the transmittal form, and will normally only be filled out by you if you’re paper filing. Most e-filing services (ExpressIRSForms included) will automatically fill out Form 1094 for you and transmit it to the IRS along with your other forms. Form 1094 contains a general summary of the information about the minimum essential health care coverage you offer found on the 1095 forms you submit.

Form 1095
You can think of a 1095 form as a W-2 for health care coverage: it breaks down the health care coverage offered to and received by your recipients by month for the previous year, and you’ll send a copy of it to your recipient while the original goes to the IRS. All of your 1095 forms are sent together to the IRS along with the 1094 transmittal form.

B or C?
The letters attached to the numbers 1094 and 1095 on these forms help the IRS to identify your contractual relationship with your health care recipients. If you’re a health insurance issuer or carrier, you’ll file Forms 1094-B and 1095-B. If you’re an Applicable Large Employer (ALE), you’ll file Forms 1094-C and 1095-C. ALEs are employers with at least 50 full-time employees or full-time equivalents; these employers must offer at least the minimum essential coverage of health care to their employees according to the Affordable Care Act.

If you want to go ahead and get started working with new ACA forms, you can use ExpressIRSForms to begin filing the optional 2014 year absolutely free! And since our software is cloud-based, all of your contact information will be saved in your Address Book; that way, in a few months when you’re working on your 2015 returns, you can be finished in a matter of clicks.

And if you have any questions about the ACA forms or e-filing for any of our other information returns, feel free to reach out to us! We’re available by live chat via our website and by phone at (704) 839-2270, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. EST. We also offer 24/7 email support at support@expressirsforms.com.

*Study results may be biased

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ACA Forms: What Your Employees Should Know

When we talk about the new Affordable Care Act IRS Forms 1094 and 1095, we tend to be focused a lot on the employers and the providers of minimum essential health care coverage. It’s understandable; a lot of things are changing this year, which means a lot of new responsibilities for providers and employers.

But what about the employees? What do your employees need to know about the new ACA filing requirements?

The more an employer can do to educate their employees about the forms and their purpose, the less likely they are to deal with confused and frustrated employees. You may even want to consider sending out a memo or having a meeting to explain these forms and how they’ll affect your employees.

Your employees should know that the ACA requires all employers with 50 or more full time employees are required to provide affordable health coverage to their employees, and that employees will receive a form (Form 1095-B or Form 1095-C) in January, around the same time as their Form W-2. Let them know that this form indicates that they had health care coverage for all 12 months, unless they declined enrollment or an error has been made. Tell your employees who is responsible for handling errors should they occur. If they do, that person will need to update the employee’s copy of Form 1095, as well as the copy transmitted to the IRS.

You can stress the importance of these ACA forms without stressing out your employees. Make sure there’s someone on your staff - and it can be the same person who handles errors - who can answer questions your employees may have when going over their ACA forms.

And if you need any help with ACA forms or keeping stress-free when you file them, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. ExpressIRSForms is here for you every step of the way: just give us a call at (704) 839-2270 Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; live chat us through our website; or send us an email 24/7 at support@expressirsforms.com!

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