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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The New ACA Form 1095-C Codes

Let’s switch gears here for a post and talk about the Affordable Care Act Forms. More specifically, Form 1095-C and the changes it’s gone through to be ready for 2016 filing early next year.

If you filed 1095-C Forms this past year, you may recall on lines 14 and 16 you were required to enter codes that corresponded with the type of coverage you offered and the safe harbor relief for which you were eligible. These codes were chosen from Code Series 1, Offer of Coverage, and Code Series 2, Section 4980H Safe Harbor Codes and Other Relief for ALE Members, respectively.

Code Series 1 Changes
This past year, Code Series 1 provided a variety of codes, numbered 1A to 1I, to indicate more information about the coverage offer you provided to the employee. But for 2016 filing, this code is a little different.

For one thing, code 1I, which only applied for 2015 transitional relief options, is no longer available and is marked as “reserved” by the IRS. In other words, don’t use it on any future forms.

For another, codes 1J and 1K were added to the list. Codes 1J and 1K address conditional offers of spousal coverage. A conditional offer refers to an offer of coverage that is subject to one or more objective conditions, which must be found reasonable to the IRS. An example of an appropriate conditional offer would be an offer to cover an employee’s spouse only if the spouse is not eligible for coverage under a group health plan sponsored by another employer or Medicare.

Code 1J: Minimum essential coverage providing minimum value is offered to the employee and at least MEC is conditionally offered to the spouse. MEC is not offered to the dependent(s).
Code 1K: MEC providing minimum value is offered to the employee and dependent(s) and at least MEC is conditionally offered to the spouse.

Code Series 2 Changes
Code Series 2 was a little bit different than the first series because not everyone would necessarily use it. Code Series 2, with codes 2A to 2I, is used to indicate the safe harbor relief for which you may be eligible.

This coming year, for the 2016 filing season, code 2I is no longer applicable. Similar to code 1I, code 2I only applied for a 2015 safe harbor relief option, so, naturally, it can’t be used past the tax year 2015.



We’ll be sure to keep you updated on any major ACA changes in the coming months to help make sure you’re as prepared as possible for the 2016 filing season. And if you have any questions in the meantime or need to e-file Form 1095-C, don’t hesitate to give ExpressIRSForms a call! We’re available by phone (704-684-4751) and live chat (through our site) Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. EST. We also provide 24/7 customer support via email at support@ExpressIRSForms.com.

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E-file ACA Corrections with ExpressIRSForms

After all that hassle in June, it’s likely the last thing you want to hear about as you’re trying to enjoy the rest of your summer is your ACA return. The forms were sent, the IRS has got ‘em, and they’re not doing penalties this year anyway, right? Why give it another thought before it’s time to do next years?

Well, for one, you probably shouldn’t assume that just because your return has been sent to the IRS that there’s nothing left to do. Because even if the IRS is waiving penalties this year, they’re only doing that for those who prove they made good faith efforts to file correctly.

Even if you’ve sent in your 1094 and 1095 forms, they could be accepted with errors or rejected altogether. And if you don’t do anything to amend them, it doesn’t really look like you made the effort to file correctly.

So, after you e-filed with ExpressIRSForms, you should’ve received an e-mail from us once the IRS processed your forms letting you know the outcome of your return. It would have either said “Accepted,” “Accepted with Errors,” or “Rejected.” If your return was accepted, you’re in the clear; if it was accepted with errors or rejected, you’ve got some work to do.

Thankfully, you initially filed with ExpressIRSForms, so you’ve got access to the easiest correction process in the biz. Just log back into your account and find the ACA return in question. Click the blue Employee(s) box, and you'll see a breakdown of which forms were accepted and which have errors. Click on "View Errors" to see an explanation and link to fix each error.

From there all you have to do is make the necessary corrections and resubmit your return. It’s that easy!

But just in case you have any questions along the way, our all-star customer support team is here to help. You can give us a call (704-684-4751) or send us a live chat Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. ET. We’re also happy to help 24/7 via our email support - support@ExpressIRSForms.com!

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Miss the ACA E-filing Deadline?

Now that we’re almost halfway through July, the dust is finally starting to settle from the Affordable Care Act e-filing deadline that was June 30. If your return has come back with errors and you need to make corrections, ExpressIRSForms is the place to be. We’ve been on top of the ins and outs of ACA reporting since Day One.

Hm, what’s that? You haven’t filed yet at all?

Well, while we can’t really say that’s okay, there’s no need to start fretting over being late now. You may not be at the corrections stage like most filers, but ExpressIRSForms can still help!

First Off, There Are No Late Filing Penalties for the 2015 Tax Year
Although the IRS extended the actual deadlines for ACA Forms 1094 and 1095 (from March 31 to June 30) for the 2015 tax year, they realized there would still be many businesses that needed more time to power through the confusion of these new regulations and forms.

That’s why the IRS also announced earlier this year that if you can provide evidence that you made attempts to file on time but were delayed for whatever reason, they’ll forgive any late-filing fees you would have otherwise incurred. The big thing here though is that you still need to submit a completed (or as close to completed as possible) return to the IRS to show your good faith efforts.

Which is Where ExpressIRSForms Comes In
As an online, cloud-based program authorized by the IRS to e-file information returns, ExpressIRSForms is up, running, and able to be used anytime you need to access your account. That means that even weeks after a deadline, you can e-file your forms directly with the IRS. Additionally, our expert customer support team is available throughout the year, not just during tax season, to answer your questions from our base in Rock Hill, South Carolina.

To e-file your ACA Forms 1094 and 1095 with ExpressIRSForms, simply create an account on our website. From there, select the ACA forms option in the “Create New Forms” section. The program will then guide you through, step by step, until you’ve filed your return with the IRS.

If you have any questions or need help getting started, give us a call! We’re in the office Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. ET, where we’re available by live chat through www.ExpressIRSForms.com or at (704) 684-4751. Have a question after hours? We respond to questions sent via email 24/7! Just send a message to support@ExpressIRSForms.

Happy filing!

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What is the Origin of Policy for ACA Reporting?

There’s a lot of important information reported to the IRS on your 1095-B Forms regarding the offers of health care coverage you made throughout the year. Included in the information you’re required to provide is the origin of the policy, which is entered on Line 8 of Form 1095-B.

When you come to Line 8 of Form 1095-B, you’ll enter a letter (A-F) to indicate where the health insurance policy you offered your recipients originated:

• A. Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP)
• B. Employer-sponsored coverage
• C. Government-sponsored program
• D. Individual market insurance
• E. Multiemployer plan
• F. Other designated minimum essential coverage (MEC)

ExpressIRSForms helps make sure you have the right information in the right places on all of your ACA Forms, including 1094 and 1095-C Forms. So get started e-filing your ACA forms through your ExpressIRSForms account today - you only have a little over a week left to get them e-filed to the IRS!

If you have any questions, we’re available by live chat and phone (704-684-4751) Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. EDT. We also offer 24/7 assistance through support@ExpressIRSForms.com.

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Void or Corrected: Which Box Should You Check on Form 1095-C?

If you look at the top of Form 1095-C, Employer-Provided Health Insurance Offer and Coverage, you’ll see two boxes, one labelled VOID, one CORRECTED. If you find yourself amending an ACA return you’ve already submitted to the IRS, you may end up doing more than just looking at the boxes. The question we’re here to answer today is which do you use for what situation?

The Void Box
This one’s pretty straightforward. If you’ve filed a Form 1095-C for an employee in error or need to just void completely a filed Form 1095-C for any other reason, you’ll check this box on a new Form 1095-C. Fill out the same information as is on the 1095-C you’ve already filed and are voiding so the IRS knows to which form in your original return you’re referring.

The Corrected Box
This box you may check for any number of reasons, the main one being that you need to make a correction on a Form 1095-C you’ve already filed. You’ll enter an X in the “Corrected” box on a new 1095-C form for any form you’ve already filed that had incorrect

• Employer/employee name,
• SSN or EIN,
• Offer of Coverage,
• Premium Amount,
• Safe Harbor or other relief codes,
• Covered Individuals’ information.

You’ll need to furnish a corrected copy to the recipient of the coverage (and the original Form 1095-C) in addition to the one you send to the IRS.


With ExpressIRSForms, ACA corrections are a breeze. Get started e-filing today by creating a free account! And if you have any questions, you can give our expert customer service center a call at (704) 684-4751 or send us an email to support@ExpressIRSForms.com.

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3 Ways CPAs Benefit From Using ExpressIRSForms

CPAs are facing a whole new workload this (extended) tax season: ACA forms. With all the sensitive information being handled in CPA offices during the busy season, ExpressIRSForms wants to help make sure CPAs e-filing ACA forms for their clients aren’t met with any avoidable issues. That’s why we’ve included a few features to our ACA e-filing system we think, as a CPA, you’re going to like.

File for Multiple EINs Using One Account
One of the issues with a lot of e-filing software out there is that you can only assign one business or EIN to an account. As a CPA with multiple clients - and therefore multiple EINs - this could mean keeping track of login and password details for each of those clients. Let’s be honest, you’ve got better things to keep track of. With ExpressIRSForms, you can add as many different EINs as you need.

You can even check out and e-file all of your forms at once (rather than transmitting them individually by EIN) to take advantage of our higher volume filing prices.

Multi-user Functionality
Whether you work as part of a team or your clients want to review their returns before you transmit them, we understand there are instances when you’ll need to give others access to your ExpressIRSForms account. That’s why each account comes with multi-user functionality, enabling you to give secure access to your account to whoever you need. From your Account Settings, you can send a secure link to your coworker/boss/client, giving them as much access to the account as is necessary.

Postal Mailing Options
Along with filing 1095 Forms to the IRS for your clients, copies of these 1095 Forms must also be sent to the recipients of their offers of coverage you’re reporting. That adds up to a lot of extra time (and money) spent printing copies, stuffing envelopes, stamping them, and mailing them to the correct people. Unless you use ExpressIRSForms.

Before you transmit your forms, you’ll have the ability to select our Postal Mailing feature. If you opt for this feature, our ACA team in Rock Hill, South Carolina is alerted and sends the recipient copies of the 1095 Forms out in the mail by the next business day after you transmit.


If you have any questions about filing with ExpressIRSForms, give us a call! We’re available Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. EDT, at (704) 684-4751 or by live chat. We also offer 24/7 assistance through support@ExpressIRSForms.com.

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How to E-file Form 1095-C with ExpressIRSForms

Hello, and welcome to ExpressIRSForms! Today we’re going to take you step by step through the process of e-filing a Form 1095-C with ExpressIRSForms. If you’ve e-filed your 1099s or W-2s with us before, things may look a little familiar. If you’re just stopping by for the first time, sit back, relax, and see how easy it is to e-file with ExpressIRSForms:

Getting Started
First things first, you’ll need to either create an account at www.ExpressIRSForms.com, or log into your existing one. Select either the “Register” or “Sign In” button on the top right corner of our home page, as it is applicable to you. Once you’ve logged into your account, you’ll see a button that says “Create New Forms.” Click this, and select the ACA forms option.

Employer Information
After you’ve indicated you’d like to e-file ACA forms, you’ll be taken to a screen to enter the employer information needed for your ACA return. Enter your employer by either selecting their name from the drop-down menu of your existing employers, or filling in the boxes to add a new employer. Once you’ve confirmed all of your information is correct, click Next.

Next, the program will determine if your employer is a member of an aggregated group, what type of insurance is sponsored by the employer, and the amount of full-time employees (FTEs) your business has by asking a few simple questions. Before completing the next part of your form, you’ll come to a checkpoint screen that summarizes the type of ACA form you’re filing along with your employer information. Click Continue to go to the next part.

Employer Offered Coverage
Now onto what the ACA forms are all about: your employees and the coverage you offered them. You’ll see on the first screen for this section that you have the option to add employees individually or bulk upload them using our Excel template or one of your own. Select which option you’d like, and either enter your employees’ data individually, or upload your ACA data spreadsheet.

Authoritative Transmittal
Once you’ve either entered or uploaded your employee data, click Next to indicate whether or not this return will be considered the Authoritative Transmittal for your complete ACA return. If this is your only transmittal, it automatically becomes the Authoritative Transmittal (AT).

After indicating the AT, the program will ask about any transition relief your organization or business qualified for during the tax period. The next pages will ask you to confirm you offered minimum essential coverage (MEC) throughout the year and your total number of FTEs as well as total number of employees overall.

Summary
Lastly, you’ll come to your summary screen. Look over everything to make sure your employer and employee info is entered correctly and click Review. The program then performs one last error check to make sure your return is free of any obvious errors before it’s transmitted to the IRS. If there are no errors, just click through to add your payment information for the one-time transmittal fee, and transmit your return to the IRS.

See, wasn’t that simple?

If you have any questions about e-filing with ExpressIRSForms, give us a call! We’re available Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. EDT, at (704) 684-4751. We also provide 24/7 email assistance at support@ExpressIRSForms.com.



Looking for something a little less hands on? Try ExpressACAForms, our full-service ACA e-filing solution!

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Minimum Value

Going hand-in-hand through the ACA regulations with Minimum Essential Coverage (MEC), which we posted about earlier this week, is Minimum Value (MV). 

What is Minimum Value?
Healthcare plans meet a Minimum Value (MV) if they’re designed to pay for at least 60% of the total cost of medical services for a standard population, according to the Affordable Care Act (ACA). This minimum standard is the equivalent of a Bronze plan sold on the Health Insurance Marketplace. The plan’s benefits must also include a substantial amount of any inpatient hospital and physician services necessary.

In order to remain completely compliant with the ACA, the healthcare plan you as an employer offer your employee(s) must offer both Minimum Essential Coverage and meet the Minimum Value allowed. If the plan you offer doesn’t meet MEC or MV standards, you might have to pay an employer shared responsibility payment.

An employer shared responsibility payment is incurred when their employee receives a premium tax credit when purchasing additional insurance from the Marketplace. Since the employee would only receive this tax credit if their existing insurance didn’t meet MEC or MV guidelines, this could launch an IRS investigation into your coverage offers and you could end up paying out of pocket for each full-time employee considered under-covered.

However, just because an employee seeks additional insurance from the Marketplace doesn’t mean he/she will automatically receive the premium tax credit. If the insurance you provide meets MEC and MV, the employee will still be able to purchase additional coverage but they won’t be eligible for the credit.

The clock is ticking to get your ACA forms e-filed! The deadline is June 30, so be sure to sign up with ExpressIRSForms to complete your ACA filing today. And if you have any questions, our customer support team is happy to help! Give us a call Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. EDT, at (704) 684-4751 or send us an email anytime at support@ExpressIRSForms.com.

Looking for something a little less hands on? Try ExpressACAForms, our full-service ACA e-filing solution!

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Reporting Safe Harbor & Affordability on Line 16 of Form 1095-C

A couple of slots down from Line 14 on Form 1095-C is Line 16, as is usually the case with sequential numbers. The thing about Line 16 is that not everyone will fill it out. Read on to learn more about this reporting requirement.

Form 1095-C, Line 16
The thing to keep in mind about Line 16 is that you’ll only fill it out if certain situations apply for the employee (i.e., the employee not being full-time or employed at all) or for you, as the employer (i.e., Safe Harbor relief eligibility), during any month of the year.

ACA Code Series 2
The following Safe Harbor Codes are used on Line 16 of Form 1095-C:

• 2A: Employee was not employed during this month.
• If the employee worked even one day that month, Code 2A is not applicable.
• Code 2A may not be used for the month an employee resigns.
• 2B: Employee is not a full-time employee.
• Use Code 2B for a non-FTE who didn’t enroll in coverage that month (if offered).
• Use Code 2B for FTEs whose coverage ended before the last day of the month because the employee resigned (otherwise, the coverage would’ve continued).
• Use Code 2B for January 2015 if you offered MEC with MV to the employee no later than the first day of the first payroll period beginning that month.
• 2C: Employee enrolled in coverage offered.
• Code 2C should be used even if another code might apply (other than 2E).
• Don’t use Code 2C if Code 1G is entered in the “All 12 Months” box on Line 14.
• Don’t use Code 2C for any month a terminated employee is enrolled in COBRA (use Code 2A instead).
• 2D: Employee in a section 4980H(b) Limited Non-Assessment Period
• Use Code 2D for any month the employee is in a Limited non-Assessment Period for section 4980H(b).
• If Code 2E is also applicable, use that instead of Code 2D.
• 2E: Multiemployer interim rule relief.
• Use Code 2E for any month the multiemployer arrangement interim guidance applies to the employee.
• Code 2E should be used regardless of any other code that may apply.
• 2F: Section 4980H affordability Form W-2 safe harbor.
• Use Code 2F for any month you used the section 4980H Form W-2 safe harbor to determine affordability for the employee’s coverage.
• 2G: Section 4980H affordability federal poverty line safe harbor.
• Use Code 2G for any month you used the section 4980H affordability federal poverty line safe harbor to determine affordability for coverage.
• 2H: Section 4980H affordability rate of pay safe harbor.
• Use Code 2H for any month you used the section 4980H affordability rate of pay safe harbor to determine affordability.
• 2I: Non-calendar year transition relief applies.
• Enter Code 2I if non-calendar year transition relief under section 4980H(b) applies to this employee for any month.

At ExpressIRSForms, we help make sure you have the right codes in the right places. With built-in error checks, we’ll make sure no obvious errors are sent in your forms to the IRS. And if you have any questions along the way, our support team will be happy to help! Give us a call Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. EDT, at (704) 684-4751. Filing in the middle of the night? We offer 24/7 assistance via email at support@ExpressIRSForms.com.



Looking for something a little less hands on? Check out our full-service ACA e-filing program, ExpressACAForms!

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What Every Small Business Should Know About the ACA

When it comes to the Affordable Care Act, a lot of the conversation is spent on Applicable Large Employers (ALEs) and their new requirements and regulations. While that’s an important conversation to have, businesses with fewer than 50 employees are affected by the ACA as well. But do you know just how affected you are by the ACA as a small business owner?

You’re Still Somewhat Responsible for your Employees’ Health Care Coverage
Even if you don’t meet the 50 FT-employee-threshold that requires you to provide health insurance for your employees, as an employer you’re still a little responsible for making sure they get covered. This means you’ll need to provide certain information about healthcare Marketplaces if you opt not to offer fully-insured plans to your employees.

If you do decide to provide coverage and other benefits to your employees, you’ll need to establish a plan for making offers of coverage to every eligible employee within 90 days of hire. You’ll also need to provide them with a Summary of Benefits and Coverage (SBC) to explain their health plan and what it costs.

You’re Also Required to File
Keep in mind that if you do make offers of coverage to your employees, you’re required to file with the IRS reporting this coverage each year, just as ALEs do. However, small businesses offering fully-funded plans will need to file Forms 1094-B and 1095-B.

For more specific ACA information tailored to the size of your business, you can visit the US Small Business Administration’s page.

And for more information about e-filing your ACA Forms, give us a call at ExpressIRSForms. We’re available Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. EDT, at (704) 684-4751, to answer any questions you have about the e-filing process. We’re also available 24/7 at support@ExpressIRSForms.com.



Looking for something a little less hands on? Check out ExpressACAForms, our full-service ACA e-filing program.

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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!

Questions? Give us a call Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. EDT, at (704) 684-4751 or send us an email anytime at support@ExpressIRSForms.com!

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ACA Compliance: How to Track Variable Hour Employees

Variable hour employees are those who, based on circumstances surrounding their employment, cannot easily be classified as a standard, 30-hour-per-week full-time employee. In other words, their schedules fluctuate so greatly, it requires a longer measurement period to determine whether they’re eligible for health coverage and benefits extended to other full-time employees.

But just because they’re variable hour employees doesn’t mean they can be swept under the rug. If any of these employees does work, on average, over 30 hours per week and you don’t make an offer of coverage to them, you could face a $100 per day penalty for each affected employee.

Employers are given a full year, or “measurement period,” under the ACA to determine whether or not their variable hour employees average 30+ hours of work each week. If an employee is discovered to have exceeded 30 hours/week, you must make an appropriate offer of coverage. It must go into effect within 90 days of acceptance and be available for a full 12 months, even if the employee’s hours worked drop below 30 hours/week. This time period that the employee is covered is called the “stabilization period.”

Unlike your regular full-time employees, variable hour employees must qualify for their offers of coverage each year by working that average of 30 hours a week. That’s why it’s recommended employers set their measurement period to start 90 days before the annual renewal date. So the measurement period for companies with a January 1 renewal date will measure their employees’ variable hours from October 1 to September 30 of the year before. This also makes it easier for handing out your offers of coverage, since you’ll only have one open enrollment period.

Already have your employees tracked and ready to file? Great! You can start with ExpressIRSForms today! And if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to call our customer support center in Rock Hill, South Carolina. We’re available Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. EDT, at (704) 684-4751 and 24/7 at support@ExpressIRSForms.com.



Looking for something a little less hands on? Check out ExpressACAForms, our full-service ACA e-filing solution.

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Full-Time Employee Calculator for ALEs

We can’t stress how important it is to get the total amount of full-time employees (FTE) and full-time equivalent employees exactly right for your ACA compliance and reporting. The IRS, among answering many questions about who qualifies as an FTE, has provided a way to determine the amount of FTEs you have:

1. First, add up the total hours of service you paid wages to employees during the year (this shouldn’t exceed more than 2,080 per employee).
2. Next, divide that total by 2,080.
3. If your result is not a whole number, round to the next lowest whole number.
4. Unless the result is less than one, then round up to one FTE.

Calculating your employees’ hours worked this way helps with circumstances where an employer may qualify for the employer shared credit even if they have fewer than 50 actual full-time employees on the payroll.

For instance, if you have 48 individuals employed part-time, they could equal out to be 24 full-time employees, qualifying you for some credits.

ExpressIRSForms includes a full-time employee calculator within the program, as do ExpressACAForms and ACAwise. We’ve included as part of our continuing promise to bring you the easiest, most convenient solution in e-filing services. Use the FTE calculator to double check your own math, or let it do the work for you!

If you need help e-filing your ACA forms, give us a call Monday-Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. EDT, at (704) 684-4751, or send us an email anytime at support@ExpressIRSForms.com.

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Employee Eligibility: Determining Status Based on Hours of Service

One of the most important parts of ACA compliance is making sure you make the right offers of coverage to the employees who meet the right amount of hours as dictated by the IRS. Applicable Large Employers (ALEs) must offer at least the minimum amount of coverage as dictated by the ACA to their full-time employees, keeping in mind that the IRS considers 30+ hours a week (130+ hours/month) to be full-time.

So when counting up the hours of your employees, what hours do you need to take into consideration? Well, obviously just the hours the employee worked, right? Sort of. An employee’s hours of service include each hour for which the employee is paid and the hours for which the employee is entitled to payment but no job duties are performed. These hours can include:

• Paid Family and Medical Leave of Absence (FMLA)
• Vacation days
• Sick days
• Jury duty
• Military duty

When it comes to what not to count for hours of service, the ACA has an answer for that as well. Excluded from your total tally of hours of service are:

• Volunteer hours
• Work study program hours (performed by students, interns)
• Religious Orders
• In other words, you don’t need to count service hours for someone “subject to a vow of poverty” who is performing the duties usually required of an active member of the order.
• This exception is only used in calculating full-time status, not ALE status.
• Hours paid with foreign-source income

So when you determine the hours your employees have worked, you can do it one of three ways:

1. By calculating the actual hours of service each month for each employee (this may be more difficult for salaried employees)
2. By totalling the number of days each month the employee did eight (8) hours of work
3. By totalling the number of weeks each month the employee did 40 hours of work

ALEs can use any of these methods, but must pick one to stick to for the duration of the calendar year. You may change methods once the year is up. Methods 2 and 3 can both be used for classifying salaried employees, so long as the classifications are consistent. Methods 2 and 3 may not be used if their results understate the employee’s hours, causing them to be classified as non-full-time.

You can find more information for determining the hours of those who are difficult to identify or track (such as adjunct faculty, or those with layover or on-call hours) here.

Once you’ve determined your employees’ hours of service, it’s time to file those ACA Forms 1094 and 1095. You can do that through www.ExpressIRSForms.com. Simply create a free account to get started. If you need help or have any questions, give us a call at (704) 684-4751, Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. EDT. We’re also available 24/7 through email: support@ExpressIRSForms.com.



Looking for something a little less hands on? Try our full-service e-filing option, 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.




Looking for something a little less hands on? Check out ExpressACAForms, our full-service ACA e-filing option.

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ExpressIRSForms Offers Free TIN Matching!

Did you know that when you e-file with ExpressIRSForms, your forms are put through a series of in-depth error checks to ensure your forms get accepted at no additional cost to you? Naturally, this applies to the new ACA Forms 1094 and 1095 available in your ExpressIRSForms account.

A Little Bit of ACA Background Info
Before we get going, it’s important to be aware of the forms to which we’re referring. Forms 1094-B, 1094-C, 1095-B, and 1095-C are now available to be e-filed at ExpressIRSForms, and it’s every bit as easy to file them here as it is your 1099s or W-2s.

Like other information returns, the ACA forms must be filled out in a certain way and require various pieces of information on the people for whom you’re filing. And like the other IRS forms, it’s easy to make a mistake if you’re paper filing or even when staring at the computer screen too long inputting data. That’s why the IRS recommends e-filers like ExpressIRSForms: to cut down on these common errors that cause rejections.

For the ACA forms, the most common rejection error is mismatching TINs. ExpressIRSForms has the aptly titled solution: TIN Matching.

What is TIN Matching?
With the ACA forms, you’re dealing with a lot of IRS Tax Identification Numbers (TINs). Not only do you have your EINs, but you've also got the SSN of every person for whom you’re filing. And each of these TINs is made up of nine very specific numbers in a very specific order. Getting the idea of why mixing up a few of these numbers is a common occurrence now? We thought so.

That’s why ExpressIRSForms prides itself on our TIN matching feature: we’ve taken our extensive experience with the IRS and e-filing and made it almost impossible for your ACA forms to get rejected because of a TIN mismatch.

Want to Know More?
Our customer support team is happy to answer any questions you have! Just give us a call Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 6 p.m. EDT, at (704) 684-4751, or send us an email anytime at support@ExpressIRSForms.com.

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There's an ACA Deadline This Month! Are You Ready?

As some of ExpressIRSForms’s regular readers may already know, May marks the first month ever with an OFFICIAL IRS DEADLINE FOR ACA FORMS.

This particular deadline was first set to occur at the end of February, following in line with the 1099 and W-2 deadlines to which we’re all accustomed. But since the IRS felt everyone (themselves included) needed a little more time to understand their ACA reporting and get it in order, they extended each deadline by 2-3 months, giving filers more time to prepare.

So while we’ve already had an ACA deadline this year (back on March 31 with the recipient copies), what we haven’t had is a firm, official ACA deadline for filing with the IRS. Until now.

Your recipient copies, due out by March 31 this year and by January 31 in future years, are good practice for getting the IRS copies of your documents correctly filed the first time through (because they’ll need to be correct for your recipients to make any use of them). They’re not, however, a good example of a hard deadline because unless a recipient reports their 1095 missing or not delivered with the IRS, you’re not really held accountable for getting them out on time.

But, seriously, you might want to make sure that doesn’t happen because you could incur some hefty fines, and the IRS will have to launch an investigation into all of your ACA reporting to ensure you’re compliant with the new laws.

If you’re late on this month’s deadline, you can still get a little bit of a break. May 31 is the paper filing deadline (typically it’ll be February 28/29), but the e-filing deadline isn’t until June 30. Since the IRS doesn’t know/care whether you paper file, you’re welcome to e-file if it’s getting close to May 31 and you’re nowhere near ready.

Okay, so that was a bit of a stretch: the IRS does care if you paper file. They care if you e-file. But what the IRS really cares about is if you don’t do either, which you can read about in our ACA penalties blog so we can get back to the matter at hand.

If you do intend to paper file, make sure that 1) you don’t have more than 250 of any one form (1095-B, 1095-C) to file and 2) you have them signed-sealed-delivered on time:

1. Like W-2s, 1099s, and most other IRS information returns, if you have more than 250 forms to file, the IRS requires you e-file them. Which, is kind of a bonus anyway, because it’ll take a lot less time to e-file 250 forms than paper file them, and you get more time to do it!
2. If there’s a chance your paper documents will be late, go ahead and plan to e-file. Most ACA e-filing companies (ExpressIRSForms and our affiliates, ExpressACAForms and ACAwise, included) can help you get your e-forms filled out and submitted based on the information you’ve already gathered. In other words, don’t worry if you miss the May 31 deadline; we’ve got your back on this.

If you have any questions about getting started e-filing your ACA forms (or while in the middle of e-filing them, or even after they’re submitted), you can always reach out to ExpressIRSForms’s friendly, US-based customer support team. We’re available Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. EDT, by phone (704-684-4751) and live chat (www.ExpressIRSForms.com). You can also send us an email anytime at support@ExpressIRSForms.com.

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Ace Adventures: We're Just Getting Started

“Boy, it was nice of Ace to throw us this bar-b-que!”

“Yeah, he sure does go all out for the end of filing season, huh?”

Weeks ago, when he was helping to mail out ACA Forms 1095-B and 1095-C for ExpressIRSForms, Ace took it upon himself to also mail out invitations for his Post-March-31st-Deadline Bar-b-Que to everyone in the city. So here we are today, celebrating the IRS deadline for 1099s and W-2s and the recipient copy deadline for ACA forms for payers and employers.

“Great cook-out, Ace,” a taxpayer Ace helped out earlier this year came up to the grill to say.

“Thanks, it was Alex’s idea,” Ace replied. “I just couldn’t figure out what to do that could include the entire city, but I just had to do something now that that March 31st deadline is over.”

“Yeah, about that,” the taxpayer began. “I thought March 31st was the ACA deadline, but my buddy over there was saying that that’s not until June 30. I don’t get it...why’d I send out all those forms by March 31 if the deadline isn’t until June 30?”

“You see,” Ace continued, “March 31st was the deadline to have your 1095-B and 1095-C forms furnished to your employees or recipients. The deadline to e-file with the IRS is June 30. There’s also a paper filing deadline on May 31, but I don’t want to bring that up too loudly. It could attract Paper Cut!”

“Wait, so the IRS deadline for ACA forms wasn’t last week? I could have sworn it was.”

“And typically it will be. In fact, the IRS announced initially that March 31st would be the e-filing deadline for this year, but in the early days of the 2015 filing season, they decided to extend each of the deadlines so filers had time to clear up any confusion before submitting their forms. But, in future years, recipient copies are due January 31 and IRS copies are due March 31.

“Hey, so Ace,” a taxpayer who picked up on part of their conversation began, “I had my forms sent to my employees through ExpressIRSForms, and they made me transmit them to the IRS to have that done. So I don’t need to do anything else before June 30?”

“That’s correct, other citizen!”

“You had someone send your forms for you?”

“I sure did! And you can, too!”

The 1099 and W-2 filing season may be over, but with ACA, we’re just getting started! Head on over to www.ExpressIRSForms.com to set up your free account. And if you have any questions along the way, give us a call. We’re available Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. EDT, at (704) 839-2270. We’re also available 24/7 at support@ExpressIRSForms.com.

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Ace Adventures: A Confusing Deadline

Ace, standing tall at his podium, began to address the crowd that started to gather ‘round.

“By the last day of this month,” Ace continued, “you must mail the recipient copies of your 1095-Bs and 1095-Cs to all applicable recipients.

“For my ALEs, that means, uh… That means…” Ace trailed off.

“Well? What does it mean??” A voice from behind Ace questioned.

“And I’ve taken everything you know about the March 31st deadline right out of that thing in your head you call a brain,” Confusion said as she broke into another fit of evil laughter, and Ace fell to his knees in soon-to-be defeat.

“Hey, wait!” called a voice from the crowd. “I know about that! Wasn’t Ace talking about it earlier this year?”

“Oh, yeah,” began another bystander. “The recipient deadline that’s usually going to be when all the other forms are due to payees or employees. You know, like the 1099s and W-2s.”

“Right,” continued the first crowd member, “and if you offer your employees healthcare coverage throughout the year, this is the form you report that to the IRS on!”

“Wait, how did you know that?!” Confusion exclaimed. “My spell should still be clouding your mind!”

“Oh, it’s not your fault, Confusion,” Ace said as he stood up. “I’m sure it’s an excellent spell. But you can’t keep this brain down for very long. No, not with all of my brain exercises.

“But your most fatal mistake was made when you decided to attack me here. For knowledge can be shared more easily than you think, especially when one chooses to speak up.

“Thank you, citizens. I couldn’t have done it without you! As for you, Confusion, be gone. Your spread of ignorance is not welcome here!”

Don’t have time to mail your forms? Select the postal mailing option when you e-file your 1094s and 1095s with ExpressIRSForms and we’ll send them out for you! And if you need help e-filing your ACA forms, give us a call. We’re available Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. EST at (704) 839-2270. We also offer 24/7 email support at support@ExpressIRSForms.com.

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