ACA Form 1094-C Certification of Eligibility

Applicable Large Employers (ALEs) may be eligible for relief from certain requirements as they transition to payroll and benefits systems that meet Affordable Care Act standards.

In order to indicate to the IRS that they were eligible for this relief on their 2015 ACA return, ALEs will check a box indicating which Certification of Eligibility they qualified for on Line 22 of Form 1094-C. In this post, we’ve compiled a list of the four methods of relief found on Line 22 and how eligibility for them can be met.

Qualifying Offer Method (Box A)
A Qualifying Offer applies if you (the ALE) made a minimum value (MV) offer to at least one full-time employee for each month of the year they were full-time. Additionally, you would’ve needed to offer minimum essential coverage (MEC) to the employee’s spouse and dependent(s) that cost them no more than 9.5% of the federal poverty line (FPL).

Qualifying Offer Method Transition Relief (Box B)
This method of relief is available for the 2015 tax year only. An ALE must have made a qualifying offer (as described above) to 70% of their full-time employees for one or more months of the year. Filing Bonus: If you check Box A or B on your 1094-C, you can use a simplified, generic Form 1095-C instead of individual forms.

Section 4980H Transition Relief (Box C)
Section 4980H relief has two types, depending on just how LE of an ALE you are:

• Option 1: ALEs with 50-99 FT employees are eligible if they didn’t reduce their workforce or their employees’ hours of work in order to meet ACA compliance requirements. They also can’t have reduced or eliminated coverage offered.
• Option 2: ALEs with 100+ FT employees with this eligibility are subject to assessable penalty reduced by 80 employees instead of the standard 30.

98% Offer Method (Box D)
ALEs are eligible to check this box if they made an offer of affordable coverage (that meets MV qualifications) for every month of the year to at least 98% of the employees for whom they’re filing 1095-C forms. These can be enrolled full-time and part-time employees.

If you’re eligible for one of these relief methods, be sure to indicate so on your Form 1094-C. ExpressIRSForms can help prompt you to do this when you e-file your ACA Forms through our system, saving you from making any filing errors. For help getting started, you can call our support team in Rock Hill, SC at (704) 684-4751 Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. EDT. After hours, we offer assistance via our email, 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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Ace Adventures: Paper Filers, Start Your Engines!

“Oh, good, you’re here! It’s me, Doc! Things are getting pretty crazy here in ExpressIRSForms, what with the ACA deadline at the end of this month and everyone still being a little unsure about these forms altogether. We don’t want another surprise visit from Confusion on on our hands. Come on down to the square, everyone’s waiting for Ace to come out and tell us what we need to do next!”

“In fact, no one’s around! Where is everyone? It’s almost eerie how quiet it is.”

BANG

“Did you hear that?? That sounded like a gun! We’d better get moving; someone might be in trouble! Heck, Ace could be in trouble! I don’t know if that boy’s bullet-proof or not…”

“What the -- the racetrack? What in the sam hill is going on here? Oh, I suppose there’s no use in asking you, you just got here. We gotta find Ace. He’ll know what’s up. Let’s see about getting inside. There you are!”

“Hey, Doc! What’s up?” Ace, who had just walked out of the racetrack, asked.

“You know I hate those jokes.”

“What jokes?”

“The ‘what’s up, doc?’ one -- oh, never mind that now. What happened to everyone? Confusion hasn’t got them has she?”

“Once I explained to the crowd,” Ace continued, “that e-filers had until June 30, and told them that was just the beginning of the e-filing over paper filing benefits, most of them figured it would be best to check out ExpressIRSForms or ExpressACAForms to e-file their ACA forms. Then the paper filers hurried off to work on finishing their forms by the 31st, and the rest of us came here for the big race today. I tell ya, I don’t know how that tortoise keeps beating that hare but--”

“Whoa, before you get going there Ace,” Doc interrupted, “you wanna give the kid here a little recap of your speech? I’m afraid I made us a little late.”

“Oh, of course! Well, the paper filing deadline for ACA forms 1094 and 1095 is May 31, meaning copies need to be stamped and mailed by that day to the IRS. Now, if you have over 250 forms to file, you’re required to e-file. That was the point that got a lot of people who thought they could paper file. Although, why you’d wanna paper file 250 forms, who knows.

“Anyway, paper filing is great and all if you’re a traditionalist, but you’re way less likely to make an error e-filing. Plus, e-filing’s much more secure and helps the whole filing process go more smoothly, especially when it comes to correcting any errors. So, that’s fine if you want to paper file, but more time and security makes e-filing the sweeter deal.”

That’s right, any questions you have regarding ACA e-filing can be directed at us, the ExpressIRSForms support team, AKA Ace’s sidekicks. You can reach us by phone (704-684-4751) and live chat Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. EDT. We also answer emails 24/7 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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The Affordable Care Act Forms Are Here!

We’ve talked and talked and talked about them, and they’re finally here! You can now e-file your Affordable Care Act forms through ExpressIRSForms.com!

And even bigger news (for us anyway): ExpressIRSForms is the first e-filing program to be authorized by the IRS for these forms. Although the deadlines for the ACA forms have been extended, you probably won’t want to procrastinate with these things. So why not go ahead and get started with a company you can trust?

To start filing your Affordable Care Act Forms 1095-B or 1095-C, just go to www.ExpressIRSForms.com. Then, click “Sign In” or “Register” to either log into or create your free account. Once you’re at your Dashboard, click “Start New Form,” then the ACA icon. Our program will take you through whichever form you need to file -- first determining that for you if you need! -- before allowing you to transmit your forms directly to the IRS.

And in addition to the ACA forms, we offer e-filing for Form 1099 and Form W-2, their corrections, and Extension Form 8868, as well as FREE e-signing for Form W-9! So what are you waiting for? Get started filing now!

And if you have any questions along the way, our friendly, US-based customer service is here to help! We’re available by phone and live chat Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. EST at 1-704-839-2270; and we offer 24/7 email support through support@expressirsforms.com.

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