In welcome relief regarding Affordable Care Act (ACA) compliance, the IRS has extended the due dates for information reporting under Sections 6055 and 6056 of the Internal Revenue Code (Code) (26 U.S.C. §§ 6055 and 6056). In Notice 2016-4 (Notice), issued on December 28, 2015, the IRS announced extended due dates for the ACA information reporting requirements, including statements provided to individuals.

Code Section 6056 requires large employers to file and provide annual information returns and employee statements regarding the health coverage the employer offers (or does not offer) to its full-time employees (see Practice Note, Information Reporting of Health Insurance Coverage by Large Employers (Section 6056)). In addition, Code Section 6055 requires health insurers, employers with self-insured coverage, and other providers of minimum essential coverage (MEC) to file and provide information returns and statements regarding the coverage (see Practice Note, Information Reporting for Employers That Self-Insure and Insurers (Section 6055)).

For Practical Law analysis of the ACA reporting requirements, see:

Without the relief provided under the Notice, the first information returns and transmittal forms under Code Section 6055 and its implementing regulations (that is, Forms 1095-B (Health Coverage) and Forms 1094-B (Transmittal of Health Coverage Information Returns)) are due by:

An entity also must provide Section 6055 statements to individuals on or before January 31 of the year following the year in which MEC was provided. Because January 31, 2016, falls on a Sunday, the first due date for these statements is February 1, 2016.

The Notice extends the due dates for filing with the IRS 2015 Forms 1094-B and 1095-B from:

The Notice also extends the due date for providing individuals with 2015 Forms 1095-B from February 1, 2016, to March 31, 2016.

Without the Notice's relief, the first information returns and transmittal forms under Code Section 6056 and its implementing regulations (that is, Forms 1095-C (Employer-Provided Health Insurance Offer and Coverage) and Forms 1094-C (Transmittal of Employer-Provided Health Insurance Offer and Coverage Information Returns) are due by:

Employee statements under Code Section 6056 generally must be furnished to employees on or before January 31 of the year following the year to which the statement relates. Because January 31, 2016 falls on a Sunday, the first employee statements must be provided to individuals (without the Notice's relief) by February 1, 2016.

The Notice extends the due dates for filing with the IRS 2015 Forms 1094-C and 1095-C from:

The Notice also extends the due date for providing individuals with 2015 Forms 1095-C from February 1, 2016, to March 31, 2016.

Because of the more lenient due dates under the Notice, the IRS will not apply, with regard to the extended due dates, certain:

(Regarding these forms of relief, see Practice Note, ACA Information Reporting: Forms 1095-C and 1094-C: Short-Term Penalty Relief for Good Faith Compliance (2015 Reporting Only) and Legal Updates, IRS Guidance Addresses HRAs, COBRA, ACA Information Reporting and TRICARE and IRS Issues Final ACA Information Reporting Forms; Additional Guidance to Follow.) As a result, employers and other entities that fail to meet the extended due dates will be subject to penalties under Code Sections 6722 or 6721 (26 U.S.C. §§ 6722 or 6721).

According to the IRS, however, employers and other entities that fail to meet the Notice's extended due dates should still furnish statements and file returns because the IRS will consider these actions in determining whether applicable penalties should be abated for reasonable cause. In addition, the IRS will consider:

The Notice's extended due dates:

The IRS will not grant other extension requests that have already been submitted to the government.

Also, the Notice's extended due dates generally do not affect either:

According to the IRS, most individuals who are offered employer-provided health coverage will not be affected by the Notice's extension for employers to provide information on Form 1095-C. (In general, information provided to individuals on Form 1095-C will help them in determining whether they are eligible for a premium tax credit under the ACA.) The IRS recognized, however, that some employees and other individuals may be impacted by the Notice if they:

As a result, for 2015 only, individuals who rely on other information received from employers about their offers of coverage for purposes of determining eligibility for the premium tax credit when filing their income tax returns need not amend their returns once they receive their Forms 1095-C (or any corrected Forms 1095-C).

The extended deadlines give employers and other reporting entities additional time to collect the information required to be reported on the first forms, and to develop, test and refine the systems and procedures for 2015 reporting (and going forward). For those reporting entities that were already planning to submit their information returns for 2015 to the government in January 2016, the IRS indicated in the Notice that it is prepared to begin accepting Forms 1094-B, 1095-B, 1094-C and 1095-C in January 2016.

The Notice is the second piece of good news on the ACA front in recent weeks. Earlier this month, new enacted legislation included a two-year delay of the ACA's Cadillac Plan Tax (see Legal Update, Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2016 Postpones Cadillac Tax and Permanently Extends Transit Benefit Parity).