ACA Forms 1095 and 1094
The Affordable Care Act forms are new information returns created by the IRS to make sure that health insurance providers and employers provide at least the Minimum Essential Coverage (MEC) to their recipients and employees during the calendar year. This is to help insurance providers and recipients remain compliant with the new healthcare laws.
IRS Form 1095-C
Form 1095-C, employer-provided health insurance offer and coverage, is filed by ales to report the health insurance coverage they offered their employees during the calendar year. ALEs have 50 or more full-time employees or full-time equivalents, and they must file a Form 1095-C for each one. They also need to send a copy of Form 1095-C to each employee so that they may report it on their tax returns.
IRS Form 1094-C
Form 1094-C is the Transmittal of Employer-Provided Health Insurance Offer and Coverage Information Returns form. It's sent to the IRS along with 1095-C forms by ALEs who are paper filing.
IRS Form 1095-B
Form 1095-B, Health Coverage, is filed by health insurance providers not considered ALEs to report the health insurance coverage they offered their recipients during the calendar year. These forms are generally filed for taxpayers who receive their health insurance from the Marketplace, government programs, or self-insured small employers. Like Form 1095-C, a copy of 1095-B must be filed with the IRS and sent to the recipients of the coverage.
IRS Form 1094-B
Form 1094-B is the Transmittal of Health Coverage Information Returns form. It's sent as a cover letter with 1095-B forms to the IRS by insurance providers who choose to paper file.
E-Filing ACA Forms 1095 and 1094 with ExpressIRSForms
If you have more than 250 forms to file, you're required to e-file, although the IRS does recommend everyone e-file. And the best way to e-file is with ExpressIRSForms, the first IRS-authorized e-filing service for the ACA tax forms. Our site is guaranteed secure, and with our cloud-based program, you can complete your forms anywhere you have access to the internet. And with features like bulk uploading, an online address book, and error checks, your forms will be filed quickly and correctly the first time around.
ACA Penalties
For the 2015 tax filing year, the IRS will not impose penalties on incomplete or missing ACA forms filers attempted to file in good faith. If you willfully neglect to file your ACA returns, however, you could be fined up to $250/form (not exceeding $3,000,000 a year). These fines could also be applied to neglected recipient copies of the forms.
ACA Deadlines
ACA Forms need to be filed for recipients at the beginning of the year following the year in which they were covered:
- January 31: Recipient deadline
- February 28/29: Paper filing deadline
- March 31: E-filing deadline
2015 ACA Deadline Extension
For the 2015 tax filing year, the IRS has extended the due dates for the ACA Forms:
- March 31, 2016: Recipient deadline
- May 31, 2016: Paper filing deadline
- June 30, 2016: E-filing deadline
Since the IRS has already extended the deadlines for this filing, Form 8809, the extension form for information returns, won't be able to be used. However, in future years, you can use this form to apply for a 30 day extension of time to file with the IRS.