Are You Ready for January’s New Reporting Requirements?

reporting requirementsBeginning in January of 2016, businesses employing more than 50 employees must comply with the Affordable Care Act’s new reporting requirements or face stiff penalties. Don’t be caught unprepared. Take time now to review the requirements so your business will be fully compliant and ready to submit the required forms by the January deadline.

What Does the ACA Require?

If you employ 50 or more employees, you will be required to file Forms 1094-C and 1095-C for each person who worked as a full-time employee during any calendar month. These forms report:

  • Identifying information for the employee (Social Security number or birthdate)
  • Whether the business offered coverage to the employee and his or her dependents
  • Cost of coverage

If you offer employer-sponsored self-insured coverage, you may file Forms 1094-B and 1094-C instead.

This year, the reporting deadline falls on February 1st, since January 31st is a Sunday. Failure to file by the deadline will result in fines ranging from $173 to $260 per employee per month.

What Steps Should You Take to Be Ready?

While the deadline is still several months away, you should take steps now to ensure that you have the required information readily available:

  • Make sure your accounting software is up to date. Most accounting software already captures the data needed for filing. If yours doesn’t, you may need a software upgrade or change in configuration in order to demonstrate compliance. This may include time-tracking capabilities to calculate full-time or full-time equivalent employees.

  • Review the specified forms. Take a close look at each of the forms you will be filing in order to make sure your system captures all the required data.

  • Discuss compliance requirements with your PEO. If you outsource your human resources responsibilities to a PEO, they will handle compliance issues and filing for you. However, now is the time to discuss the requirements with your contact person in order to make sure you understand what information your business must provide and how to track that data.

If you employ fewer than 50 employees, but you belong to a PEO that employs more than 50 people, you will still be subject to the reporting requirements for large employers. The good news is that your PEO will help make the process smooth and painless by remaining abreast of reporting requirements and keeping you informed about how and when to submit your information.

You can find the best PEO for your business by using the free PEO Matching Tool on PEOcompare.com.