Greatland Offers Businesses Top-Five Tips for Affordable Care Act Reporting

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., Feb. 22, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Greatland, one of the country's leading providers of W-2 and 1099 products for business, has compiled its "must-do" list of Affordable Care Act (ACA) reporting tips to help businesses remain in compliance this year.

1.  Know Who Needs to File

Similar to last year, employers with 50 or more full-time employees (including full-time equivalent employees) and all self-insured employers regardless of size must report healthcare coverage information to employees and the IRS. To see if your business needs to file forms for ACA this year, visit Greatland's decision tree to help answer the question "Do I need to file?"

Full-time employees are those who worked an average of 30 hours or more per week for more than 120 days in a year. Using this guideline, you may have fewer than 50 full-time employees, but still meet the requirements for ACA reporting. Healthcare.gov offers assistance, including a Full-time Equivalent Employee Calculator, to help determine filing needs.

2.  Learn the Affordable Care Act tax forms

Below is a summary of each form related to the Affordable Care Act:

1.  Form 1095-B—Health Coverage

Insurers and self-insured employers that provide health plans are required to report data on all covered employees. These providers must furnish each individual with Form 1095-B.

2.  Form 1094-B—Transmittal of Health Coverage Information Returns

Form 1094-B is the transmittal form for Form 1095-B.

3.  Form 1095-C—Employer-Provided Health Insurance Offer and Coverage

Employers with 50 or more full-time employees (including full-time equivalent employees) are required to report whether or not they offered coverage to their employees by providing each full-time employee with Form 1095-C. This form requires information such as whether the employee was offered coverage, for which months and the employee's share of the lowest-cost monthly premium for self-only minimum value coverage. A large employer with a self-insured plan will only be required to submit Form 1095-C, as the information in Form 1095-B can be included in Form 1095-C.

4.    Form 1094-C—Transmittal of Employer-Provided Health Insurance offer and Coverage Information Returns

Form 1094-C is the transmittal form for Form 1095-C.

3.  Don't pay to generate your business' ACA Code

Lines 14-16 on Form 1095-C, the form used to provide employees with information about their medical benefits for reporting purposes, has proven to be so unclear that many businesses pay high fees to have a third party calculate the necessary codes. Greatland's team of ACA compliance experts created a free ACA Code Generator tool to help, allowing businesses to complete this step on their own. Simply answer a few questions and this tool will guide you towards the correct codes to enter in Lines 14-16 of Form 1095-C.

4.  Mark Your Calendars and Know When to File

While the IRS has extended its good faith rule for calendar year 2016 filing (reported in 2017) ensuring no penalties for employers/insurers who file on time and make a good faith effort to comply, businesses should still be aware of filing deadlines. The IRS has issued a 30-day extension for employers and issuers to provide individuals with forms reporting on offers of health coverage and provided coverage. The due dates for 1095-B and 1095-C deadlines are as follows: February 28, 2017 for paper 1095 forms filed to the IRS, March 2, 2017 for 1095 copies to be sent to recipients and employees and March 31, 2017 to e-file 1095 forms to the IRS.

5.  Prepare and Protect Employee Information

Due to ACA requirements, employers are charged with tracking and providing private healthcare information to the IRS. Many service providers claim to offer these capabilities but fail to understand the detailed documentation requirements and lack security measures to keep this information safe. Businesses must proceed with extreme caution and work with a trusted partner when it comes to tax reporting. Not only are businesses responsible for sensitive employee information, but now are accountable for information pertaining to spouses or children. 

Greatland's ACA reporting capabilities are offered through its Yearli Desktop and Performance software. These platforms provide useful tools and a support staff that will help businesses understand the required forms and ACA reporting guidelines. To learn more about Greatland's ACA reporting services and tools, visit: aca.greatland.com.

About Greatland
Greatland (www.greatland.com) is the W-2 and 1099 specialist, focused on providing information, products, and solutions for small to mid-size businesses and accountants.  Greatland helps customers navigate annual reporting changes, including extensive expertise about ACA reporting. Through Greatland's subsidiaries – Greatland, Nelco, and Broker Forms – the company offers an extensive array of specialized products for businesses: W-2 forms, 1099 forms, 1095 forms, business checks, presentation materials, income tax preparation supplies, and mortgage forms.  Greatland also offers Yearli, a comprehensive W-2, 1099, and 1095 reporting software and online filing platform. Greatland is an employee-owned company with locations in Grand Rapids, Mich. and Green Bay, Wis.  Greatland has an extensive W-2 & 1099 fact center located on its website with answers to many of the top filing questions.  Follow us on Facebook or Twitter: @GreatlandCorp

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SOURCE Greatland