Sarah Borders, CEBS February 2, 2024 4 min read

ACA Reporting (6055 and 6056) Deadlines

Date: February 28, 2024 (paper filings) / April 1, 2024 (electronic filings) – The IRS issued final forms and instructions related to ACA reporting requirements for 2023 (2023 Instructions for Forms 1095/1094-C and 1095/1094-B), which reflect the new electronic filing thresholds.

Who this applies to:

Large employers with fully insured and self-funded health plans
Small employers with level-funded health plans, including ICHRAs.

Go Deeper:

According to the instructions, starting in Q1 2024 for the 2023 tax year, 1095/1094-C and B forms must be filed electronically for all employers who file 10 or more of various types of information returns, including W-2s, 1099s, 1098s and 1095-B or C.

In addition, the penalty for failure to file electronically is increased to $310 per return (up from $290), not to exceed $3,783,000 (up from $3,532,500), for employers who have more than 10 returns.

Thus, most employers will need to prepare to file electronically and can no longer file via paper (threshold was 250 but is now 10 total returns).

Deadlines for filing ACA reports with the IRS will remain the same in 2024:

Paper filings are due to the IRS by February 28, 2024
Electronic filings are due as of April 1, 2024 (March 31^st is a Sunday).
1095-C and B statements to individuals must be furnished by March 1, 2024, reflecting a permanent automatic extension 30 days after January 31.

Filers can apply for an extension with the IRS by submitting Form 8809 prior to the filing due date.

For level-funded non applicable large employers, 1095-B forms are not required to be distributed to individuals if the employer posts a notice on their website that the document is available upon request and provides the form within 30 days. However, employers must still populate these forms and file them with the IRS. Note that 1095-C Forms must still be provided to employees by applicable large employers.

Keep in mind that several states (CA, MA, NJ, RI, VT, D.C.) have additional state filing obligations.

For employers that have been filing paper forms in the past, now is the time to prepare for 2023 electronic filing.

Sarah Borders, CEBS

Principal, Benefits Compliance Solutions. Sarah has spent the last 15 years in the employee benefits industry, has numerous designations and serves on NAHU’s Employer Working Group Subcommittee and is an active board member of Austin AHU. She recently stepped down as Vice President of Benefits Compliance at one of the nation's largest brokerage firms to start her own compliance consulting practice. Her designations include an active license with the Texas Department of Insurance, CEBS (Certified Employee Benefits Specialist), Certified Health Care Reform Professional, HIPAA certification and Health Care Service Associate. She holds an MBA from Texas A&M Corpus Christi and a BA from University of Incarnate Word. Her consulting firm, Benefits Compliance Solutions, partners with employers to identify unknown risks and avoid hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines and lawsuits from failure to comply with their healthplan obligations.