Beginning in 2016, providers of minimum essential coverage must report certain information to the IRS and to covered individuals about the individual’s health coverage in 2015.
Taxpayers will use this
information, which will be provided on Form 1095-B, Health Coverage
Information Return or Form 1095-C, Employer-Provided Health Insurance
Offer and Coverage, when they file their tax returns to verify the
months that they had minimum essential coverage and satisfied the
individual shared responsibility provision. The IRS will use the
information on the statements to verify the months of the individual’s
coverage. You will need these forms in order to file your tax return.
Employers that sponsor
self-insured group health plans are subject to information reporting
requirements, with respect to the self-insured group health plan
coverage. This means employers of any workforce size that sponsor a
self-insured group health plan must comply with these information
reporting requirements. An employer that is an applicable large employer
must use Form 1094-C, Transmittal of Employer-Provided Health Insurance
Offer and Coverage Information Returns, and Form 1095-C to report
information for employees who enrolled in the employer-sponsored
self-insured health coverage. An employer that is not an applicable
large employer should not file Forms 1094-C and 1095-C, but should
instead file Forms 1094-B and 1095-B to report information for employees
who enrolled in the employer-sponsored self-insured health coverage.
The deadlines for reporting about 2015 coverage are the same as those
provided above: February 29, 2016 for filing this information with the
IRS – or March 31, 2016 if filing el ectronically – and February 1, 2016
for sending the form to the employee.
Other providers of minimum
essential coverage will file Form 1094-B, Transmittal of Health Coverage
Information Returns, and Form 1095-B, Health Coverage Information
Return, with the IRS. For entities that provided minimum essential
coverage in 2015, the deadline is February 29, 2016 – or March 31, 2016
if filing electronically. The Form 1095-B must contain the name and
taxpayer identification numbers for each covered individual. It must
also include the months that each covered individual was enrolled in
coverage and entitled to receive benefits for at least one day of that
month.
Coverage providers also must
send the Form 1095-B to the person identified as the responsible
individual on the form. The responsible individual generally is the
person who enrolls one or more individuals, which may include him or
herself, in minimum essential coverage. For 2015 coverage, the deadline
for providing this form to individuals is February 1, 2016.