IRS Releases 2016 Draft Instructions for Forms 1094-B and 1095-B

Forms Due in 2017, Used to Report Minimum Essential Coverage

The IRS has released the 2016 Draft Instructions for Forms 1094-B and 1095-B to help employers prepare for calendar year 2016 information reporting. Employers are required to report in early 2017 for calendar year 2016.

Who is Required to Report
The Affordable Care Act requires insurers, self-insuring employers, and other parties that provide minimum essential health coverage to annually report information on this coverage to the IRS and to covered individuals using Forms 1094-B and 1095-B.

Note: Self-insured employers with 50 or more full-time employees, including full-time equivalents, generally will satisfy their reporting obligations using Forms 1094-C and 1095-C. 2016 Draft Instructions for these forms were previously released.

Key Proposed Changes for 2016 Reporting
Among other minor changes, the 2016 draft instructions differ from the 2015 instructions as follows:

• Updated Penalty Amounts: As previously announced, the penalty for failure to file a correct information return or provide a correct payee statement generally is now $260 for each return or statement for which such failure occurs (formerly $250), with a maximum penalty of over $3 million (adjusted for inflation).
• "Good Faith Efforts" Penalty Relief Eliminated: For 2015 reporting, the IRS offered penalty relief to reporting entities that made "good faith efforts" to comply with the information reporting requirements. This penalty relief has been eliminated for 2016 reporting, though penalties may be waived if a reporting failure occurs due to reasonable cause and not willful neglect.

2016 Draft Forms
The following draft forms are also now available for 2016:

• Draft Form 1094-B (transmittal)
• Draft Form 1095-B

Visit our Information Reporting section for more on these requirements.