I. INTRODUCTION
The Department of the Treasury (Treasury) has announced that the employer-shared responsibility provisions (pay-or-play rules), under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), will not apply until 2015 and that information reporting by employers and health insurers will not be required until 2015. As a result of the delay, the employer-shared responsibility mandate and excise tax under PPACA will not apply until 2015. Formal guidance will be issued in the near future.
The transition period for employer penalties and reporting requirements does not affect access to premium assistance tax credits for eligible employees or other provisions of the PPACA, including health insurance Exchanges.
II. EMPLOYER PENALTIES
Under the PPACA, large employers may be subject to a non-deductible excise tax if at least one full-time employee whose household income is between 100% and 400% of the federal poverty level receives a premium tax credit for Exchange coverage and the employer either:
Pursuant to the Treasury announcement, these tax penalties will not apply until 2015.
III. EMPLOYER REPORTING REQUIREMENTS
The PPACA requires employers to report to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) information about the coverage they offer to full-time employees. Employers who offer self-insured plans, health insurers, and other entities that provide minimum essential coverage also are required to report information to the IRS about who is enrolled in coverage. Compliance with these reporting requirements will now be mandatory for 2015, rather than for 2014.