Small
Business
MAKE
continued from cover
OR
FACE
(i.e. the status of health insurance coverage for every month that person was
employed with you), you can fill out the
form internally, if need be.
Pick a side – or pay up
Due to recent changes, the ACA has left
employers of all sizes with two options:
1. provide all full-time employees with
affordable, quality insurance coverage
or
2. offer no health care at all. It’s “all or
nothing” these days – there’s no longer
any middle ground, such as providing
partial premium reimbursement.
No coverage. If you decide not to provide your employees with health insurance,
you will be fined $2,000, per employee,
per year (with the first 30 free under the
standard rules).
Partial coverage/premium reimbursement, etc. Remember, this can now put
you at risk for high excise taxes … up
to $36,500 per employee, per year, for a
full year. It is usually far less expensive
to offer no coverage, pay the pay-or-play
penalty, and then increase general W-2
compensation.
The “all or nothing” mandate applies to
companies of any size; the “play-orpay” penalty and 1095-C reporting
requirements, on the other hand, apply only to those companies with 50 or
more employees.
In fact, if you don’t pick a side and are
found wandering around in this middle
ground, you could be heavily penalized,
to the tune of $100 per employee, per
day. That’s up to $36,500 per employee,
These recent changes are sure to shake
per year.
some things up. It’s better to be proactive
and make sure you’re in compliance
To avoid risking major penalties, ensure
than to risk it and face huge penalties.
your reporting is timely and abide by the
“all or nothing” mandate.
The bottom line
So, what’s this going to cost you? Here’s
a break-down.
Full coverage. Offer employees full
health care coverage, and you’ll be responsible for paying your employer
share of premiums; no penalty will be
assessed under the ACA.
2
If you’d like more
information about
becoming compliant, visit
www.reacpa.com/ACA.
And be sure to check
out our podcast
(Episode 5: Don’t Get Burned
By Obamacare) on
iTunes, SoundCloud or at
www.reacpa.com/episode-5.
LET’S
TALK
ABOUT
THE
F-WORD
By Annie Yoder, CPA,
CFE, CFF, principal
(New Philadelphia
office)