W-2 Reporting of Health Coverage
By: Gardiner Thomsen CPAs | email
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued interim guidance concerning the Affordable Care Act (ACA) requirement to report the cost of employer-provided health care coverage on Form W-2. Under the new interim guidance, voluntary reporting has been extended for small employers to 2012.
Under the ACA, effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2010, employers were required to report on Form W-2 the total cost of group health coverage, including the portion paid by the employer and the portion paid by the employee. Last year, the IRS issued guidance making the reporting requirement voluntary for all employers on 2011 Form W-2. Just recently, the IRS provided further relief to small employers- those with less than 250 W-2 forms. Under the new guidance, small employers will not be required to report the cost of employer-provided health care coverage on 2012 Form W-2 as well.
The IRS reminds employers that the new reporting requirement is intended to be informational only, and to provide employees with a better appreciation of the amount that their employers spend on their overall health care costs.
The full notice to employers of interim guidance can be found at:
www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/n-11-28.pdf
