With the start of a new year, there are several important reporting obligations upcoming with respect to the federal Affordable Care Act (ACA) and similar state laws.

W-2 Reporting

• Employers must include on the W-2 forms they provide to employees:
  • Health plan values (Code DD) for the 2023 taxable year, including employer HSA contributions (including employees’ pre-tax HSA contributions)  
  • Taxable income for coverage provided during 2023 (e.g., life insurance in excess of $50,000 for which employee did not pay the full Table 1 rate on an after-tax basis)
  • Imputed income of domestic partner coverage
• If corrections were made to the dependent care flexible spending account (DCFSA) elections/contributions of highly compensated employees (HCEs), only the reduced amounts should be reported as contributions to the dependent care assistance program (DCAP) (Box 10).
• W-2s for the 2023 tax year must be provided to employees no later than January 31, 2024.

ACA Reporting (Federal)

• The deadline for insurers to provide individual Forms 1095-B, and for applicable large employers (ALEs) and employer sponsors of self-insured plans to provide individual Forms 1095-C, to each covered individual has been permanently extended to March 2 (the deadline may be adjusted in some years based on specific calendar considerations). For 2024, the deadline to provide the applicable forms to individuals is March 4.

State Individual Mandate Reporting – California

• ALEs must provide California resident employees with copies of Federal Form 1095-C by January 31, 2024 irrespective of the federal deadline extension for these forms.
• For California employees covered under fully insured plans, insurers will typically provide the required 1095-B form. However, employers are responsible for ensuring that this obligation is fulfilled.
• Employers with self-insured plans are responsible for distributing Form 1095-C to covered California employees.
• Employers must also file the applicable forms with the California Franchise Tax Board no later than April 1, 2024.

State Individual Mandate Reporting – Massachusetts

• Unlike other state and local individual mandate reporting requirements, the requirement in Massachusetts mandates that employers provide covered Massachusetts employees with the state-specific 1099-HC form.
• In many cases, employers’ third-party administrators (TPAs) collect self-attestations of plans’ minimum creditable coverage (MCC) status from employers and handle the 1099-HC reporting obligation on their behalf.
• In addition to providing employees with 1099-HC forms, employers must also submit 1099-HC forms to the state (or ensure that their TPAs do so on their behalf) no later than January 31, 2024.

State Individual Mandate Reporting – New Jersey

• Employers must distribute Forms 1095-C to covered New Jersey resident employees no later than March 4, 2024.
• Employers are required to submit Forms 1095-C to the state electronically no later than April 1, 2024.

State Individual Mandate Reporting – Rhode Island

• Employers must distribute Forms 1095-C to covered Rhode Island resident employees by March 4, 2024.
• Employers must file Forms 1095-C with the State of Rhode Island electronically no later than April 1, 2024.

Individual Mandate Reporting – District of Columbia

• Employers must distribute Form 1095-C to covered D.C. resident employees no later than March 4, 2024 (in line with the extended federal deadline).
• Employers must also submit Forms 1094- and 1095-C to the D. C. Office of Tax and Revenue electronically (MyTax.dc.gov) by April 30, 2024.