(Bloomberg) The U.S. Treasury and Internal Revenue Service said they are extending some Affordable Care Act reporting deadlines to help companies meet the requirements.
Employers will have two more months past February 1 to give individuals forms for reporting on offers of health coverage and the coverage provided. The deadlines to report this information to the IRS are extended by three months past the previous February 29 due date for paper filings and the March 31 date for electronic returns, the Treasury said in a statement Monday.
“The vast majority of individual taxpayers will not be affected by this extension,” Treasury said. “Like last tax filing season, most individuals will simply check a box on their tax return indicating they had health coverage for the entire year.”
Earlier this month, the deadline for sign-ups on HealthCare.gov was extended by two days because of high volume. In 2014, the administration gave people two extra weeks to sign up for coverage because of concerns that technical problems might have prevented people from enrolling.
The Obama administration has repeatedly extended deadlines for implementation and insurance enrollment under the ACA, sometimes drawing criticism from opponents. Last year, Republicans sued the administration, saying the president exceeded his authority by delaying a requirement that most employers provide insurance to workers.
President Barack Obama said in 2013 that employers wouldn’t have to comply with the requirement until 2015. Then in 2014 Obama further delayed the rule until 2016 for companies with fewer than 100 workers. A federal judge in Washington declined in September to dismiss the lawsuit.
--With assistance from Crayton Harrison.
