IRS delays reporting requirements for Group Health Care Coverage for Businesses

Under the recently passed Affordable Care Act of 2010, businesses should have started reporting group health care coverage in 2011. The Act requires businesses to report the value of employer-sponsored health coverage, by indicating the cost of the health insurance coverage they provide employees on each employee's annual Form W-2.  However, IRS has decided to delay such reporting requirements.

The IRS determined that interim relief was needed to to provide employers the time they need to make changes to their payroll systems or procedures in preparation for compliance with this requirement. So, the IRS will defer the reporting requirement for 2011, making that reporting by employers optional in 2011. The interim relief from the IRS does not require companies to file the reports until 2012.

See IRS guidance: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/n-2010-69.pdf http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=220809,00.html