Mark Twain has been quoted as saying, “The rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated.” One could use this same phrase to describe the penalties that employers face for noncompliance with the ACA’s employer reporting requirements.
President Trump’s first executive order signed on January 20th may be the “rumor” that ACA compliance is stayed. The order includes the following statement:
“Sec. 2. To the maximum extent permitted by law, the Secretary of Health and Human Services (Secretary) and the heads of all other executive departments and agencies (agencies) with authorities and responsibilities under the Act shall exercise all authority and discretion available to them to waive, defer, grant exemptions from, or delay the implementation of any provision or requirement of the Act that would impose a fiscal burden on any State or a cost, fee, tax, penalty, or regulatory burden on individuals, families, healthcare providers, health insurers, patients, recipients of healthcare services, purchasers of health insurance, or makers of medical devices, products, or medications.”
Despite this order, the law still stands, as well as the pages of regulations published to implement the law. Whether the order can be used by any federal agency to waive penalties is unclear and could result in legal action.
The recent release of a TIGTA report may indicate that the IRS is still moving forward in its efforts to assess penalties on noncompliant employers. TIGTA is the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. TIGTA issued a final report on April 7, 2017 titled: Affordable Care Act: Assessment of Efforts to Implement the Employer Shared Responsibility Provision. The report can be read here.
The report found that the IRS has had difficulty processing the ACA-related forms that employers have filed. Despite these delays some of the needed systems are expected to come online in May 2017.
Much of the 43 page report focuses on technical review and analysis of IRS processes. But, it is clear that progress is being made to implement the penalty assessment capabilities of the IRS that will identify noncompliant Applicable Large Employers (ALEs).
Employers are advised to continue to comply with the requirements of the ACA unless and until President Trump signs a law that ends them. Anything else amounts to “rumors.”
Compliance NOW! 