ACA Filing FAQs

A list of common FAQs for clients filing for ACA.

OVERVIEW

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, more commonly referred to as the Affordable Care Act (ACA), strives to ensure that all individuals have some form of health care coverage, requires employers to file annual returns with the IRS, and provide statements to employees regarding available healthcare plan coverage. For more information, refer to ACA Reporting: A Primer

This article covers a number of frequently asked questions relevant to your ACA filings, and can be used to familiarize yourself with filing requirements and process.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

When is the ACA filing deadline?

Individuals: Employers are required to have 1095s available for employees by March 1, 2024

Company (electronic): If you are filing forms to the IRS electronically (only method managed by Namely), forms need to be accepted by the IRS on or before April 1, 2024

Company (mail): If you are filing forms with the IRS by mail, they need to be postmarked by February 28, 2024.

Do I file as self insured or fully insured?

Confirm this information with your broker.  

Am I required to file for the 2022 calendar year?

An employer is typically required to file if they averaged 50 or more benefit eligible employees in 2023; confirm with your broker if you are unsure. 

When will dependent information need to be included in the filing?

Dependent information will only need to be included if you are filing as self insured.

When will COBRA participants need to be included in the filing?

COBRA participants will need to be included if you are filing as self insured. Refer to ACA COBRA Data Requirements for more information.

Can you provide a breakdown of the 1095 codes?

Refer to the below external resources for more information:

• https://www.benefitexpress.info/blog/aca-code-cheatsheet

• https://www.mytaxform.com/form-1095-decoder/

• https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i109495c#idm140612400557408

I was accepted with errors—what needs to be done?

Review the errors provided by the IRS and confirm whether or not any employee level information needs to be updated. Even if all information that came back is already accurate, we suggest that you submit a correction anyway to show the IRS you are attempting to fix the information. 

Why are some errors in red and some in orange?

Messages in red are true errors and will need to be corrected before the system will allow you to submit your filing. Messages in orange are warnings—they should be reviewed carefully, but if the information is accurate you can proceed with filing. Refer to ACA Reporting Common Errors and Warnings for more information.