January 18, 2013 Legislative Update: IRS Releases FAQ on Employer Shared Responsibility The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently issued proposed rules regarding the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) Employer Shared Responsibility provisions. Under these provisions, an employer with 50 or more full-time employees, including full-time equivalents, may have to pay a penalty to the IRS if it fails to offer Minimum Essential Coverage to its employees (and dependents), or offers Minimum Essential Coverage to its employees (and dependents) but that coverage is either not “affordable” or lacks “minimum value.” These provisions go into effect in 2014. As a supplement to these recently released proposed rules, the IRS also issued a series of 23 questions and answers concerning the employer shared responsibility provisions, in order to assist employers in understanding these new requirements. Among the topics the FAQ covers are: |