IRS offers relief to employers on W-2 health care cost reporting

Employers don’t need to worry about reporting the cost of health coverage on Forms W-2 issued for the 2011 tax year, as was originally scheduled to occur under the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (PPACA). Although PPACA mandated that employers begin stating the total cost of health care coverage on an employee’s Form W-2, beginning with the 2011 tax year, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently issued a notice stating that such reporting would be voluntary for the 2011 tax year. Employers should expect that the reporting requirement will be mandatory for the 2012 tax year, but Vigilant will update you as developments occur.