Publication

25 February 2025

IRS Releases Guidance on Affordable Care Act Reporting Requirements

On February 21, 2025, the IRS issued Notice 2025-15, which provides guidance on the “alternative manner” for furnishing health insurance coverage statements (i.e., Form 1095-C) to full-time employees under Sections 6055 and 6056 of the Internal Revenue Code (the “Code”), as amended by the Paperwork Burden Reduction Act (“PBRA”).  The PBRA, which was recently signed into law by President Biden on December 23, 2024, allows employers that provide minimum essential coverage to individuals to satisfy the reporting requirements of the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) by posting a “clear, conspicuous, and accessible” notice that individuals may request a copy of their Form 1095-C, instead of the employer automatically sending the statement to each applicable full-time employee.  See our prior client alert on the PBRA here.

As explained below, Notice 2025-15 details how Applicable Large Employers (“ALEs”) may satisfy the “clear, conspicuous, and accessible” notice requirement under the PBRA for furnishing Form 1095-C.  Specifically, Notice 2025-15 borrows from previous guidance that only existed for the alternative manner of furnishing Form 1095-B.

Notice 2025-15

Although the PBRA permitted an alternative manner of furnishing Form 1095-C, it did not specify how to furnish the statements in a compliant manner.  Instead, the PBRA stated that it permitted an alternative manner that provides “clear, conspicuous, and accessible” notice of the employees’ ability to request the Form 1095-C.  At the time of the passage of the PBRA, there were no existing regulations for Form 1095-C related to providing a “clear, conspicuous, and accessible” notice.

Notice 2025-15 references the existing “clear, conspicuous, and accessible” notice regulations for Form 1095-B, and provides that an employer may satisfy its ACA reporting requirements by following the same procedures for its notice requirements for Form 1095-C.  Specifically, the Form 1095-B regulations define “clear, conspicuous, and accessible” notice as a notice that satisfies the following requirements:

Visibility and Accessibility

  • The notice must be posted by the original furnishing deadline, including any automatic 30-day extension. For the 2024 calendar year, the notice must be posted by March 3, 2025.
  • The notice must be posted in a location on the employer’s website that is reasonably accessible to all full-time employees.
  • The notice must remain accessible through October 15 of the year following the calendar year of the applicable report year.

Content of the Notice

The notice must include the following contact information:

  • An email address where requests can be sent;
  • A physical mailing address for sending requests; and
  • A phone number that employees may call to ask the employer questions about the notice.

Presentation

  • The notice must be written in plain, non-technical terms, and with a font size large enough to draw an employee’s attention.

Implications for Employers

Provided that an ALE satisfies the “clear, conspicuous, and accessible” notice requirements under Notice 2025-15, the ALE generally is no longer required to furnish Form 1095-C to all full-time employees, except upon the employee’s request.  For statements related to the 2024 calendar year, the deadline for ALEs to provide employees with sufficient notice of the employees’ ability to request Forms 1095-C is March 3, 2025.  We can assist employers in preparing the required notice.  If an employee requests a Form 1095-C, the ALE must provide the Form by the later of: (1) 30 days after the request, or (2) January 31 of the year following the calendar year of the applicable report year.

Please contact the authors, or any of the other attorneys in the employee benefits practice group if you have questions about this client alert, the PBRA, Notice 2025-15, or ACA reporting.