9 Insider Tips to Ensuring ACA Compliance

Are you an ACA know-it-all? Or are you like the majority of HR pros on our recent ACA webinar who said they were 50 percent or less confident in their ACA solution? If the volume of questions we received in our ACA: Clear as Mud webinar is any indication (there were no less than 125 questions asked by listeners), there is still a need for more education. Buff up on these ACA tips to get started:

1. Don’t plan on missing the deadline. It’s a lot easier to scramble to meet the first January 31^st deadline vs. apply for an extension and scramble again—if something doesn’t work and you can’t meet the second deadline, you’re out of luck.

2. Transmittals in the AIR, not on FIRE. You must use the IRS AIR system for 1094 transmittal. And remember, you must be an approved Transmitter or Software Developer to use the AIR system.

3. Remember there is a 100 MB transmission limitation. The transmission limitation applies to 1094 files, and don't forget you are not allowed to co-mingle B and C forms.

4. Don't leave COBRA participants stuck in the mud. They might not be on your payroll, but don’t leave COBRA members in the mud! Authoritative transmittal needs to include them as well.

5. Transition relief vs filing for an extension are not the same thing.

6. Know the different forms of transition relief that you may qualify for, but be aware that they may not be of as much help as you think—qualifying can still be quite onerous!

7. An IRS transmission consists of two parts – the Manifest and the Form Data File.

8. The IRS will not accept Excel, PDF, etc. The Form Data File MUST be in XML format for filers with more than 250 1095 documents.

9. There is no aggregate control group level report required. Once you have determined whether you’re in a control group, everything else is done on an FEIN by FEIN basis.

Missed our webinar, but still want to take a listen? We’d encourage you to do so—click here to view the recording. And, since we weren’t able to answer quite all 125 questions in the allotted hour, keep your eyes out for an ACA FAQ document where we’ll be diving into some of the tough questions regarding ACA. If you have a question, chances are you weren’t the only one!

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