IRS Issues Proposed Regulations Addressing Certain Minimum Essential Coverage Reporting Issues Under Code Section 6055

The IRS issued proposed regulations on August 2, 2016, clarifying certain minimum essential coverage (?Ç£MEC?Ç¥) reporting issues related to IRS Forms 1095-B and 1095-C, Part III. Form 1095-B is used to report MEC by insurance carriers for fully-insured MEC and by small employers with self-insured MEC who are not otherwise subject to the employer shared responsibility provisions of the Affordable Care Act. Form 1095-C, Part III is used by large employers with self-insured MEC. A change that is of significant interest to reporting entities is the revised safe harbor for soliciting TINs (e.g., SSNs) from covered participants. The revised safe harbor still requires up to three attempts to obtain a covered participant?ÇÖs TIN pursuant to specific procedures set out in the proposed regulations. The covered participant?ÇÖs date of birth may continue to be used as a substitute for solicited TINs missing when reporting is due. A reporting entity does not have to make all three solicitations if a TIN is received beforehand (i.e., the TIN is no longer missing before all three solicitations are made). The revised solicitation safe harbor may be relied upon retroactive to the 2014 calendar year. The proposed regulations are available?áhere.