Obamacare Implementation Update
For many small business owners, dozens of questions have loomed about the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (the “ACA”). Good news for them: the Obama administration has extended ACA transition deadlines to give small business owners a longer time to become compliant with ACA regulations.
When the ACA was first passed, all employers with 50 or more full-time employees would have had to have offered health insurance coverage to their employees by January 1, 2014. However, the effective date for this requirement has been pushed back to January 1, 2015. Additionally, 2015 will be considered a transition year, in which full compliance is not mandatory for employers with up to 100 full-time employees.
Since 2015 is considered a transition year, these mid-size employers (between 50 and 100 full-time employees) will not have to provide health insurance coverage until January 1, 2016 if the following two conditions are met:
- From February 9, 2014 through December 31, 2014, the company’s number of employees and overall hours worked by employees were not reduced except for bona fide business purposes; and
- From February 9, 2014 through December 31, 2015, health coverage for employees was not eliminated or materially reduced.
Many Hoffman & Associates clients can potentially benefit from this transition period. For employers with 100 or more full-time employees, the new regulations allow for coverage of 70% of employees in 2015 instead of 95%, which was the previous 2015 requirement. All other provisions of the Affordable Care Act will be effective.
For more information regarding this or any other business planning concern, please visit the Hoffman & Associates website at www.hoffmanestatelaw.com, call us at 404-255-7400 or send us an email.
In accordance with IRS Circular 230, this article is not to be considered a “covered opinion” or other written tax advice and should not be relied upon for IRS audit, tax dispute, or any other purpose. The information contained herein is provided “as is” for general guidance on matters of interest only. Hoffman & Associates, Attorneys-at-Law, LLC is not herein engaged in rendering legal, accounting, tax, or other professional advice and services. Before making any decision or taking any action, you should consult a competent professional advisor.
