On December 10, 2024, the US Senate passed the Employer Reporting Improvement Act and the Paperwork Burden Reduction Act by unanimous consent. Having already passed the House of Representatives by voice vote on June 21, 2023, these bills will now be sent to President Biden for his signature.

This legislation makes certain modifications to the ACA’s employer mandate reporting requirements that aim to simplify Forms 1095-B and 1095-C reporting for employers and health insurance providers, including:

• Providing statutory authority for the IRS’s allowance for employers to distribute copies of Forms 1095-B and 1095-C to employees and individuals only upon request. Employers would still be required to annually file Forms 1095-B and 1095-C with the IRS.
• Providing statutory authority to allow for an individual's date of birth to be substituted for the individual's taxpayer identification number (TIN) if the TIN is not available. The IRS already allows for this in certain circumstances.
• Providing statutory authority to more broadly allow employers and providers to electronically distribute Forms 1095-B and 1095-C to individuals. The IRS already allows for this in certain circumstances, but – more restrictively – only if each employee individually provides affirmative consent electronically.
• Extending to 90 days the deadline for applicable large employers (ALEs) (generally, employers with 50 or more full-time employees) to respond to a proposed shared employer responsibility payment assessment by the IRS (the so-called “226-J letter”). The IRS currently requires a response within 30 days.
• Establishing by statute a six-year statute of limitations for collecting assessments. The IRS currently takes the position that there is no statute of limitations on collecting assessments.

Most of these changes related to reporting would generally take effect with respect to returns due after December 31, 2024, subject, again, to President Biden’s signature.

H.R.3797 - 118th Congress (2023-2024): Paperwork Burden Reduction Act | Congress.gov | Library of Congress

H.R.3801 - 118th Congress (2023-2024): Employer Reporting Improvement Act | Congress.gov | Library of Congress