Received a 226J Letter? Here's How to Respond, , May 2, 2019

May 2, 2019

Employers have recently begun receiving 226J letters detailing employer mandate compliance issues from the IRS with respect to the 2016 tax year. Importantly, employers must remember that the employer mandate continues in effect despite the repeal of the individual mandate and despite pending challenges to the ACA itself. An employer may receive a 226J letter with respect to two types of failures: failure to offer minimum essential coverage to at least 95% of full-time employees or failure to: (1) offer coverage to the employee, (2) provide affordable coverage or (3) offer coverage that satisfied minimum value requirements, in all cases if the FTE received a tax credit. Letter 226J should contain a deadline for a response, usually 30 days after the letter was issued (employers may request a 30-day extension). It is important to get expert advice when drafting the response, but issues to consider include whether the IRS was using the correct data (i.e., was a corrected Form 1094 filed with the IRS in 2016?), whether the plan was a calendar year plan (transition relief may apply) and whether the employer did, in fact, offer minimum coverage during each month. For more information on the employer mandate, visit Tax Facts Online.