Employers may receive notices from the Marketplaces indicating that they may be subject to the shared responsibility payment because an employee requested and received a subsidy. Employers have a short window of 90 days to respond and provide documentation if they wish to appeal information in the notice, so it is important to act quickly.
- The Marketplaces are looking for verification that the employer has met the shared responsibility (employer mandate) requirements under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
- Employers may appeal the notice if the employee waived affordable minimum value coverage or enrolled in employer-sponsored minimum essential coverage for 2016.
- The appeal may determine that an employee received subsidies through the Marketplace at the same time the employer offered him or her affordable health coverage.
- If the employer is successful, the Marketplace will send a notice encouraging the employee to update the Marketplace application to show that he or she was offered or was enrolled in other qualifying coverage. The notice will also explain that the failure to update the application may result in tax liability.
- Important: This appeal will not determine if an employer has to pay the shared responsibility payment. Only the Internal Revenue Service, not the Health Insurance Marketplace or the Marketplace Appeals Center, can determine which employers will have to make the required payment. The employer notice, however, appears to be the first step in that process.
- Learn more about the employer shared responsibility payment on IRS.gov.
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