Labor & Employment Law

Nope: Employers are NOT Required to Report the Cost of HC Plans on 2011 W-2

In an interesting twist, the IRS just released a notice alerting employers that they do not have the include the cost of employer sponsored health care coverage on employees' W-2's for the 2011 tax year.  Specifically:

"This notice provides interim relief to employers with respect to reporting the cost of coverage under an employer-sponsored group health plan on Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement, pursuant to § 6051(a)(14) of the Code. Specifically, this notice provides that reporting the cost of such coverage will not be mandatory for Forms W-2 issued for 2011. The Treasury Department and the IRS have determined that this relief is appropriate to provide employers with additional time to make any necessary changes to their payroll systems or procedures in preparation for compliance with the reporting requirement."

See: Notice 2010-69: Interim Relief with Respect to Form W-2 Reporting of the Cost of Coverage of Group Health Insurance Under § 6051(a)(14)

Full post as published by Strategic HR Lawyer on October 16, 2010 (boomark / email).