UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Proof of insurance; it’s a standard document for a traffic stop. However, beginning in 2016, the University’s benefit-eligible employees and retirees will receive a 1095-C, a new tax form that verifies compliance with Affordable Care Act requirements by serving as proof of health care coverage.
“Think of the form as your ‘proof of insurance’ for the IRS,” said Greg Stoner, compensation and benefits senior director. “The Affordable Care Act requires that nearly all Americans carry health care insurance, and anticipates that most will be enrolled in an employer-sponsored minimum essential coverage health care plan. The information on the 1095-C form will be used by the federal government to determine if you are in compliance, or if you will pay a penalty for failing to have health insurance.”
Much like the W2 form, which indicates how much an employee earned and paid in taxes in the past year, the 1095-C is an additional tax form that employees will need to include with tax returns for 2015.
The 1095-C contains information about the employee and employer, indicates the coverage offered to the employee by the employer, as well as the affordability of the coverage offered, and a report of all individuals covered under the plan, including dependents.
Not everyone will receive a 1095-C. If an employee was not benefit-eligible at any point in 2015, or if the employee was not the primary insured, they will not receive a 1095-C from Penn State. An individual who was covered by a federal or state marketplace or exchange will receive a 1095-A form from the marketplace, while an individual covered by other insurers such as a small self-funded group, or by an employer who used a Small Business Health Options Program, or SHOP, will receive a 1095-B from that group.
Penn State benefits eligible employees and retirees should receive a 1095-C for the 2015 tax year on or before Feb. 1, 2016. If you believe you should have received a 1095-C but did not, please contact Employee Benefits at 814-865-1473. For more on the form, visit the 1095-C FAQs Page on the Office of Human Resources website (http://ohr.psu.edu/benefits/1095-faqs/)