IRS Extends Deadline for Furnishing Form 1095-C to Employees
Posts a notice prominently on its website stating that individuals may receive a copy of their 2020 1095-B upon request, accompanied by an email address and a physical address where the request can be sent. The notice must also include a phone number individuals can use to contact the reporting entity with questions; and
Furnishes an individual with a Form 1095-B within 30 days of a request.
Extension of Good-Faith Relief (Final Year)
As with calendar year 2015 – 2019 reporting, the IRS will not impose penalties on employers that can show that they made good-faith efforts to comply with the requirements for calendar year 2020. In determining good faith, the IRS will consider whether employers have made reasonable attempts to comply with the requirements (e.g., gathering and transmitting the necessary data to an agent or testing its ability to transmit information) and the steps that have been taken to prepare for next year’s reporting. The Notice indicates that the good-faith relief was intended to be transitional relief, and therefore 2020 is the last year the IRS intends to provide this relief.
Note that the good-faith relief applies only to furnishing and filing incorrect or incomplete information, and not to a failure to timely furnish or file. However, if an employer is late filing a return, it may be possible to get penalty abatement for failures that are due to reasonable cause and not willful neglect. In general, to establish reasonable cause the employer must demonstrate that it acted in a responsible manner and that the failure was due to significant mitigating factors or events beyond its control. The IRS has been enforcing late filing penalties via Letter 972CG, which may include penalties based on failed to file electronically (when required), or failure to file with correct TIN information.