Reminder: large employers must include cost of benefits on 2012 W-2 forms

The Affordable Care Act provides that employers are required to report the cost of employer-provided health care coverage on the Form W-2. Notice 2010-69, issued last fall, made this requirement optional for all employers for the 2011 Forms W-2 (generally furnished to employees in January 2012). The IRS provided further relief for smaller employers (those filing fewer than 250 W-2 forms) by making this requirement optional for them at least for 2012 (i.e., for 2012 Forms W-2 that generally would be furnished to employees in January 2013) and continuing this optional treatment for smaller employers until further guidance is issued.

For employers filing 250 W-2s or more, this requirement applies for your 2012 W-2 forms.  Notice 2011-28 provides guidance on how to report, what coverage to include and how to determine the cost of the coverage.  Your payroll vendor should be sending you a request over the next few weeks (if not before) to request information on your health plan costs that will need to be included on your 2012 W-2 forms.