On Dec. 28, the IRS issued Notice 2016-4 extending the due dates for new health care information reporting forms in 2016. Insurers, self-insuring employers, other coverage providers, and applicable large employers now have additional time to provide health coverage information for 2015 to individual taxpayers and the IRS. Providers and certain employers must now furnish individuals with either Form 1095-B or 1095-C by March 31, 2016. The due dates for issuers filing these forms and the associated Form 1094 with the IRS are May 31, 2016 for paper filers and June 30, 2016 for electronic filers. Individual taxpayers will generally not be affected by this extension and should file their tax returns as they normally would.

Due to these extensions, some individual taxpayers may not receive a Form 1095-B or Form 1095-C by the time they are ready to file their 2015 tax return. While the information on these forms may assist in preparing a return, they are not required. Like last year, taxpayers can prepare and file their returns using other information about their health insurance. Individuals do not have to wait for their Form 1095-B or 1095-C in order to file.

These extensions apply automatically to all health coverage information return issuers and are longer than the 30-day extensions that would otherwise be obtained by submitting Form 8809, Application for Extension of Time To File Information Returns. Therefore, the IRS will not process any previously requested extensions of these deadlines for 2016. The longer automatic extensions do not require a formal request using Form 8809 or other documentation. The IRS does not anticipate additional extensions.

The IRS has not extended the due dates for Health Insurance Marketplaces to issue Form 1095-A. Individuals who enrolled for coverage through the Marketplace should receive Form 1095-A by February 1, 2016 and should wait to file their returns until the receive their Form 1095-A.

Questions and Answers for New Information Reporting Forms
The IRS has posted a set of questions and answers that introduce the new Forms 1095-B and 1095-C. The questions and answers explain who should expect to receive the forms, how they can be used, and how to file with or without the forms. 

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