n-20-76.pdf

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Transition Relief Related to Health Coverage Reporting Required by Sections 6055 and
6056 for 2020

Notice 2020-76

PURPOSE

This notice extends the due date for certain 2020 information-reporting
requirements under sections 6055 and 6056 of the Internal Revenue Code (Code) from
January 31, 2021, to March 2, 2021. This notice also provides relief from the section
6721 and section 6722 penalties for certain aspects of the 2020 information-reporting
requirements under sections 6055 and 6056.
BACKGROUND
Sections 6055 and 6056 were added to the Code by sections 1502 and 1514,
respectively, of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), enacted March
23, 2010, Pub. L. No. 111-148, 124 Stat. 119, 250, 256. Section 6055 requires health
insurance issuers, self-insuring employers, government agencies, and other providers
of minimum essential coverage to file and furnish annual information returns and
statements regarding coverage provided. Section 6056 requires applicable large
employers (generally those with 50 or more full-time employees, including full-time
equivalent employees, in the previous year) to file and furnish annual information
returns and statements relating to the health insurance, if any, that the employer offers
to its full-time employees. Section 6056 was amended by sections 10106(g) and
10108(j) of the PPACA and was further amended by section 1858(b)(5) of the

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Department of Defense and Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act, 2011, enacted
April 15, 2011, Pub. L. No. 112-10, 125 Stat. 38, 169.
Section 36B, which was added to the Code by section 1401 of the PPACA,
provides a premium tax credit for eligible individuals who enroll, or enroll a family
member, in coverage through a Health Insurance Marketplace. Section 5000A, which
was added to the Code by section 1501(b) of the PPACA, generally provides that
individuals must have minimum essential coverage, qualify for an exemption from the
minimum essential coverage requirement, or make an individual shared responsibility
payment when they file their federal income tax return. Section 11081 of Pub. L. No.
115-97, 131 Stat. 2054, 2092, enacted December 22, 2017, and commonly referred to
as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, reduces the individual shared responsibility payment to
zero for months beginning after December 31, 2018.
Section 6721 imposes a penalty for failing to timely file an information return or
for filing an incorrect or incomplete information return. Section 6722 imposes a penalty
for failing to timely furnish an information statement or for furnishing an incorrect or
incomplete information statement. The section 6721 and section 6722 penalties are
imposed with regard to information returns and statements listed in section 6724(d),
which includes those required by sections 6055 and 6056.
The regulations under section 6055 require every person that provides minimum
essential coverage to an individual during a calendar year to file with the Internal
Revenue Service (IRS) an information return and a transmittal on or before the following
February 28 (March 31 if filed electronically) and to furnish to the responsible individual
identified on the return a written statement on or before January 31 following the

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calendar year to which the statement relates. See § 1.6055-1(f) and (g)(4) of the
Income Tax Regulations; see also section 6055(c)(2). (In 2021, the January 31
furnishing due dates referred to above in this paragraph and in the following paragraph
fall on a weekend day; accordingly, in 2021 such furnishing will be timely if done on
February 1. See section 7503.) Except as provided in the following paragraph, the IRS
has designated Form 1094-B, Transmittal of Health Coverage Information Returns, and
Form 1095-B, Health Coverage, to meet the requirements of the section 6055
regulations.
The regulations under section 6056 require every applicable large employer or a
member of an aggregated group that is determined to be an applicable large employer
(ALE member) to file with the IRS an information return and a transmittal on or before
February 28 (March 31 if filed electronically) of the year following the calendar year to
which it relates and to furnish to full-time employees a written statement on or before
January 31 following the calendar year to which the statement relates. See § 301.6056-
1(e) and (g) of the Procedure and Administration Regulations; see also section
6056(c)(2). The IRS has designated Form 1094-C, Transmittal of Employer-Provided
Health Insurance Offer and Coverage Information Returns, and Form 1095-C,
Employer-Provided Health Insurance Offer and Coverage, to meet the requirements of
the section 6056 regulations. In addition, an ALE member that offers health coverage
through a self-insured health plan must complete the reporting required under section
6055 (that is, information about each individual enrolled in the self-insured health plan)
using Form 1095-C, Part III, rather than Form 1095-B.
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ALE members use Form 1095-

1
See the Instructions for Forms 1094-C and 1095-C for the option to file Form 1094-B and Form 1095-B,
rather than Form 1094-C and Form 1095-C, to report coverage of certain non-employees.

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C, Part III to meet the section 6055 reporting requirement for all employees, but for
employees who are not full-time, ALE members report only certain information to reflect
that the Form 1095-C is being used to complete section 6055 reporting but not section
6056 reporting, which applies only to full-time employees.
The regulations under sections 6055 and 6056 allow the IRS to grant an
extension of time of up to 30 days to furnish Forms 1095-B and 1095-C for good cause
shown. See §§ 1.6055-1(g)(4)(i)(B)(1) and 301.6056-1(g)(1)(ii)(A). In addition, filers of
Forms 1095-B, 1094-C, and 1095-C may receive an automatic 30-day extension of time
to file these forms with the IRS by submitting Form 8809, Application for Extension of
Time To File Information Returns, on or before the due date for filing those forms. See
§§ 1.6081-1 and 1.6081-8. In limited situations, filers who submit Form 8809 before the
automatic 30-day extension period expires may also receive an additional 30-day
extension of time to file Forms 1095-B, 1094-C, and 1095-C with the IRS. See id.
The preambles to the section 6055 and section 6056 regulations (T.D. 9660, 79
FR 13220, 2014-13 I.R.B. 842; T.D. 9661, 79 FR 13231, 2014-13 I.R.B. 855) provided
that, for reporting of 2015 offers and coverage, the IRS would not impose penalties
under sections 6721 and 6722 on reporting entities that could show that they made
good-faith efforts to comply with the information-reporting requirements. This relief
applied only to furnishing and filing incorrect or incomplete information reported on a
statement or return and not to a failure to timely furnish or file a statement or return.
Notice 2015-87, 2015-52 I.R.B. 889, reiterated that relief, and Notice 2015-68, 2015-41
I.R.B. 547, provided additional information about that relief with regard to reporting
under section 6055. The preambles also noted the general rule that, under section

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6724 and the related regulations, the section 6721 and section 6722 penalties may be
waived if a failure to timely furnish or file a statement or return is due to reasonable
cause.
Through a series of Internal Revenue Bulletin notices, the Department of the
Treasury (Treasury Department) and the IRS extended the due dates for information-
reporting requirements under sections 6055 and 6056 for furnishing statements to
individuals for the years 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019. See Notice 2016-4, 2016-3
I.R.B. 279 (2015); Notice 2016-70, 2016-49 I.R.B. 784 (2016); Notice 2018-06, 2018-2
I.R.B. 300 (2017); Notice 2018-94, 2018-51 I.R.B.1042 (2018); Notice 2019-63, 2019-51
I.R.B. 1390 (2019). In these notices, in general,
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the Treasury Department and the IRS
extended the furnishing due date for the Forms 1095-B and 1095-C by 30 days. Each
notice also extended the good-faith transition relief from the section 6721 and section
6722 penalties to the information-reporting requirements under sections 6055 and 6056
for the years 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019, respectively.
In Notices 2018-94 and 2019-63, the Treasury Department and the IRS stated
that, because the individual shared responsibility payment is reduced to zero for months
beginning after December 31, 2018, they were studying whether and how the reporting
requirements under section 6055 should change, if at all, for future years. Notice 2019-
63 also provided penalty relief for Form 1095-B filers who chose to furnish the forms
only upon request and did so in accordance with the procedures described in the notice.
TRANSITION RELIEF
A. Extension of Due Date for Furnishing Information Statements to Individuals under

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For 2015 information statements, the furnishing due date was extended by 60 days. For 2018
information statements, the furnishing due date was extended by 30 days but the 30th day fell on a
Saturday, so the Forms 1095-B and 1095-C were timely if filed by the 32
nd
day.

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Sections 6055 and 6056 for 2020
The Treasury Department and the IRS have determined that a substantial
number of employers, insurers, and other providers of minimum essential coverage
need additional time beyond the January 31, 2021, due date to gather and analyze the
information and prepare the 2020 Forms 1095-B and 1095-C to be furnished to
individuals. Accordingly, this notice extends the due date for furnishing the 2020 Forms
1095-B and 1095-C, from January 31, 2021, to March 2, 2021. In view of this automatic
extension to March 2, 2021, the provisions under §§ 1.6055-1(g)(4)(i)(B)(1) and
301.6056-1(g)(1)(ii)(A) allowing the IRS to grant an extension of time of up to 30 days to
furnish Forms 1095-B and 1095-C will not apply to the extended due date. Because the
extension of the due date to furnish information statements to individuals granted in this
notice applies automatically and is as generous as the permissive 30-day extension of
time to furnish 2020 information statements under sections 6055 and 6056 that may be
requested by some reporting entities in submissions to the IRS, the IRS will not formally
respond to such requests. Notwithstanding the extension provided in this notice,
employers and other coverage providers are encouraged to furnish 2020 information
statements as soon as they are able.
This notice does not extend the due date for filing with the IRS the 2020 Forms
1094-B, 1095-B, 1094-C, or 1095-C. However, this notice does not affect the provisions
regarding an automatic extension of time for filing information returns; the automatic
extension remains available under the normal rules for employers and other coverage
providers who submit a Form 8809 on or before the due date. See §§ 1.6081-1 and
1.6081-8. This notice also does not affect the provisions regarding additional

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extensions of time to file. See id.
B. Relief Regarding the Furnishing Requirement under Section 6055 for 2020
Because the individual shared responsibility payment is zero in 2020, an
individual does not need the information on Form 1095-B to compute his or her federal
tax liability or file an income tax return with the IRS. Nonetheless, reporting entities
required to furnish Form 1095-B to individuals must expend resources to do so. At this
time, the Treasury Department and the IRS have determined as a matter of
enforcement priorities that, for 2020, relief from the penalty under section 6722 for
failing to furnish a statement as required under section 6055 is in the interest of sound
tax administration in certain cases. In particular, the IRS will not assess a penalty under
section 6722 against reporting entities for failing to furnish a Form 1095-B to
responsible individuals in cases where the following two conditions are met (the 2020
section 6055 furnishing relief). First, the reporting entity must post a notice prominently
on its website stating that responsible individuals may receive a copy of their 2020 Form
1095-B upon request, accompanied by an email address and a physical address to
which a request may be sent, as well as a telephone number that responsible
individuals can use to contact the reporting entity with any questions. Second, the
reporting entity must furnish a 2020 Form 1095-B to any responsible individual upon
request within 30 days of the date the request is received. The reporting entity may
furnish these statements electronically if it meets the requirements provided in
§ 1.6055-2.
As noted earlier, ALE members that offer self-insured health plans are generally
required to use Form 1095-C, Part III, to meet the section 6055 reporting requirements,

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instead of Form 1095-B. However, because of the combined reporting under sections
6055 and 6056 on the Form 1095-C for full-time employees of ALE members enrolled in
self-insured health plans, the 2020 section 6055 furnishing relief does not extend to the
requirement to furnish Forms 1095-C to full-time employees. Accordingly, for full-time
employees enrolled in self-insured health plans, penalties will continue to be assessed
consistent with prior enforcement policies for any failure by ALE members to furnish
Form 1095-C, including Part III, according to the applicable instructions. However, the
2020 section 6055 furnishing relief does extend to penalty assessments in connection
with the requirement to furnish Form 1095-C to any employee enrolled in an ALE
member’s self-insured health plan who is not a full-time employee for any month of
2020,
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subject to the requirements of the 2020 section 6055 furnishing relief.
The 2020 section 6055 furnishing relief does not affect assessment of penalties
associated with the requirement or the deadline to file with the IRS the 2020 Forms
1094-B or 1095-B or the Forms 1094-C or 1095-C, as applicable.
C. Final Extension of Good-Faith Relief for Reporting and Furnishing under Sections
6055 and 6056 for 2020
This notice also provides a final extension of relief from penalties under
sections 6721 and 6722 to reporting entities that report incorrect or incomplete
information on the return or statement when these entities can show they made good-
faith efforts to comply with the information-reporting requirements under sections 6055
and 6056 for 2020 (both for furnishing to individuals and for filing with the IRS). This
relief applies to missing and inaccurate taxpayer identification numbers and dates of

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For such an employee, the Instructions for Forms 1094-C and 1095-C provide that the employer is to
enter code 1G on line 14 for the Form 1095-C, but the ALE member is not otherwise required to complete
Part II of Form 1095-C.

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birth, as well as other information required on the return or statement. Reporting
entities must make a good-faith effort to comply with the regulations under sections
6055 and 6056 to be eligible for this relief. In determining good faith, the IRS will take
into account whether an employer or other coverage provider made reasonable efforts
to prepare for reporting the required information to the IRS and furnishing it to
employees and covered individuals, such as gathering and transmitting the necessary
data to an agent to prepare the data for submission to the IRS or testing its ability to
transmit information to the IRS. Reporting entities that fail to file an information return or
furnish a statement by the extended due dates, except as otherwise provided in this
notice, are not eligible for relief. As this good-faith relief was intended to be transitional
relief, this is the last year the Treasury Department and the IRS intend to provide this
relief.
D. Future Years and Request for Comments
In Notice 2019-63, the Treasury Department and the IRS requested comments
as to whether an extension of the due date for furnishing statements to individuals
under section 6056 would be necessary for future years and, if so, why. Very few
comments were submitted, which indicates that this relief may no longer be necessary.
In Notice 2019-63, the Treasury Department and the IRS also requested comments as
to whether and how the reporting requirements under section 6055 should change, if at
all, for future years; only one comment was submitted.
The Treasury Department and the IRS are renewing the request for comments
related to furnishing requirements under sections 6055 and 6056. Unless we receive
comments that explain why this relief continues to be necessary, no relief related to the

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furnishing requirements under sections 6055 and 6056 will be granted in future years.
Taxpayers and reporting entities are strongly encouraged to submit comments
electronically via the Federal eRulemaking Portal at www.regulations.gov (type “IRS-
2020-0037” in the search field on the regulations.gov homepage to find this notice and
submit comments).
Alternatively, taxpayers and reporting entities may mail comments to:
Internal Revenue Service
Attn: CC:PA:LPD:PR (Notice 2020-76) Room 5203
P.O. Box 7604
Ben Franklin Station
Washington, D.C. 20044

Comments must be submitted by February 1, 2021. All comments received will be
available for public inspection on www.regulations.gov. Once submitted to the Federal
eRulemaking Portal, comments cannot be edited or withdrawn. The IRS expects to
have limited personnel available to process public comments that are submitted on
paper through mail. Until further notice, any comments submitted on paper will be
considered to the extent practicable.
CONTACT INFORMATION
The principal author of this notice is Danielle Pierce of the Office of the Associate
Chief Counsel (Procedure and Administration). For further information regarding this
notice contact Danielle Pierce at (202) 317-5150 (not a toll-free call).