As many small and midsized employers struggle for the first time to comply with certain requirements of the Affordable Care Act, it will be welcome news to learn that adding voluntary benefits to their offerings will not trigger any changes to the IRS' W-2 reporting requirements.

In 2012, an ACA provision kicked in, requiring employers to begin reporting health care cost coverage on employees' wage and tax statements (i.e., W-2 forms). The IRS issued employer guidance on how to correctly do so.

Brokers may recall the period of confusion that ensued, along with the information from the IRS and the Department of Labor on the purpose of reporting requirements, and the extent to which voluntary and ancillary benefits must be reported.                          

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Nick Thornton

Nick Thornton is a financial writer covering retirement and health care issues for BenefitsPRO and ALM Media. He greatly enjoys learning from the vast minds in the legal, academic, advisory and money management communities when covering the retirement space. He's also written on international marketing trends, financial institution risk management, defense and energy issues, the restaurant industry in New York City, surfing, cigars, rum, travel, and fishing. When not writing, he's pushing into some land or water.