Variable-hour employees measured on look-back periods, affordability tested as the year goes.
Doing it as you go is cheaper than rebuilding it in January.
Three things the ACA asks employers to know.
Each is easier recorded than recovered.
Hours and Status
For employers with variable-hour employees, hours are measured over a look-back period so full-time status is decided from records, not recollection.
Affordability
Employee cost for the lowest-priced self-only option is tested against the federal percentage, which is 9.96% for plan years beginning in 2026 and 10.22% for 2027.
Offers of Coverage
Who was offered what, and when, kept month by month for reporting.
A year later the data is gone or scattered.
This is the common failure.
Hours Are Not Where You Left Them
Timekeeping, payroll and status changes live in different systems.
Offers Are Hard to Prove
Without a record, an offer of coverage is a claim, not a fact.
Reporting Needs Every Month
One missing month can mean a form that is wrong for the entire year.
Keep the record as the year runs.
So the filing is a summary, not a research project.
Measure as You Go
Hours and status are recorded in step with payroll.
Test Affordability at Each Change
When contributions change, affordability is re-tested at once.
Help With the Filing
We help with ACA reporting, so the form reflects the record (26 U.S.C. 4980H).
Questions that come up.
Short answers to the questions we hear most. Each links to the full page.
Why track ACA hours and offers during the year instead of in January?
Rebuilding the record a year later means chasing hours spread across timekeeping, payroll, and status systems. Offers of coverage are hard to prove without a record, and one missing month can make a full-year filing wrong. Keeping the record as the year runs makes the filing a summary.
What affordability percentage do we test against?
The page tests the employee cost of the lowest-priced self-only option against the federal percentage, which is 9.96% for plan years beginning in 2026 and 10.22% for 2027. We retest affordability whenever contributions change, so the result stays current through the year.
How do you measure hours for variable-hour employees?
For employers with variable-hour staff, hours are measured over a look-back period, so full-time status comes from records rather than memory. We record hours and status alongside payroll as the year runs, and we help with ACA reporting so the form matches that record.
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