The IRS is still enforcing the employer mandate.
The IRS sends Letter 226J to propose an employer shared responsibility payment, and Letter 5699 to applicable large employers whose Forms 1094-C and 1095-C it has not received.
The individual mandate penalty has been $0 since 2019, but the employer mandate has not gone away. Send us your renewal and we will give you a second opinion in writing.
Three things to know.
What Letter 226J is
A proposal of an employer shared responsibility payment, based on what the IRS sees in your filings and in employees’ premium tax credit claims. It comes with a response deadline.
What Letter 5699 is
A notice to employers who were expected to file Forms 1094-C and 1095-C and whose returns the IRS does not have on record.
How to stay out of both
File on time, confirm acceptance with the IRS receipt ID, and keep the affordability test behind each code. See the 1095-C affordability codes.
Keep reading.
The 2027 ACA Affordability Percentage: Employer Guide
What the IRS changed for 2027 and what to check before open enrollment. Back to the guide.
Where these figures and rules come from.
Figures and rules
IRS Rev. Proc. 2026-26 (2027 affordability percentage of 10.22%, up from 9.96% for 2026) and Rev. Proc. 2026-22 (2027 employer shared responsibility payment amounts). IRC §4980H; IRS Letters 226J and 5699. This page is general information, not legal or tax advice.
Send us your renewal.
Four documents — the renewal letter, the plan summary, the contribution split by tier and enrolled counts by tier. We’ll come back with a competitive read, where we see opportunity, and the five questions we’d put to your carrier.
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