The ACA reporting rules changed significantly in late 2024 — and by the 2027 filing season, employers should treat those changes as part of the normal compliance process.

The Paperwork Burden Reduction Act (PBRA) created a federal furnish-on-request option for Form 1095-C. The Employer Reporting Improvement Act (ERIA) made electronic consent easier to maintain, added flexibility for certain missing TINs, gave employers at least 90 days to respond to an initial proposed employer-mandate assessment, and established a six-year assessment period for Section 4980H payments.

What didn’t change? Employers still have to prepare accurate Forms 1094-C and 1095-C, use the correct 1095-C codes, meet IRS filing requirements, and follow state rules.

In other words: there is less paperwork in some places. There is not less compliance.

Here are the new ACA reporting rules employers need to know for 2027.

Less paperwork. Still plenty to get right. Selerix helps employers manage ACA reporting, furnishing, data validation, IRS filing, corrections, and the compliance work behind them. Explore Selerix ACA Compliance

1. Can We Now Provide Form 1095-C Only Upon Request?

Yes, at the federal level — if you follow the alternative furnishing rules correctly.

Under the Paperwork Burden Reduction Act, employers no longer necessarily have to automatically furnish a paper Form 1095-C to every individual who would otherwise receive one.

Instead, an employer can satisfy the federal furnishing requirement by posting a clear, conspicuous, and accessible notice informing individuals that they can request a copy of their statement, then providing the statement when requested. The IRS says the notice must be reasonably accessible and contain the information employees need to request their form.

But “federal” is doing important work in that sentence. States with their own individual health coverage mandates can have separate furnishing and reporting requirements. California, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and the District of Columbia all have state- or district-level health coverage rules, but they do not all work the same way. For example, New Jersey still requires a 1095 form to be sent to applicable primary enrollees, while Massachusetts uses its own Form MA 1099-HC reporting structure.

So before switching your workforce to furnish-on-request, determine whether any employees are subject to separate state requirements.

2. What Options Are Available for Distributing Form 1095-C?

At the federal level, employers generally have three paths:

1. Furnish a paper copy, typically by mail.
2. Furnish Form 1095-C electronically when the employee has provided the required affirmative consent.
3. Use the furnish-on-request method, posting the required website notice and furnishing a form when an individual requests it.

Employers don’t have to choose one method for everyone. Depending on the workforce, existing consent records, state obligations, and administrative process, you may use different methods for different populations.

That flexibility is useful. It also means HR needs to know which rules apply to whom.

3. What Counts as Proper Notice for Form 1095-C Requests?

A sentence buried on page 47 of your benefits portal is not the idea.

Current IRS guidance says the notice must be clear and conspicuous and placed somewhere on the employer’s website that is reasonably accessible to the people entitled to request a statement. The notice must include:

• an email address for requests;
• a physical mailing address for requests; and
• a telephone number employees can use with questions.

The IRS also says the notice should use plain, nontechnical language and be visually noticeable enough to alert visitors that it concerns health-coverage tax documents. Its example includes a “Tax Information” link from the main page leading to prominently labeled health-coverage tax information.

The notice must be posted by the applicable Form 1095-C furnishing due date, including the automatic 30-day extension, and remain available through October 15 of the filing year. IRS Notice 2025-15 established that recurring framework.

For the 2025 reporting year, that meant March 2 through October 15, 2026. Under the same rule, employers preparing 2026 Forms 1095-C in 2027 should plan for a March 2, 2027 posting deadline and keep the notice available through October 15, 2027.

4. When Do We Have to Send the Form if Someone Requests It?

This rule is slightly more nuanced than “within 30 days.” Under the PBRA, a requested statement is considered timely if it is furnished no later than the later of:

• January 31 of the year following the reporting year; or
• 30 days after the request is received.

That “whichever is later” language matters. In most practical situations during filing season, that means you’ll provide the form within 30 days of receiving the request.

If the individual has affirmatively consented to electronic delivery, the requested statement may be furnished electronically. Otherwise, employers should follow the applicable paper-furnishing rules.

And remember: the alternative furnishing rule changes how the individual receives the statement. It does not give employers extra time to prepare accurate ACA data.

5. Do We Have to Get Electronic Consent Every Year?

Not necessarily. 

This is one of the useful changes made by the Employer Reporting Improvement Act. ERIA provides that an individual who has affirmatively consented at any prior time to receive the applicable ACA statement electronically can be treated as having consented for later statements, unless that consent is revoked in writing.

So if your electronic-consent process was structured to remain effective for future Forms 1095-C, you don’t need to chase down a brand-new consent every January.

There are exceptions worth watching. Existing regulations require employers to tell recipients the scope and duration of consent, and a material change in the hardware or software required to access an electronic statement can require new consent.

The practical advice: keep the consent record, its scope, and any withdrawal on file. “Pretty sure they opted in a few years ago” is not a documentation strategy.

6. What Are the Rules for Providing Form 1095-C Electronically?

Electronic delivery still requires more than knowing an employee’s email address. Current IRS instructions state that affirmative consent must relate specifically to receiving Form 1095-C electronically. The electronic-furnishing rules also require disclosure of information including:

• the employee’s right to receive a paper statement if they do not consent;
• the scope and duration of the consent;
• how to request a paper statement later;
• how to withdraw consent;
• when electronic furnishing may end;
• how to update contact information; and
• the hardware and software needed to access and retain the form.

If you provide the Form 1095-C through a website, you must also notify the individual that the statement is available and explain how to access and print it.

And delivery failures matter. If an electronic notice that a statement has been posted is returned as undeliverable and you cannot obtain a correct electronic address, the regulations require you to furnish the notice by mail or in person within 30 days.

So yes, electronic furnishing can reduce paper. It does not eliminate follow-up.

7. What if We Can’t Get a Social Security Number?

The Employer Reporting Improvement Act added useful statutory flexibility here, but it should not be read as permission to stop collecting TINs.

For Section 6055 coverage reporting, ERIA permits the IRS to allow an individual’s full name and date of birth to be used when the reporting entity has been unable to collect the individual’s TIN. Current IRS guidance similarly allows reporting a date of birth for covered individuals when a TIN cannot be obtained after reasonable efforts.

This is particularly relevant to covered individuals reported in Part III of Form 1095-C for self-insured plans. But DOB is a fallback, not Plan A.

Current IRS guidance describes the TIN solicitation process as:

• an initial solicitation when the account is opened;
• a second solicitation within 75 days; and
• a third solicitation by December 31 of the following year.

Document those efforts. If a TIN-related error later becomes an information-reporting penalty issue, demonstrating a reasonable effort to obtain correct information matters.

8. Can We Just Post the Notice on Our Employee Portal or Intranet?

Don’t rely on a login-only employee portal. The IRS requires the furnish-on-request notice to be in a location on the employer’s website that is reasonably accessible to all individuals entitled to request a statement. Its example uses the employer’s main website or a link from that main page.

That accessibility requirement is especially important for former employees. Someone who worked for you during the reporting year may be entitled to a Form 1095-C long after you’ve disabled their company credentials.

You can certainly link to the notice from your intranet or employee portal. But the underlying notice should be accessible without requiring someone to still be an active employee.

9. Can an Email to Employees Substitute for the Website Posting?

No. Email can be a useful additional communication. Tell employees the new process. Link them to the request page. Explain why they may no longer automatically receive a paper form.

But an email campaign does not substitute for the website notice required when an employer is using the federal furnish-on-request method.

The statute calls for a clear, conspicuous, and accessible notice, and IRS guidance implements that through a notice maintained on the employer’s website.

Email and website posting solve different problems. Email tells people. The website keeps the required request path available.

10. Which Reporting Year Does the Website Posting Period Apply To?

Think of the dates in terms of the coverage year being reported and the following filing year.

For example: 2025 coverage → forms prepared and filed in 2026 → furnish-on-request notice posted by March 2, 2026 and kept up through October 15, 2026.

For 2026 coverage reported in 2027, the same recurring rule means employers should plan to maintain the notice during the corresponding 2027 filing season.

That is why hard-coding one year’s dates into an ACA procedure can create trouble surprisingly quickly. Build the rule into the process, then verify each year’s actual calendar deadlines.

11. Do These Changes Eliminate the Need to E-File With the IRS?

Absolutely not. PBRA and ERIA changed parts of the furnishing and enforcement process. They did not eliminate the underlying IRS reporting obligation.

ALEs still have to file Forms 1094-C and 1095-C. And most ALEs are required to do so electronically because the IRS now generally requires e-filing when the filer submits 10 or more covered information returns in aggregate — not 10 ACA forms specifically.

That makes the electronic filing threshold extraordinarily easy for an ALE to hit once W-2s and other covered information returns are included.

ACA electronic filings go through the IRS AIR system. Our ACA e-filing and IRS AIR guide walks through the TCC, XML transmission, AIR statuses, errors, and correction process.

Furnish-on-request reduces a mailing obligation. It does not turn off ACA reporting.

12. How Long Do Employers Now Have to Respond to Letter 226-J?

This is one of the most important ERIA changes — and one the original version of this article didn’t cover. A Letter 226-J is the IRS’s initial notice proposing an Employer Shared Responsibility Payment under Section 4980H.

Under ERIA, the IRS must give an Applicable Large Employer at least 90 days from the date of the first letter informing it of a proposed assessment to respond before taking further action on that proposed assessment.

That is considerably more breathing room than employers historically received. Use it.

A 226-J response can require the employer to reconstruct employee hours, eligibility, offers of coverage, affordability calculations, enrollment history, and Form 1095-C coding across the period at issue.

If a letter lands, start with our guide to what triggers Letter 226-J and the broader ACA penalty-letter guide.

And if you already have a proposed assessment in hand, remember that Selerix provides ACA penalty review and reduction support. 

Ninety days is a much better response window. It is not a good reason to wait 89 days to start.

13. Is There Now a Time Limit on ACA Employer-Mandate Penalties?

Yes — for newer reporting years. ERIA created a specific six-year assessment period for Employer Shared Responsibility Payments under Section 4980H.

The six-year period begins on the due date for the applicable Section 6056 return — or, if the return was filed later, on the actual filing date.

Importantly, this rule applies to returns due after December 31, 2024. So it does not retroactively impose a six-year limit on every historical ACA reporting year.

For employers, this change provides considerably more certainty about how long Section 4980H exposure can remain open for current and future reporting periods. It also gives you another reason to retain clean ACA documentation for the full period in which an assessment could arise.

14. What Should Employers Do Differently for the 2027 Filing Season?

The new rules give you choices. Before filing season, make sure you’ve actually made them.

For 2027:

• Decide how you will furnish Forms 1095-C. Will you continue mailing, use electronic furnishing for employees with valid consent, move eligible populations to furnish-on-request, or use a combination?
• Prepare the website notice. If using furnish-on-request, make sure the notice is visible, accessible, includes the required contact methods, and stays online for the required period.
• Check state obligations separately. Federal furnishing relief does not automatically satisfy state individual-mandate requirements.
• Audit electronic-consent records. Confirm who has consented, what the consent covers, and whether anyone has withdrawn it.
• Verify TIN solicitation procedures. DOB substitution is a fallback after reasonable collection efforts, not a substitute for collecting accurate TINs.
• Keep filing and furnishing separate in your calendar. A new distribution option does not change the federal Forms 1094-C/1095-C filing obligation.
• Update your IRS-response procedures. Make sure whoever receives Letter 226-J understands the new 90-day minimum response period — and knows where the records needed to respond are stored.
• Retain supporting records. The new six-year Section 4980H assessment period makes year-round documentation even more important.

The biggest mistake would be seeing “paperwork reduction” and assuming there is simply less to manage. There are fewer automatic mailings. There are also more choices to document correctly.

The Bottom Line

The Paperwork Burden Reduction Act and Employer Reporting Improvement Act gave employers some genuinely useful ACA reporting relief.

The ability to furnish Form 1095-C upon request can reduce unnecessary printing and mailing. Persistent electronic consent can simplify distribution. Employers have more time to respond when the IRS proposes an employer-mandate penalty, and the new six-year assessment period creates greater certainty around current reporting years.

But none of those changes make ACA compliance automatic.

Employers still need accurate employee and coverage data. Forms still need to be prepared correctly. Federal filings still need to reach the IRS. State obligations still need to be considered. Website notices and electronic consent need to meet specific requirements.

The paperwork may be lighter. The process still has to work.

Selerix helps employers keep that process connected — from year-round ACA data and coding through furnishing, federal filing, corrections, and IRS response.

See how Selerix simplifies ACA compliance or talk to a Selerix expert.