2017 'Pay or Play' Penalty and Affordability Amounts Announced

The IRS has updated its existing Q&As on the Affordable Care Act's employer shared responsibility ("pay or play") requirements to reflect adjustments to the pay or play penalty and affordability amounts. Those adjustments are as follows:

• For calendar year 2017, the applicable per-employee dollar penalties of $2,000 and $3,000 are adjusted to$2,260 and $3,390, respectively.
• For plan years beginning in 2017, the affordability threshold for purposes of both the pay or play affordability safe harbors and the premium tax credit provisions is 9.69%.

The Q&As also address what counts as an "offer of coverage" for purposes of pay or play compliance.  Click here to view the Q&As in their entirety.