New Tax Document for Employees

In addition to the standard W-2 form, employees will also receive a new federal tax form called a 1095-C this year.

Employers such as Duke must provide the new tax form to all full-time and part-time employees who had health insurance coverage in 2015. The purpose of the form is to document whether the employer offered health insurance coverage and whether the employee enrolled in coverage.

The Form 1095-C has three parts: Part I includes specific information about the employee and the employer, Part II includes which months the employer offered medical coverage and the lowest cost plan available, and Part III lists the people covered under the employee’s health insurance. 

Similar to last year, the IRS is asking individuals to check a box on their income tax return if they had health insurance coverage during the prior year. If an employee or dependent did not have coverage for all 12 months, the IRS may require completion of an additional tax form. In this case, the form can be completed using information from the 1095-C or information from the personalized Duke open enrollment materials such as the confirmation statement.

Human Resources will send the 1095-C form to the home addresses of faculty and staff no later than March 31. The IRS does not require individuals to mail in the new form with their annual income tax return.

The 1095-C is part of new compliance requirements under the Affordable Care Act. In future years, Duke Human Resources hopes to make the form available online through Duke@Work, where the W-2 is available. Electronic W-2 forms will be available on Duke@Work by Jan. 18, and printed W-2 forms will be distributed to department heads and payroll representatives beginning Jan. 22.

Employees with questions about coverage can call Duke Human Resources at 919-684-5600 or contact their personal tax preparer for more information.