W2- Health Insurance Requirement

[Snaggletooth]

Beginning soon (2012), issuers of W-2s must disclose the "value" of health insurance provided.

Would this be the total premiums paid by the employer, or would this amount be reduced for employee contributions??

[Lion]

CCH's IntelliConnect

My CCH IntelliConnect says:

Comment
U
nder a separate reporting requirement, beginning with Forms W-2 for the 2011 tax year, the Code requires employers to disclose the aggregate cost of applicable employer-sponsored health care coverage provided to each employee. Code Sec. 6051(a)(14).

The IRS deferred this requirement for one year, so that it applies for Form W-2 for the 2012 tax year and reporting on 2011 Forms W-2 is optional. Notice 2010-69, 2010-44 IRB 576. For small employers, the reporting requirement has been further deferred. For the 2012 calendar year, an employer is not subject to the reporting requirement if the employer was required to file fewer than 250 Forms W-2 for the preceding year. Therefore, if an employer files fewer than 250 2011 Forms W-2, the employer is not subject to the reporting requirements for Forms W-2 for the 2012 calendar year (i.e. the Forms W-2 that are generally furnished to employees in January 2013). Notice 2011-28, 2011-16 IRB 656, Q&A-3. In other words, a small employer will not be required to report the aggregate cost of coverage prior to January 2014. Notice 2011-28, 2011-16 IRB 656. See §42,245.

All of which does not answer your question, but does suggest that by the time we have to report the answer might change anyway!

[Uncle Sam]

Additional Coverages

Do premiums involving other types of health coverage get included in that Box 12 DD code such as vision care, dental care, and other similar programs or is it just basic health care for family physician and/or specialists?

[FEDUKE404]

Observations

These are obvious and relevant questions.

Sadly, by the time we have to deal with any 2012 W2s the "rules" will likely have been changed numerous times.

(I just hope that the folks in Washington will have made up their minds what the applicable rules for 2011 are before sometime in February.....)

FE

[dsi]

My reading of it tells me that the amount reported on the W2 is what the employer pays.