Overview
Tax Provisions in the Extenders and Omnibus Appropriations Bill: Late last night through early this morning, the text of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016, an omnibus appropriations bill for 2016, and the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015, a tax-extenders bill, was released. Over the 10-year budget window, the entire bill is projected to cost over $1.6 trillion. The omnibus provisions are projected to cost over $1 trillion dollars, including approximately $58 billion attributable to its tax-related provisions, and the tax-extenders bill is projected to cost approximately $622 billion. For more details on this legislation, click here.
Affordable Care Act Guidance Released: Today, the IRS and Treasury Department issued final regulations on the health insurance premium tax credit enacted by the Affordable Care Act. These final regulations affect individuals who enroll in qualified health plans through affordable insurance exchanges and claim the health insurance premium tax credit, and exchanges that make qualified health plans available to individuals and employers. The final regulations adopt the regulations proposed on May 3, 2013, with several modifications. Some rules on the minimum value of eligible employer-sponsored plans have been reserved and will be finalized separately.
In addition, Notice 2015-87 was released. The notice provides further guidance on the application of various provisions of the Affordable Care Act to employer-provided health coverage. The notice includes guidance on: (i) the application of the market reforms that apply to group health plans under the Affordable Care Act to various types of employer health care arrangements; (ii) certain aspects of the employer shared responsibility provisions of section 4980H; and (iii) certain aspects of the application to government entities of section 4980H, the information reporting provisions for applicable large employers under section 6056, and application of the rules for health savings accounts to persons eligible for benefits administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs.