Form 5500 and PCORI Fees Explained

30 May Form 5500 and PCORI Fees Explained

NOTE: This applies to any self-funded plan. All health plans are subject to ACA PCORI fees.

This information is brought to us by the Allied National Employer Benefit Adviser Newsletter. Check out these details about Form 5500 and PCORI Fees so you understand what is needed and how it works.

All Allied National self-funded plans are required to file a form 5500 with the federal government. And of course, all health plans are subject to the Affordable Care Act’s PCORI fees.

What is form 5500?

• A general filing for pension and health plans to provide plan info to the federal government. It’s an information filing.
• All Allied self-funded plans must electronically file form 5500.
• 5500 must be filed within seven months of the end of the plan year.
• Employers with fewer than 100 employees can use the 5500-SF (short form).

Calendar year versus plan year filing:

• We assume most employers will want to file on a calendar year based plan year. You also can elect to file on a plan year based on your stop-loss plan year.
• Calendar year — Plan year that begins on Jan. 1 and end on Dec. 31.
• Plan year — Plan year begins on the effective date of the company’s stop-loss plan.

Allied National provides the following in order to assist our employers:

At the end of May, we send information worksheets to all self-funded groups based on the calendar year of Jan. 1 to Dec. 31. This worksheet provides you with the information we have in our system that is needed to help complete the electronic filing of form 5500. Allied does NOT have ALL the information needed for the filing. You must provide the missing information, such as the split of employer versus employee contributions.

• The majority of our employer groups (regardless of their stoploss plan year) file as calendar year plans. You also can elect to file based on their stop-loss plan year. The 5500 filing is due within seven months following the end of the plan year.
• If you prefer to go by the plan year model, you can contact Allied and request the information worksheet to be rerun with the plan year time frame you need.

Simple PCORI facts What is the Patient Center Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) Fee?

• A fee created as part of the Affordable Care Act to help fund the institute.
• This fee will expire after Oct. 1, 2019. When are PCORI fees due?
• The fee is due July 31 of each year (which is one reason we include PCORI information on our calendar year 5500 information worksheet – it’s due at the same time). How are the fees determined?
• The 5500 worksheet contains enrollment information needed to pay the annual PCORI tax.
• IRS Notice 2016-64, provides that the PCORI fee for plan years ending on or after Oct. 1, 2016, and before Oct. 1, 2017, including 2016 calendar year plans, is $2.26 per each person covered under the applicable health plan, up from $2.17 for the previous plan year.

How do you pay your PCORI fees?

• The fee is paid on IRS Form 720, the Quarterly Federal Excise Tax Return.
• To pay the PCORI fee, you’ll need this form: irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f720.pdf.

Fill out your company information on page one and then fill out Part II, #133 on Patient Centered Outcomes Research Fee. Fill out the voucher at the end and mail it in to: Department of the Treasury Internal Revenue Service Cincinnati, OH 45999-0009 To assist you further, Allied has created an informational page at www.alliednational.com/5500 with detailed instructions on how to complete a 5500 filing as well as how to make PCORI payments. We hope you will refer to this page for assistance.