As you likely know, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) added requirements for employers to provide health insurance to employees if employing a certain number of full-time employees. According to various provisions of the ACA, a full-time employee is defined as anyone working around 30 hours per week. You do need to look at part-time employees as well since they can add up to full-time employees.
If you have over 50 employees, you are considered a Large Employer and are required to provide health insurance benefits. In this case, we recommend speaking to an agent to discuss the specific requirements that must be adhered to under the ACA.
Employers with less than 50 full-time employees are considered Small Employers. Small Employers are not required but are encouraged to offer health insurance benefits to their employees. Small Employers have access to the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) and can check their eligibility online.
If your business has under 25 full-time employees, you may qualify for the Small Business Health Care Credit to lower premium costs.
If you provide health insurance benefits to your employees, this information needs to be reported on your employees’ W-2 forms along with any other benefits.
TL;DR: Health insurance is a complicated area if you employ close to 50 full-time employees. If you are under 50 full-time employees than you aren’t required to provide coverage, but there are programs available to help you do so.
