March 2011 W-2 Reporting Guidance
The Affordable Care Act requires that employees' W-2s provide useful and comparable consumer information on the cost of their employer-sponsored health coverage. On March 29, 2011, the IRS issued Notice 2011-28, providing interim guidance on this new reporting requirement.
Small employers (i.e., those filing fewer than 250 Forms W-2 for 2011, in January of 2012) do not have to comply with the new reporting requirement through at least 2012, or until the IRS issues further guidance. In other words, small employers will not have to report the cost of health care coverage on any forms required to be furnished to their employees before January of 2014, at the earliest.