How does Sage 50—U.S. Edition support the Affordable Care Act (ACA)

Learn about the Affordable Care Act reporting requirements

The ACA Resource Center is a good place to start. There are 2 general videos (which take about 15 minutes to view) that highlight the requirements. The ACA Resource Center also directs you to various IRS Resources that define specific requirements.

Examine your employee count for the previous calendar year to determine whether you’re an “Applicable Large Employer” (ALE)

The “large” employer requirement is generally 50 full-time or full-time equivalents; however, there are situations that impact this such as hours worked, participation in a controlled or aggregate group, seasonal workers, and transitions for new employers. Be sure to review the IRS requirements carefully.

Use the Yearly Earnings Report in Sage to view the number of hours each employee has worked. For help with this step, see Is there a payroll report that will display employee hours worked?.

Determine which ACA form you’ll be required to submit for this calendar year

The answers to these questions will help you determine which ACA forms you’ll be required to submit.

Confirm that your Sage software is set up to track the ACA information you’ll need to submit on W-2 and ACA forms

You’ll want to make sure you have been tracking medical insurance benefit information for your employees all year. For help with this step, see How do I report employer-paid health insurance on the W-2?.

Install any year-end product releases that are required for ACA reporting

Install the latest version of Sage 50 Accounting and install any program and tax updates. Refer to Sage 50—U.S. Edition: Download Portal to download the latest release version. For information on how to check and install updates, see How to check for updates and How to install updates.

Generate ACA and W-2 forms

To begin the process to complete ACA forms, see How do I generate the required ACA forms 1094\1095?. In addition, see How do I report employer-paid health insurance on the W-2?.