The IRS has released the 2018 affordability percentage that applicable large employers will need to be aware of in order to make sure the health coverage they provide is considered affordable allowing them to avoid employer shared responsibility penalties.
For 2018, the percentage is 9.56% which is a reduction from 2017 when it was 9.69%. Employers will want to review their health plans to ensure they remain affordable, because even if they make no changes in the cost of coverage for 2018, this percentage decrease could render 2017 contribution limits unaffordable for 2018.
Example:
2017: If an employee making $25,000 a year was offered minimum value coverage at the cost of $200.50 a month in 2017, it would have met the affordability calculation:
(25,000 x .0969) ÷ 12 = 201.88
2018: If an employee making $25,000 a year was offered minimum value coverage at the cost of $200.50 a month in 2018, it will not meet the affordability calculation:
(25,000 x .0956) ÷ 12 = 199.17
Compliancedashboard has additional information on affordability requirements.