How to Generate 1094-C / 1095-C Forms - Knowledge Base | BerniePortal

How to Generate and Download 1094-C / 1095-C Forms

There are four stages to generating 1094-C / 1095-C forms in BerniePortal:
  1. Organize - Before entering the 1094-C/1095-C area, be sure your portal is set up correctly and that you’ve gathered all necessary information.
  2. Configure - Within the “Subgroups” heading of the 1094-C/1095-C tab, configure your 1094-C subgroups and 1095-C subgroups to reflect default settings.
  3. Define Employees - Within the “List” heading of the 1094-C/1095-C tab, view and when necessary edit employees to reflect the appropriate 1095-C codes.
  4. Generate Files - Within the “List” heading of the 1094-C/1095-C tab, generate the 1095-C’s once you’re confident all information is correct.
Each stage of the 1094C/1095C process is explained in detail below. 

Stage 1 - Organize:
  1. Confirm the number of 1094-Cs that you need to file.
    1. Do not go into the 1094-C/1095-C area until you have created a 1094-C subgroup to correspond with each 1094-C that you need to file.
    2. Generally speaking, the number of 1094-C subgroups corresponds to the number of FEINs under which your employer pays its employees.
    3. To create/edit a 1094-C subgroup, go to the Employer Profile and select “Subgroups."

      2. Click on the “Subgroups” tab in the left side menu, then select “Add a New Subgroup” to create a new subgroup (if needed).

  2. Collect employee information.
    1. BerniePortal will auto-populate the 1094-C/1095-C report for all employees listed in BerniePortal during the months they were enrolled in coverage for the prior year.
    2. For employees not already in BerniePortal, you can add them via spreadsheet within the 1094/1095 “List” area or manually, one at a time.
    3. You’ll be able to add these employees during "Stage 3: Define Employees" below.
    4. Make sure you have all the necessary information for these applicable employees available for the upload spreadsheet.
*Before moving to Stage 2, ensure all existing employees are added to a 1095-C ALE subgroup.

Stage 2 - Configure:
  1. Once you are ready to begin configuring your 1094-C and 1095-Cs, click on the “1094C/1095C” tab in the top navigation menu, then select "Subgroups" in the secondary navigation menu. 
    1. Note: Only the Global Admin has access to the 1094-C/1095-C area. 

  3. The 1094-C form is used for the transmission of information to the IRS (similar to W-3). To complete the 1094-C configuration for your applicable 1094-C subgroups, simply click on the subgroup name within the "Subgroups" then "1094-C" tab. 

  5. Part 1. Applicable Large Employer Member (ALE)
    1. Lines 1-8: Fill in the appropriate information.
      1. For Line 2, if the employer has multiple EINs they should create multiple 1094-C subgroups.
      2. Each employee must be assigned to his or her applicable 1094-C subgroup.
      3. For Line 7, the HR person you are working with is the appropriate person.
      4. Note: If you are mailing employee 1095-Cs with BerniePortal, please verify that Lines 1, and 3-6 are correct for return mailing address purposes.
    2. Lines 9-16: Leave blank unless the employer is a government entity. If it is a government entity, then fill them out as appropriate.
    3. Line 17: Omitted because it’s not necessary to fill it in on the forms.
    4. Line 18: Will be auto-populated by the system later on.
  6. Part II. Applicable Large Employer Member (ALE).
    1. Line 19: “Yes,” if this particular 1094-C is the authoritative transmittal. “No,” if not.
    2. Line 20: Leave blank, will be auto-populated by the system later on.
      1. Note: If the group has multiple 1094-Cs with the same EIN, contact your Advisor Success representative.
    3. Line 21: “No” if this ALE is not part of an aggregated ALE group. “Yes” if it is.
    4. (22) Certifications of Eligibility: Select all that apply.
  7. Part III. ALE Member Information - Monthly
    1. Column A: Must be completed if Line 19 is "Yes". “Yes, for all 12 months” if the employer offered minimum essential coverage for the entire year. If not check “yes” or “no” for each month.
    2. Columns B and C: These will be auto-populated by the system. You can manually overwrite individual forms if necessary during "Stage 3: Define Employees."
    3. Column D: Must be completed if Line 21 is "Yes". Check the appropriate boxes.
    4. Column E: This column used to be for 4980H transition relief for 2016. No section 4980H transition relief is available for 2020. Therefore, this column is designated "Reserved", and is shaded. No action is required here.
  8. Once you have completed your first 1094-C subgroup, click on your next 1094-C subgroup and follow the same steps above. If you only have one 1094-C subgroup, click on the 1095-C tab to the left to continue.

  10. The 1095-C form is a form that each employee will receive (similar to W-2). Click the subgroup name to indicate default values for Lines 14-16 of the 1095-C. There will be a 1095-C subgroup for each "Benefits" subgroup in BerniePortal. 
    1. Default Plan Start Month: Indicates the start month of your employers coverage. 
    2. Line 14: Indicates what kind of coverage the employer offered. View the Appendix of Codes here.
    3. Line 15: Enter monthly employee cost of the lowest cost plan for employee only coverage for each month during the year. If the amount is the same for all 12 months, check the appropriate box, otherwise enter the amount for each month. 
    4. Line 16: Select the employer’s default safe harbor code, which indicates how the employer measures affordability. View the Appendix of Codes here.
    5. Part-time employees: Check if this subgroup includes part-time employees only.
    6. Self-insured: Check if the coverage offered to employees in this subgroup was self insured coverage.

    8. Select "Save Changes."
    9. Complete the steps above for each 1095-C subgroup listed. Once you have configured each 1095-C subgroup, BerniePortal will then generate your employee list. 
Stage 3 - Define Employees:
  1. Once you have configured your 1094-C and 1095-C areas, click on the "List" tab in the secondary navigation menu. This action will generate a list of your employees (Note: the employee list will not generate until the 1094-C and 1095-C areas have been configured). From within the List area you are able to view and edit each individual employee’s 1095-C.

  3. Add employees who were not already in BerniePortal.
    1. If your employer used BerniePortal for the full reporting year, all of your employees should already be listed in this area, with all of the appropriate codes based on what you entered as the defaults in Stage 2 above.
    2. If your employer did not use BerniePortal for the full reporting year, then you will likely need to add employees who are missing. Learn how here!
  4. Confirm Line 14-16 Codes and Demographics.
    1. Once you have all employees listed for whom your employer needs to file a 1095-C, you’re ready to confirm your employee's demographic information and the codes that belong for them on Lines 14 through 16 of their 1095-C. 
    2. Use the action wheel next to each employee's name for the below actions, if necessary.
      1. Edit: If any edits need to be made, hover over the actions gear to the right of the employee’s name and click “Edit”. You can make the correction on a modal that will open upon clicking ”Edit”. Note: If the employee’s 1094-C subgroup needs to be changed, change the 1094-C subgroup first and click “Save”. Only after you’ve done that, click “Edit” again to make any other necessary changes.
      2. Include / Don’t Include: If an employee’s status is currently listed as “included” and the employee should not be included with the submission, hover over the actions gear and select “Don’t include”. If an employee’s status is currently listed as “Not included” and the employee should be included with the submission, hover over the actions gear and select “Include” option.

      4. Delete: Any employee you manually added using the “Add” button in this “List” area will have a “Delete” option. Employees who auto-populated in the “List” area because they enrolled in benefits during the year will not have a “Delete” option. If a 1095-C should not be generated for one of these employees, just mark them as “Don’t Include”.

    3. While you are reviewing each employee, you may notice that an employee’s address or other demographic information is incorrect and should be changed. Note that changes made to an employee’s demographic information in the 1095-C area will not automatically feed to the employee’s primary record in BerniePortal. To make changes to an employee’s primary record, click on the employee’s name. 

Stage 4 - Generate Files:
  1. Once you have completed Stage 3, you are ready to generate your employer’s 1094-C and 1095- C files. To do so, select  the “List” tab from the secondary navigation menu, then click “Generate PDF” in the top right corner.

  3. Select the reporting year and employer (1094-C subgroup) for which you'd like to generate forms.

  5. Navigate to the "Forms" tab in the secondary navigation menu where you can download the generated forms to your computer via zip file, which will contain both the 1094-C and all employee 1095-Cs.

A few notes:
  1. Once you click to generate the file, it will take a few minutes for the file to actually generate. Bear in mind that BerniePortal is creating many PDFs with a lot of information, so expect it to take a few minutes.
  2. Once the file is generated, you will find it available for download in the “Forms” area. It will be a “zip” file that becomes a folder containing all of the 1094-Cs and 1095-Cs once you click to download it.
  3. You should review the forms to confirm everything looks accurate.
  4. If everything looks good, the last step is to think through how to distribute 1095-Cs to employees.
  5. Distributing to employees: The best process is to follow the same steps that are taken when the employer delivers W-2s. Piggybacking on that process will be the most efficient for both the employer and the employees. If that is not possible, the employer should mail them to their employees.
  6. Filing with the IRS: Your employer then needs to file these forms with the IRS, which many employers can do on their own. BerniePortal offers the services of electronic filing and mailing. Please contact us to learn more!
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