The Employer Shared Responsibility Estimator

Under the Affordable Care Act’s Employer Shared Responsibility Provision (ESRP) certain Applicable Large Employers (“ALEs”) must offer minimum essential coverage that is “affordable” and provides “minimum value” to their full-time employees and dependents or potentially face a “shared responsibility” penalty. Most employers fall below the ALE threshold for the number of employees and therefore are not subject to the ESRP.

To help employers calculate whether they are ALEs, the Taxpayer Advocate Service developed the Employer Shared Responsibility Estimator. This Estimator helps employers calculate their number of full-time employees, determines whether they might be ALEs and, if they are ALEs, provides an estimate of the maximum potential shared responsibility payment that could apply. The ERSP became effective January 1, 2015 but the calculator is only for use for 2016 and forward. This is a valuable tool for employers to help understand the potential liability under the ESRP.