Larger employers with 100 or more employees will have to ensure that they phase in the percentage of its full-time workers that employers must cover. The total is 70 percent in 2015 and 95 percent in 2016. Employers in this category that do not meet these standards will make an employer responsibility payment for 2015.

Employers with 50 to 99 employees that do not yet provide quality, affordable health insurance to their full-time workers will report on their workers and coverage in 2015, but have until 2016 before any employer responsibility payments could apply.

“While about 96 percent of employers are not subject to the employer responsibility provision, for those employers that are, we will continue to make the compliance process simpler and easier to navigate,” said Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy Mark J. Mazur. “Today’s final regulations phase in the standards to ensure that larger employers either offer quality, affordable coverage or make an employer responsibility payment starting in 2015 to help offset the cost to taxpayers of coverage or subsidies to their employees.”