Import Spreadsheet Format Guidelines for Tax Year 2015

To help you quickly and easily import your employee data, we have created an Excel spreadsheet template that contains all of your 1095-C data in a standard format for tax year 2015. This will make filing your ACA data before the deadline even easier!

This format closely mirrors the 1095-C forms so your benefits / payroll provider may be able to easily provide the information required to populate the 1095-C import spreadsheet.

Entering Your Data for Tax Year 2015

There are some key things to remember when completing your spreadsheet for tax year 2015.

  • All columns in the sample spreadsheet must be present, although data is not required for every column. To see what data is required, please see our ‘Required Columns for Tax Year 2015’ section below.
  • Blank rows are not allowed between employee records. This will cause an error upon import.
  • Employee last name and SSNs must match IRS records, or you will see TIN validation errors when you e-file.
  • Covered individual data is only required if you answer ‘Yes’ to ‘Is employer self insured?’. If the employer is not self insured, covered individuals should not be listed in your import.
  • Numeric fields like #15 don’t have to include decimal points for whole numbers. (e.g. 3.00 can be 3)
  • SSNs can contain dashes or not, we’ll standardize it when it’s imported.
  • Plan start month is optional for tax year 2015, but if you do provide a value it must be 1-12, which corresponds to the months of Jan-Dec. Again, we standardize this when read in to have a leading 0 as specified by the IRS. (e.g. 1 -> 01)
  • ‘Yes’, ‘true’, ‘1’ are all acceptable for true/false type fields. (e.g. Is employer self insured?)
  • Zip codes are automatically read in as Zip+4 with or without dash

Import Validations

More in-depth validations are easier to find by simply submitting your data file.

If you submit your data file and it breaks one of the IRS validations, we display which line had the issue along with a message to let you know what to fix.

For example, a bad SSN would trigger something like ‘Line 3: Employee SSN must have exactly 9 digits’.

Required Columns for Tax Year 2015

The following columns in our Form 1095-C import spreadsheet require data listed for all applicable employees:

  • 1. Employee first name
  • 1. Last name
  • 2. Social security number (SSN)
  • 3. Street address
  • 4. City or town
  • 5. State or province
  • 6. Country code
  • 6. Zip or foreign postal code
  • 10. Employer contact phone number
  • 14. All 12 Months or values for each month
  • 15. May be required depending on values used in #14

Importing Your Data for Tax Year 2015

  • To get started with importing your data, login to BoomTax. Then enter the payer name for the employer you’re filing for.
  • Once you’ve done this you can either complete your 1094-C now or skip it and come back to it later.
  • Next, select ‘Import with Excel’ on the Add Eligible Employees screen. This will bring you to the import screen.
  • Here, you can either drag and drop your file into designated area, or click ‘browse’ to find the file manually. Once you’ve selected your file, click upload and wait for the system to read your data.

If your data is read in successfully, you will be taken to your filing overview page where you can review your ACA data.

If your data was not read in successfully, you will be taken to an error screen. This will give you a list of all formatting errors within your spreadsheet. It will detail the type of error that occurred along with applicable row number(s) to help you correct the issue(s).

Need more information?

Our Knowledgebase is available to BoomTax customers 24/7. You can also visit these blog posts for more ACA information:

Still not finding the answers you need? Contact our Support Team. We are always happy to assist!

BoomTax, The Boom Post, and its affiliates do not provide tax, legal or accounting advice. This material has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for, tax, legal or accounting advice. You should consult your own tax, legal and accounting advisors prior to engaging in any transaction.

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