It has come to our attention that some of our Massachusetts Conference churches may not have received important information from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts regarding a new employer filing requirement with a deadline of November 30.Effective November 2018, any Massachusetts employer with six or more employees (in any of the previous twelve months) is required to complete a new Health Insurance Responsibility Disclosure (HIRD) form to determine eligibility for premium assistance for employees who receive group insurance. The form is filed online through your MassTaxConnect account, and is available beginning November 1st with a due date of November 30. Please note that the new form is entirely different from the Employer HIRD form that was required from 2007-2013.
Again, you are required to file if you reported six or more employees on the Quarterly Employment and Wage Detail report in any of the previous twelve months, from December of the previous year through November of the current year. Further information is available here: https://www.mass.gov/files/documents/2018/10/24/health-insurance-responsibility-disclosure-FAQ.pdf. If you had six or more employees during any of the past twelve months and you don’t offer health insurance, the form is simple to complete. If you do offer insurance, you will have to answer questions about your coverage and the benefit you offer.
Each church – like every Massachusetts employer – should have received an email from the Commonwealth in late October regarding this new reporting requirement. The notice was sent to the email address connected to your MassTaxConnect account, which employers must use to report quarterly wages and make withholding tax deposits. If you did not receive this notice, you should verify that your email is correctly recorded here: https://mtc.dor.state.ma.us/mtc/_/.
I hope that this information is helpful.
Regards, Jonathan
Rev. Jonathan New
Associate Conference Minister
Stewardship & Financial Development
508-875-5233 ext. 231 ~ newj@macucc.org