Employees may be surprised to a new item reported on their 2012 W-2s. Beginning with the issuance of 2012 W-2s, the employer is required to report the value of health care coverage provided to the employee by the employer. Before too many employers have a cardiac arrest, this requirement is voluntary for employers who filed less than 250 W-2s for the prior calendar year. The value of the health care coverage is to reported in Box 12 of Form W-2 and the code DD will be used by the employer to identify this benefit. Employees need to realize that the inclusion of this amount in their W-2s does NOT mean that the coverage is taxable, just that the federal government is looking for a means to track this benefit.
