Business owners now have additional responsibilities because of the Affordable Care Act, but the University of Houston-Victoria Small Business Development Center is ready to help.

Jean Smith

“Complicated is the best word I can think of to describe it,” said Jean Smith, UHV SBDC training coordinator. “There’s so much that we are still learning about the ACA. It’s a big piece of legislation. It has so many other areas that it touches.”

Affordable Care Act Forms, Reporting and Record Keeping is a free workshop that will take place from 1 to 3 p.m. Wednesday in the UHV SBDC Office training room, 3402 N. Ben Wilson St. David Plemons, a CPA from San Antonio, will be the presenter.

Although the workshop is open to anyone, it will be particularly useful for those who own or run small businesses, UHV SBDC director Joe Humphreys said. It will look at the forms, filing and retention involved in the health care law from the small business owner’s side.

David Plemons

Plemons is a subject-matter expert who will offer a clear, simple explanation of the information small business owners need to process paperwork and file information correctly, Humphreys said. Plemons already is familiar with the forms involved from assisting his accounting clients.

“One way the SBDC helps small businesses is by bringing in experienced speakers who can share their knowledge and expertise,” Humphreys said. “What we want to do is make sure employers are filling out these forms correctly, are filing them with the right entity, and that they hang on to what they need to keep on file.”

Joe Humphreys

Many small businesses don’t have a human resources department that handles employees’ tax information, Humphreys said. That responsibility falls to the business owner, who usually will be the employees’ first resource if they have any questions about the new tax forms. The workshop also will serve as a refresher for people who already know how to fill out the forms.

“The ACA has three separate forms for employees depending on what kind of health coverage is offered,” Humphreys said. “We are bringing Mr. Plemons in before it’s time to do all the reporting and filing so people can have their questions answered now instead of learning on the fly. When giving employees a 1094 or 1095 form, small business owners need to have answers to their questions.”

To register for the workshop, contact the UHV SBDC at 361-485-4485, 877-895-7232 or sbdc@uhv.edu.

The UHV SBDC is part of a nationwide small business assistance program that serves the small business community in partnership with federal, state and local governments. The center offers business advising, training and technical assistance to existing and start-up businesses in an 11-county area.