On October 12, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released Notice 2010-69, which provided a one-year delay in the Health Reform Act (PPACA) requirement to report the cost of coverage under an employer-sponsored group health plan on Form W-2. The IRS stated that this delay was necessary to allow employers to make changes to their payroll systems or procedures in preparation for compliance with the new PPACA requirement.

Previous to this announcement, the new rule was to apply for employees' tax years beginning after Dec. 31, 2010. It will now be for tax years beginning after Dec. 31, 2011, so payroll systems need to be updated for this change by January 2012.

The IRS also issued a draft W-2 Form for 2011, which would allow employers to voluntarily provide information about the cost of coverage.