IRS ANNOUNCES PCORI FEE AND TRANSITIONAL RELIEF
IRS Announces PCORI Fee and Transitional Relief
PCORI Fee The IRS has announced that the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) Fee is $2.54 per average number of covered lives for plan years ending on or between Oct. 1, 2019, and Sept. 30, 2020.
- For plan years ending Oct. 1, 2019, through Dec. 31, 2019, fees are due July 31, 2020.
- For plan years ending Jan. 1, 2020, through Sept. 30, 2020, fees are due July 31, 2021.
The previous fee was $2.45 per average number of covered lives for health benefit plans ending between Jan. 1, 2019, and Sept. 30, 2019. These fees are due July 31, 2020.
The PCORI fee expired on Sept. 30, 2019, but was then extended through September 30, 2029.
Transitional Relief Plan sponsors may continue to use one of the following three methods to calculate the average number of covered lives for purposes of the fee:
- Actual count method
- Snapshot method
- Form 5500 method
In addition, for plan years ending on or after October 1, 2019, and before October 1, 2020, plan sponsors may use any reasonable method for calculating the average number of covered lives, and that method must be applied consistently for the duration of the plan year.
The PCORI is a nonprofit organization that uses these fees to fund research that, with the help of clinicians, purchasers, policymakers and patients, compares different medical treatments and interventions to determine what treatments are most effective. The PCORI compiles and distributes comparative clinical effectiveness research findings.