WASHINGTON – On July 24, the IRS released draft forms that employers will use to report on health coverage that they offer to their employees.

According to the IRS, these draft forms are being provided to help stakeholders, including employers, tax professionals and software providers, prepare for these new reporting provisions and to invite comments from them. The IRS says that it anticipates that draft instructions relating to the forms will be posted to IRS.gov in August. Both the forms and instructions will be finalized later this year.

The Wall Street Journal writes that the health-care law requires most big employers to offer health benefits that are deemed affordable, or to pay fines starting at $2,000 per worker if they don't. The requirement was delayed until 2015 for some large companies, and again delayed until 2016 for certain smaller companies.

The absence of the aforementioned health insurance forms has caused frustration among employers, saying they wouldn’t have enough time to prepare for 2015. According to the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA), the forms are incomplete.

"The IRS only released draft forms, with no instructions or technical specifications. For the longest time, retailers have been pounding their heads, asking for this information from the IRS in order to get their systems up and running and comply with these requirements beginning this January. Yet again, it's too little, too late for employers," said Christine Pollack, a top lobbyist at RILA.