An Overview of Designated Government Entities

A term present on your Affordable Care Act forms that may need a bit of explaining is “Designated Government Entity” (or DGE, for short).

What’s a DGE? And are you one? Does it even matter?

That last one was a trick question – this is the IRS, of course it matters! And that’s why we’re here to shed some light on the situation.

What is a Designated Government Entity?
The official definition of a DGE is “a person or persons that are part of or related to the Governmental Unit that is the ALE Member and that is appropriately designated for purposes of these reporting requirements.”

In other words, for every Governmental Unit that is also an Applicable Large Employer (ALE), there will be a designated person or persons (the DGE) who will report the Governmental Unit’s required ACA documents.

The Purpose of a DGE
The DGE is there to ensure that this particular Governmental Unit files the required 1094-C and 1095-C Forms for the Governmental Unit’s employees. One of the filed 1094-C Forms must be marked by the DGE as the Authoritative Transmittal form. DGEs are also responsible for the aggregate employer-level data as required in Parts II, III, and IV of Form 1094-C for the Governmental Unit.

Filing with ACAwise
DGEs and non-DGE ALEs alike can easily complete ACA e-filing with ACAwise! Just check out our website to learn more or schedule a free demo to get an in-depth exclusive look before you even set up an account!