Updated April 2026 · Florida Plan Finder · Licensed Florida Health Insurance Producer

IRS Form 720 PCORI Fee Filing for Florida Small Business Health Plans

The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) fee is a small annual federal fee imposed on self-insured health plans to fund comparative-effectiveness research. Florida small businesses with fully-insured group health plans don't file directly — the carrier handles it as part of premium. But businesses with self-funded plans, level-funded plans, or any HRA (including ICHRA, QSEHRA, EBHRA, and integrated HRAs) must file Form 720 each year and pay the fee directly. Missing the July 31 deadline triggers IRS interest and penalties.

PCORI Fee Amount

The fee per covered life depends on the plan year ending date:

The fee adjusts annually based on the Federal Per Capita National Health Expenditures inflation factor. IRS publishes the new rate in spring of each year.

Who Must File

Deadline and Form

The PCORI fee is reported on IRS Form 720 (Quarterly Federal Excise Tax Return), specifically Part II line 133. The annual fee is due by July 31 following the plan year end. A calendar-year plan that ended December 31, 2025 files by July 31, 2026.

Form 720 can be filed electronically (recommended) or by paper. Payment can be made via EFTPS or with the form.

Counting Covered Lives

Florida small businesses can use one of three counting methods:

1. Actual count method: sum the covered lives for each day of the plan year, divide by days in the plan year
2. Snapshot method: count covered lives on a fixed date each quarter, average the counts
3. Form 5500 method: use participant counts from Form 5500 (only if Form 5500 is required for the plan)

For an HRA, "covered lives" = the participating employees only (NOT spouses or dependents). For a self-funded health plan, "covered lives" = all enrolled employees plus enrolled spouses and dependents.

Worked Example: Florida Business with 12-Employee ICHRA