Built by People Who Have Seen What Happens When ACA Compliance Fails
PenaltyShield exists because the existing options were not good enough. Employers were still receiving six-figure penalty notices despite using compliance software. Something was broken.
The Problem We Set Out to Fix
The ACA has been in active enforcement since 2017. In that time, the IRS has issued billions of dollars in proposed penalties under Section 4980H. A significant portion of those penalties were issued to employers who were using compliance software, working with benefits brokers, and operating in good faith.
The tools they were using were not built by people who understood the problem at a deep enough level. Templates replaced logic. Manual processes introduced errors. Risk reviews happened after the fact, if they happened at all.
PenaltyShield was built by operators who spent years inside the ACA compliance industry, advising employers, reviewing penalty notices, building the regulatory frameworks that others follow. We built the infrastructure we knew the market needed but did not have.
The result is a fully managed compliance operation backed by proprietary technology. Not a tool you learn. Not a platform you manage. A system that works.
Our Operating Principles
Accuracy over speed
A fast filing with errors is worse than a slow one that is correct. We do not rush compliance.
Transparency in everything
You see every decision. Every code. Every risk flag. Nothing is a black box.
Operators, not vendors
We are in the outcome with you. If the IRS sends a notice, we respond with you.
Technology that earns its place
BEAM, PRISM, and LENS were built because manual processes fail. Every component solves a real problem.
Deep ACA Knowledge. Built In.
Our founders came from inside the ACA compliance industry. This is not a technology company that learned ACA. This is an ACA operation that built technology.
ACA From Inception
Our team's ACA experience dates to the law's implementation. We have navigated every major enforcement cycle, IRS schema change, and regulatory update since the ACA took effect.
Penalty Defense Experience
We have responded to 226J notices. We know how the IRS calculates proposed penalties, what documentation they require, and how to build the strongest possible response.
Regulatory Depth
The ACA is not a simple statute. Waiting period rules, rehire safe harbors, aggregated ALE groups, conditional spousal offers, self-insured dependent tracking. We know every rule and we built it into the engine.