Tag Archives: 55+

Who Needs to File Form 8889?

In order to take advantage of the many tax benefits of Health Savings Accounts, there is a tax reporting requirement that occurs each year. When you file your taxes via TurboTax, H&R Block, etc., you are required to report HSA information on Form 8889, the IRS tax form for HSA’s. It is a slightly annoying, overly-engineered two page tax form that is required for those with transactions in their HSA during the year. As you will see, there are multiple scenarios that can cause confusion on who needs to file this form. Hopefully we address them all and provide clarity on your situation.

HSA Transactions require Form 8889

You need to file Form 8889 for the year if transactions occurred in the HSA. What are transactions? These include:

Contributions made to HSA
Distributions from HSA
Penalties for failing testing period
You acquired HSA due to death of beneficiary

If any of those apply to your HSA this year, you need to file Form 8889 with your taxes. On the other hand, if your HSA sat idle during the year, you do not need to file Form 8889. A common example of this is you 1) no longer have HSA eligible insurance, so are not contributing to the HSA and 2) you did not make any distributions from the HSA this year. If you make distributions (or contributions) in the future, you would file the form with that tax year.

Preparing Form 8889 for family coverage

To summarize who needs to file Form 8889:

File Form 8889 for each person with a Health Savings Account that had transactions during the year.

Notice the “each person with a Health Savings Account” part. This means each person with a Health Savings Account; you know, like a bank account that exists at a financial institution. If both you and your spouse have a Health Savings Account, and you made contributions or distributions to either during the year, you each need to file separate Form 8889’s.

This is important because Form 8889 reflects the tax benefits (and penalties!) associated with the HSA itself. For a family with 2 HSA’s, the two Form 8889’s will total your combined activity for the year. For example, a $6,900 contribution limit resulted in $3,000 contributed to HSA 1 and $3,900 was contributed to HSA 2, etc. Both of these need to be reported.

Why do you need to file 2 Form 8889’s in that scenario? It is because of the magic “Line 6” split for married couples with separate HSA’s.

Spouses who have separate HSA’s and family coverage “split” the contribution limit.

This means that with family coverage and 2 HSA’s, each HSA is receiving an allocation of the HSA contribution limit. While you are allowed to make this allocation however you want (save for the 55+ catch up contribution), each HSA receives an allocation. The result is you cannot file one Form 8889 and capture the tax implications, as even “$0” needs to be reported.

Form-8889-Line-6-family-hsa-contribution-split

[Note: the Line 6 split is especially complicated. If you don’t want to read the 1+ pages of IRS instructions, have EasyForm8889.com take care of it for you.]

Below is a review of common scenarios and how Form 8889 must be filed.

1) What if my spouse and I have family coverage?

If you were on family coverage during the year, you need to file Form 8889 for each HSA that existed and had transactions. If only you have an HSA, and the full contribution limit went into it, you only need to file one Form 8889 reporting those transactions. On the other hand, if both you and your spouse have an HSA, and you split the contribution limit per Line 6, you both need to file a Form 8889.

2) What if my spouse has their own HSA?

If your spouse has their own HSA, you will need to file a Form 8889 for it. Again, this assumes transactions occurred in the HSA during the year. Alternatively, if the HSA just kind of sat there, and no contributions nor distributions occurred, you do not need to file Form 8889 for it.

3) What if my adult child has their own HSA?

A nice loophole of HSA’s is that adult children on family coverage can open their own HSA. This allows them (or you, or others) to fund a substantial amount each year. The minor downside here is they will need to file a Form 8889 for each year transactions occur. So this is an additional form to file, potentially a 3rd (or 4th!) if both spouses have an HSA.

4) What if my spouse is 55 or older?

One specific rule about the 55+ catch up contribution of $1,000 is that it must follow the person who is over 55. This means that if you are over 55, and you want to take advantage of the 55+ contribution, the $1,000 needs to go into your HSA. You cannot place your $1,000 into your partner’s HSA.

For example: say the husband is 56 years old on family coverage but the insurance and HSA are in the wife’s name. His $1,000 cannot go into her HSA. Instead, the husband needs to open his own HSA and contribute the $1,000 (and any Line 6 “split” of the family contribution limit) there.

5) What if my spouse and I are both 55 or older?

As you might guess from the previous scenario, each spouse who is over 55 needs their own HSA if they are going to take advantage of the 55+ contribution. For couples on family coverage who are both over 55, this means you need 2 HSA’s to fully maximize your contribution. This maximum would equal the family contribution limit plus $1k for spouse and $1k for other spouse. Opening the HSA should not cost you anything. It is a little annoying to file the additional Form 8889, but this is the only way to maximize your 55+ contribution for the year.

Note: If you want help preparing any of your HSA tax forms this year, please consider my service EasyForm8889.com. It asks you simple questions and fills out Form 8889 correctly for you in about 10 minutes.

HSA Additional 55+ Contribution When Turning 55

This question was submitted by HSA Edge reader Steve. Feel free to send in your question today to evan@hsaedge.com.

I will be age 55 on 12/4/18 and have single-person HSA coverage. Must I wait until I am actually 55 in December to make the $1,000 extra contribution, or can I begin making monthly contributions now and throughout the rest of 2018 that total an extra $1,000? My employer won’t allow extra contributions until I am actually 55 on 12/4/18.

Making an HSA 55+ Catch Up Contribution

Health Savings Accounts have a great feature for those 55 and older that allows you to contribute an additional amount each year, currently set at $1,000. This extra amount is added to your self-only or family contribution limit, which allows you to contribute your self only or family amount, plus the additional $1,000 each year. We like this because it lets you contribute more money to your HSA. Now, this assumes that you did not end coverage during the year, in which case the self-only and catch up contribution are pro-rated for the months you had coverage. Either way, it is a great way to get some extra funds into your HSA.

The question at hand is one of timing. Can you make the 55+ contribution any time during the year you turn 55? Or, if you are not yet 55, do you need to wait until your 55th birthday to actually make the 55+ contribution? If the latter was the case, that leaves Steve with only 2 weeks before the end of the year to make that contribution. Moreover, his employer is telling him he needs to wait until this time to make the contribution. How do they track and enforce that? For example, if I am contributing 1/12 of my limit per year, including the $1000, I am “under” contributed for about the first 10 months of the year.

55+ Contribution Can Be Made Anytime During Year

Luckily, the IRS opines on this matter indirectly in Form 969 and it is favoriable to the consumer:

HSA-55+-additional-catch-up-contribution-timing

Here, the IRS states that the eligible individual who is 55 or older by the end of the tax year has their contribution limit increased. Remember that HSA contribution limits are per year, so you only have 1 contribution limit for a given year. Generally, you can determine that limit on January 1st (barring any change in coverage). Contrary to what Steve’s employer states, the IRS does not say that the catch up contribution limit is only increased pro rata by age, or only applies once the person actually turns 55, or can only be contributed to once the person is 55. It simply states that if you will be 55 during the calendar year, your contribution limit is increased. Thus, the reality is you can make that contribution whenever you see fit.

In Steve’s case, he will be 55 in December at the end of 2018. Thus, his 2018 contribution limit is increased for the entire year. That means that he can begin contributing his 55+ contribution as early as January 1st, 2018. He does not need to wait until he is actually 55 to make that catch up contribution.

I advised Steve to take this up with his employer and HSA custodian. While an employer can create any rules they wish, this is likely a simple oversight of how HSA plans function. Hopefully they can change this to align with how HSA’s work and make it easy on people like Steve who have late birthdays. It also allows people to gain the benefits of front loading their HSA contributions early in the year.

Note: if you need help accounting for your 55+ contributions on your HSA taxes, please consider using my service EasyForm8889.com to complete Form 8889. It is fast and painless, no matter how complicated your HSA situation.

HSA 55+ Catch Up Contribution When Spouses Have Separate HSA’s

You are probably aware that Health Savings Accounts have a contribution limit that changes slightly each year, and that your coverage (self-only or family) determines how much you can contribute to your HSA. For example, the contribution limits for 2017 are $3,400 for self-only coverage and $6,750 for family coverage. In addition, there is a catch up contribution for those that are 55 or older before the end of the year in the amount equal to $1,000. The IRS defines this catch up contribution in Form 969:

Additional contribution. If you are an eligible individual who is age 55 or older at the end of your tax year, your contribution limit is increased by $1,000. For example, if you have self-only coverage, you can contribute up to $4,400 (the contribution limit for self-only coverage ($3,400) plus the additional contribution of $1,000).

To qualify for the 55+ catch up contribution, you must be 55 within the tax year, be HSA eligible, and not be enrolled in Medicare – basically all of the stuff to be able to contribute to an HSA. The only addition is the age constraint thrown into the mix. This is generally easy enough for self-only coverage, but what do you do if your spouse is over 55 and you are not? Or, what do you do if both you and your spouse have separate Health Savings Accounts? You may be surprised to learn that the $1,000 can go on different lines on Form 8889 based on your coverage situation.

Catch Up Contribution follows the HSA Holder

A guiding principle is the $1,000 catch up contribution follows the HSA account holder, i.e. you or your spouse. To determine your household’s eligibility for a 55+ additional contribution, you must determine if the HSA account holder is age 55 or older by December 31st of the tax year. If they are, you can contribute to additional $1,000 to their HSA account.

The downside is your household may not qualify based on arbitrary factors of who opened the HSA and their age. For example, assume you are over 55 but your spouse is not. If your spouse owns the HSA, neither can contribute a 55+ catch up contribution for that year, until the spouse turns 55. Only then can one extra contribution be made, even though you are already 55 or older. Again, the 55+ contribution follows the account holder, so your age (as a non account holder) is irrelevant. The risk here is you may be shortchanging your household that $1,000 catch up contribution if the HSA account holder is younger.

[The way to get around this is, assuming you are on family coverage, to open an HSA in your name, so that you can contribute that $1,000 (assuming 55+) on top of the shared regular HSA family contribution limit. See next sections.]

Both Spouses have Separate HSA

Remember when we said earlier that the 55+ catch up contribution follows the HSA account? That also applies if you have family coverage and both spouses have their own HSA in their name. However, the rule still holds that only account holders 55 or older during the tax year can contribute the $1,000 catch up contribution to their HSA.

As another example, if you have family coverage with separate HSA’s and you are over 55 and your spouse is under 55, only your HSA can receive the $1,000 catch up contribution. Since this scenario requires the HSA’s to split the family contribution limit among them, for 2017 you will divide the $6,750 up however you like but your account must have the catch up contribution in it, if you make that extra contribution.

Thus, valid contributions for 2017 might look like this for the 55+ / < 55 accounts:

$6750 / $0
$0 / $6750
$3375 / $3375
$7,750 / $0 ($1,000 catch up used)
$1,000 / $6,750 ($1,000 catch up used)

In contrast, the following contribution combinations are invalid for 2017 for 55+ / < 55 accounts:

$0 / $7,750 (can’t put $1,000 in < 55 account)
$100 / $7,650 / $0 (must put all $1,000 in 55+ account)
$999 / $6,751 / $0 (must put all $1,000 in 55+ account)

Both Spouses 55+ and have Separate HSA

If both you and your spouse are over 55, have your own HSA’s, and are on family HSA coverage, you can both contribute the $1,000 catch up contribution to each of your HSA’s. For 2017, assuming full year coverage, this would be a household HSA contribution of $8,750 ($6,750 + $1,000 + $1,000). Again per Publication 969:

If both spouses are 55 or older and not enrolled in Medicare, each spouse’s contribution limit is increased by the additional contribution. If both spouses meet the age requirement, the total contributions under family coverage cannot be more than $8,750. Each spouse must make the additional contribution to his or her own HSA.

This is a secret HSA backdoor to increase your contribution limit above and beyond the stated family contribution limit, all by opening an HSA for each spouse. Many people don’t know that they can contribute so much money to an HSA as a family. Doing so should not bring additional cost, as it requires simply opening an HSA in your name. The cost being your time, a tax form, and perhaps an account minimum, but you gain an extra $1,000 / year in triple tax advantaged contributions.

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Note: if you have an HSA, please consider using my service EasyForm8889.com to complete Form 8889 come tax time. It is fast and painless, no matter how complicated your HSA 55+ contribution situation.