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Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service
Publication 969
Cat. No. 24216S
Health Savings
Accounts
and Other
Tax-Favored
Health Plans
For use in preparing
2023 Returns
Get forms and other information faster and easier at:
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Future Developments
Go to IRS.gov/Pub969 for the latest information about
Pub. 969.
What’s New
Notice 2023-37 addresses the announced end of the
COVID-19 public health emergency and the National
Emergency Concerning the Novel Coronavirus Disease
2019 Pandemic on May 11, 2023; it modifies prior guid-
ance regarding benefits relating to testing for and treat-
ment of COVID-19 that can be provided by a health plan
that otherwise satisfies the requirements to be a high de-
ductible health plan (HDHP) under section 223(c)(2)(A) of
the Internal Revenue Code (Code). Specifically, the relief
described in Notice 2020-15, 2020-14 IRB 559, applies
only with respect to plan years ending on or before De-
cember 31, 2024.
Notice 2023-37 also clarifies whether certain items and
services are treated as preventive care under section
223(c)(2)(C). Specifically, the preventive care safe harbor
as described in Notice 2004-23, 2004-15 IRB 725, does
not include screening (for example, testing) for COVID-19,
effective as of July 24, 2023. Notice 2023-37 also pro-
vides that items and services recommended with an “A” or
“B” rating by the United States Preventive Services Task
Force on or after March 23, 2010, are treated as preven-
tive care for purposes of section 223(c)(2)(C), regardless
of whether these items and services must be covered,
without cost sharing, under Public Health Service Act sec-
tion 2713.
For more information on Notice 2023-37, 2023-30
I.R.B. 359, see IRS.gov/irb/2023-30_IRB#NOT-2023-37.
Reminders
Telehealth and other remote care services. Public
Law 117-328, December 29, 2022, amended section 223
to provide that an HDHP may have a $0 deductible for tel-
ehealth and other remote care services for plan years be-
ginning before 2022; months beginning after March 2022
and before 2023; and plan years beginning after 2022 and
before 2025. Also, an “eligible individual” remains eligible
to make contributions to its Health Savings Account (HSA)
even if the individual has coverage outside of the HDHP
during these periods for telehealth and other remote care
services.
Health Flexible Spending Arrangement (FSA) contri-
bution and carryover for 2023. Revenue Procedure
2022-38, October 18, 2022, provides that for tax years be-
ginning in 2023, the dollar limitation under section 125(i)
on voluntary employee salary reductions for contributions
to health flexible spending arrangements is $3,050. If the
cafeteria plan permits the carryover of unused amounts,
the maximum carryover amount is $610.
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Insulin products. Public Law 117-169, August 16, 2022,
amended section 223 to provide that an HDHP may have
a $0 deductible for selected insulin products. The amend-
ment applies to plan years beginning after 2022.
Health FSA contribution and carryover for 2022. Rev-
enue Procedure 2021-45, November 10, 2021, provides
that for tax years beginning in 2022, the dollar limitation
under section 125(i) on voluntary employee salary reduc-
tions for contributions to health flexible spending arrange-
ments is $2,850. If the cafeteria plan permits the carryover
of unused amounts, the maximum carryover amount is
$570.
Home testing for COVID-19 and personal protective
equipment for preventing spread of COVID-19. News
Release IR-2021-181, September 10, 2021, reminds that
the cost of home testing for COVID-19 and the costs of
personal protective equipment, such as masks, hand sani-
tizer and sanitizing wipes, for the primary purpose of pre-
venting the spread of COVID-19 are eligible medical ex-
penses that can be paid or reimbursed under health
FSAs, HSAs, Health Reimbursement Arrangements
(HRAs), or Archer Medical Savings Accounts (MSAs).
Surprise billing for emergency services or air ambu-
lance services. Public Law 116-260, December 27,
2020, amended section 223 to provide that an HDHP may
provide benefits under federal and state anti-“surprise bill-
ing” laws with a $0 deductible. Also, an “eligible individual”
remains eligible to make contributions to its HSA even if
the individual receives anti-“surprise billing” benefits out-
side of the HDHP. The amendment applies to plan years
beginning after 2021.
Note. Anti-“surprise billing” laws generally protect indi-
viduals from “surprise billing” for items like emergency
medical services, some non-emergency medical services,
and air ambulance services.
Ask your insurance provider whether your HDHP
and any other coverage meet the requirements of
section 223.
Ask your HSA trustee whether the HSA and
trustee meet the requirements of section 223.
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security
Act (CARES Act, P.L. 116-136, March 27, 2020) made the
following changes.
HSA.
•
Over-the-counter medicine (whether or not prescri-
bed) and menstrual care products are treated as med-
ical care for amounts paid after 2019.
Archer MSA.
•
Over-the-counter medicine (whether or not prescri-
bed) and menstrual care products are treated as med-
ical care for amounts paid after 2019.
Health FSA.
•
Over-the-counter medicine (whether or not prescri-
bed) and menstrual care products are treated as med-
ical care for amounts incurred after 2019.
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HRA.
•
Over-the-counter medicine (whether or not prescri-
bed) and menstrual care products are treated as med-
ical care for amounts incurred after 2019.
The IRS will provide any further updates as soon as
they are available at IRS.gov/Coronavirus.
See also Notice 2020-29, 2020-22 I.R.B. 864, and
Notice 2020-33, 2020-22 I.R.B. 868, available at
IRS.gov/pub/irs-irbs/irb20-22.pdf, for additional
information.
Affordable Care Act guidance. Notice 2013-54,
2013-40 I.R.B. 287, available at IRS.gov/irb/2013-40_IRB/
ar11.html, as supplemented by Notice 2015-87, provides
guidance for employers on the application of the Afforda-
ble Care Act (ACA) to FSAs and Health Reimbursement
Arrangements (HRAs).
For more information on the ACA, go to IRS.gov/
Affordable-Care-Act.
Photographs of missing children. The Internal Reve-
nue Service is a proud partner with the National Center for
Missing & Exploited Children® (NCMEC). Photographs of
missing children selected by the Center may appear in
this publication on pages that would otherwise be blank.
You can help bring these children home by looking at the
photographs and calling 800-THE-LOST (800-843-5678)
if you recognize a child.
Introduction
Various programs are designed to give individuals tax ad-
vantages to offset health care costs. This publication ex-
plains the following programs.
•
Health Savings Accounts (HSAs).
•
Medical Savings Accounts (Archer MSAs and Medi-
care Advantage MSAs).
•
Health Flexible Spending Arrangements (FSAs).
•
Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs).
An HSA may receive contributions from an eligible indi-
vidual or any other person, including an employer or a
family member, on behalf of an eligible individual. Contri-
butions, other than employer contributions, are deductible
on the eligible individual’s return whether or not the indi-
vidual itemizes deductions. Employer contributions aren’t
included in income. Distributions from an HSA that are
used to pay qualified medical expenses aren’t taxed.
An Archer MSA may receive contributions from an eligi-
ble individual and the eligible individual’s employer, but
not both in the same year. Contributions by the individual
are deductible whether or not the individual itemizes de-
ductions. Employer contributions aren’t included in in-
come. Distributions from an Archer MSA that are used to
pay qualified medical expenses aren’t taxed.
A Medicare Advantage MSA is an Archer MSA desig-
nated by Medicare to be used solely to pay the qualified
medical expenses of the account holder who is enrolled in
Medicare. Contributions can be made only by Medicare.
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The contributions aren’t included in your income. Distribu-
tions from a Medicare Advantage MSA that are used to
pay qualified medical expenses aren’t taxed.
A health FSA may receive contributions from an eligible
individual. Employers may also contribute. Contributions
aren’t includible in income. Reimbursements from an FSA
that are used to pay qualified medical expenses aren’t
taxed.
An HRA must receive contributions from the employer
only. Employees may not contribute. Contributions aren’t
includible in income. Reimbursements from an HRA that
are used to pay qualified medical expenses aren’t taxed.
Comments and suggestions. We welcome your com-
ments about this publication and suggestions for future
editions.
You can send us comments through IRS.gov/
FormComments. Or, you can write to the Internal Revenue
Service, Tax Forms and Publications, 1111 Constitution
Ave. NW, IR-6526, Washington, DC 20224.
Although we can’t respond individually to each com-
ment received, we do appreciate your feedback and will
consider your comments and suggestions as we revise
our tax forms, instructions, and publications. Don’t send
tax questions, tax returns, or payments to the above ad-
dress.
Getting answers to your tax questions. If you have
a tax question not answered by this publication or the How
To Get Tax Help section at the end of this publication, go
to the IRS Interactive Tax Assistant page at IRS.gov/
Help/ITA where you can find topics by using the search
feature or viewing the categories listed.
Getting tax forms, instructions, and publications.
Go to IRS.gov/Forms to download current and prior-year
forms, instructions, and publications.
Ordering tax forms, instructions, and publications.
Go to IRS.gov/OrderForms to order current forms, instruc-
tions, and publications; call 800-829-3676 to order
prior-year forms and instructions. The IRS will process
your order for forms and publications as soon as possible.
Don’t resubmit requests you’ve already sent us. You can
get forms and publications faster online.
Health Savings Accounts
(HSAs)
An HSA is a tax-exempt trust or custodial account you set
up with a qualified HSA trustee to pay or reimburse certain
medical expenses you incur. You must be an eligible indi-
vidual to contribute to an HSA.
No permission or authorization from the IRS is neces-
sary to establish an HSA. You set up an HSA with a
trustee. A qualified HSA trustee can be a bank, an insur-
ance company, or anyone already approved by the IRS to
be a trustee of individual retirement arrangements (IRAs)
or Archer MSAs. The HSA can be established through a
trustee that is different from your health plan provider.
Your employer may already have some information on
HSA trustees in your area.
If you have an Archer MSA, you can generally roll
it over into an HSA tax free. See Rollovers, later.
What are the benefits of an HSA? You may enjoy sev-
eral benefits from having an HSA.
•
You can claim a tax deduction for contributions you, or
someone other than your employer, make to your HSA
even if you don’t itemize your deductions on Sched-
ule A (Form 1040).
•
Contributions to your HSA made by your employer (in-
cluding contributions made through a cafeteria plan)
may be excluded from your gross income.
•
The contributions remain in your account until you use
them.
•
The interest or other earnings on the assets in the ac-
count are tax free.
•
Distributions may be tax free if you pay qualified medi-
cal expenses. See Qualified medical expenses, later.
•
An HSA is “portable.” It stays with you if you change
employers or leave the work force.
Qualifying for an HSA Contribution
To be an eligible individual and qualify for an HSA contri-
bution, you must meet the following requirements.
•
You are covered under a high deductible health plan
(HDHP), described later, on the first day of the month.
•
You have no other health coverage except what is per-
mitted under Other health coverage, later.
•
You aren’t enrolled in Medicare.
•
You can’t be claimed as a dependent on someone
else’s 2023 tax return.
Under the last-month rule, you are considered to
be an eligible individual for the entire year if you
are an eligible individual on the first day of the last
month of your tax year (December 1 for most taxpayers)
and you meet certain other requirements.
If you meet these requirements, you are an eligible indi-
vidual even if your spouse has non-HDHP family cover-
age, provided your spouse’s coverage doesn’t cover you.
Also, you may be an eligible individual even if you re-
ceive hospital care or medical services under any law ad-
ministered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for a serv-
ice-connected disability.
If another taxpayer is entitled to claim you as a de-
pendent, you can’t claim a deduction for an HSA
contribution. This is true even if the other person
doesn’t receive an exemption deduction for you because
the exemption amount is zero for tax years 2018 through
2025.
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Each spouse who is an eligible individual who
wants an HSA must open a separate HSA. You
can’t have a joint HSA.
High deductible health plan (HDHP). An HDHP has:
•
A higher annual deductible than typical health plans,
and
•
A maximum limit on the sum of the annual deductible
and out-of-pocket medical expenses that you must
pay for covered expenses. Out-of-pocket expenses in-
clude copayments and other amounts, but don’t in-
clude premiums.
An HDHP may provide preventive care benefits without
a deductible or with a deductible less than the minimum
annual deductible. Preventive care includes, but isn’t limi-
ted to, the following.
1. Periodic health evaluations, including tests and diag-
nostic procedures ordered in connection with routine
examinations, such as annual physicals.
2. Routine prenatal and well-child care.
3. Child and adult immunizations.
4. Tobacco cessation programs.
5. Obesity weight-loss programs.
6. Screening services. This includes screening services
for the following.
a. Cancer.
b. Heart and vascular diseases.
c. Infectious diseases.
d. Mental health conditions.
e. Substance abuse.
f. Metabolic, nutritional, and endocrine conditions.
g. Musculoskeletal disorders.
h. Obstetric and gynecological conditions.
i. Pediatric conditions.
j.
Vision and hearing disorders.
For more information on screening services, see
Notice 2004-23, 2004-15 I.R.B. 725, available at
IRS.gov/irb/2004-15_IRB#NOT-2004-23.
For additional guidance on preventive care, see
Notice 2004-50, 2004-2 C.B. 196, Q&A 26 and 27,
available at IRS.gov/irb/2004-33_IRB#NOT-2004-50;
and Notice 2013-57, 2013-40 I.R.B. 293, available at
IRS.gov/pub/irs-drop/n-13-57.pdf. Preventive care
can also include coverage for treatment of individuals
with certain chronic conditions listed in the Appendix
of Notice 2019-45, 2019-32 I.R.B. 593, if such serv-
ices were received or items were incurred on or after
July 17, 2019. For information on preventive care for
chronic conditions, see Notice 2019-45, 2019-32
I.R.B. 593, available at IRS.gov/pub/irs-drop/
n-19-45.pdf.
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The following table shows the minimum annual deducti-
ble and maximum annual deductible and other
out-of-pocket expenses for HDHPs for 2023.
Self-only coverage Family coverage
Minimum annual
deductible $1,500 $3,000
Maximum annual
deductible and other
out-of-pocket
expenses* $7,500 $15,000
* This limit doesn’t apply to deductibles and expenses for out-of-network
services if the plan uses a network of providers. Instead, only deductibles
and out-of-pocket expenses for services within the network should be used
to figure whether the limit applies.
The following table shows the minimum annual
deductible and maximum annual deductible and
other out-of-pocket expenses for HDHPs for
2024.
Self-only coverage Family coverage
Minimum annual
deductible $1,600 $3,200
Maximum annual
deductible and other
out-of-pocket
expenses* $8,050 $16,100
* This limit doesn’t apply to deductibles and expenses for out-of-network
services if the plan uses a network of providers. Instead, only deductibles
and out-of-pocket expenses for services within the network should be used
to figure whether the limit applies.
Self-only HDHP coverage is HDHP coverage for only
an eligible individual. Family HDHP coverage is HDHP
coverage for an eligible individual and at least one other
individual (whether or not that individual is an eligible indi-
vidual).
Example. You, an eligible individual, and your de-
pendent child are covered under an “employee plus one”
HDHP offered by your employer. This is family HDHP cov-
erage.
Family plans that don’t meet the high deductible
rules. There are some family plans that have deductibles
for both the family as a whole and for individual family
members. Under these plans, if you meet the individual
deductible for one family member, you don’t have to meet
the higher annual deductible amount for the family. If ei-
ther the deductible for the family as a whole or the deduc-
tible for an individual family member is less than the mini-
mum annual deductible for family coverage, the plan
doesn’t qualify as an HDHP.
Other health coverage. If you (and your spouse, if
you have family coverage) have HDHP coverage, you
can’t generally have any other health coverage. However,
you can still be an eligible individual even if your spouse
has non-HDHP coverage, provided you aren’t covered by
that plan.
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You can have additional insurance that provides bene-
fits only for the following items.
•
Liabilities incurred under workers’ compensation laws,
tort liabilities, or liabilities related to ownership or use
of property.
•
A specific disease or illness.
•
A fixed amount per day (or other period) of hospitaliza-
tion.
You can also have coverage (whether provided through
insurance or otherwise) for the following items.
•
Accidents.
•
Disability.
•
Dental care.
•
Vision care.
•
Long-term care.
•
Telehealth and other remote care.
Plans in which substantially all of the coverage is
through the items listed earlier aren’t HDHPs. For
example, if your plan provides coverage substan-
tially all of which is for a specific disease or illness, the
plan isn’t an HDHP for purposes of establishing an HSA.
Prescription drug plans. You can have a prescrip-
tion drug plan, either as part of your HDHP or a separate
plan (or rider), and qualify as an eligible individual if the
plan doesn’t provide benefits until the minimum annual de-
ductible of the HDHP has been met. If you can receive
benefits before that deductible is met, you aren’t an eligi-
ble individual.
Other employee health plans. An employee cov-
ered by an HDHP and a health FSA or an HRA that pays
or reimburses qualified medical expenses can’t generally
make contributions to an HSA. FSAs and HRAs are dis-
cussed later.
However, an employee can make contributions to an
HSA while covered under an HDHP and one or more of
the following arrangements.
•
Limited-purpose health FSA or HRA. These arrange-
ments can pay or reimburse the items listed earlier un-
der Other health coverage except long-term care.
Also, these arrangements can pay or reimburse pre-
ventive care expenses because they can be paid with-
out having to satisfy the deductible.
•
Suspended HRA. Before the beginning of an HRA
coverage period, you can elect to suspend the HRA.
The HRA doesn’t pay or reimburse, at any time, the
medical expenses incurred during the suspension pe-
riod except preventive care and items listed under
Other health coverage, earlier. When the suspension
period ends, you are no longer eligible to make contri-
butions to an HSA.
•
Post-deductible health FSA or HRA. These arrange-
ments don’t pay or reimburse any medical expenses
incurred before the minimum annual deductible
amount is met. The deductible for these arrangements
CAUTION
!
doesn’t have to be the same as the deductible for the
HDHP, but benefits may not be provided before the
minimum annual deductible amount is met.
•
Retirement HRA. This arrangement pays or reimbur-
ses only those medical expenses incurred after retire-
ment. After retirement, you are no longer eligible to
make contributions to an HSA.
Health FSA—grace period. Coverage during a grace
period by a general purpose health FSA is allowed if the
balance in the health FSA at the end of its prior year plan
is zero. See Flexible Spending Arrangements (FSAs),
later.
Contributions to an HSA
Any eligible individual can contribute to an HSA. For an
employee’s HSA, the employee, the employee’s employer,
or both may contribute to the employee’s HSA in the same
year. For an HSA established by a self-employed (or un-
employed) individual, the individual can contribute. Family
members or any other person may also make contribu-
tions on behalf of an eligible individual.
Contributions to an HSA must be made in cash. Contri-
butions of stock or property aren’t allowed.
Limit on Contributions
The amount you or any other person can contribute to
your HSA depends on the type of HDHP coverage you
have, your age, the date you become an eligible individ-
ual, and the date you cease to be an eligible individual.
For 2023, if you have self-only HDHP coverage, you can
contribute up to $3,850. If you have family HDHP cover-
age, you can contribute up to $7,750.
For 2024, if you have self-only HDHP coverage,
you can contribute up to $4,150. If you have family
HDHP coverage, you can contribute up to $8,300.
If you are, or were considered (under the last-month
rule, discussed later), an eligible individual for the entire
year and didn’t change your type of coverage, you can
contribute the full amount based on your type of coverage.
However, if you weren’t an eligible individual for the entire
year or changed your coverage during the year, your con-
tribution limit is the greater of:
1. The limitation shown on the Line 3 Limitation Chart
and Worksheet in the Instructions for Form 8889,
Health Savings Accounts (HSAs); or
2. The maximum annual HSA contribution based on
your HDHP coverage (self-only or family) on the first
day of the last month of your tax year.
If you had family HDHP coverage on the first day
of the last month of your tax year, your contribu-
tion limit for 2023 is $7,750 even if you changed
coverage during the year.
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Last-month rule. Under the last-month rule, if you are an
eligible individual on the first day of the last month of your
tax year (December 1 for most taxpayers), you are consid-
ered an eligible individual for the entire year. You are trea-
ted as having the same HDHP coverage for the entire year
as you had on the first day of the last month if you didn’t
otherwise have coverage.
Testing period. If contributions were made to your
HSA based on you being an eligible individual for the en-
tire year under the last-month rule, you must remain an eli-
gible individual during the testing period. For the
last-month rule, the testing period begins with the last
month of your tax year and ends on the last day of the
12th month following that month (for example, December
1, 2023, through December 31, 2024).
If you fail to remain an eligible individual during the test-
ing period, for reasons other than death or becoming disa-
bled, you will have to include in income the total contribu-
tions made to your HSA that wouldn’t have been made
except for the last-month rule. You include this amount in
your income in the year in which you fail to be an eligible
individual. This amount is also subject to a 10% additional
tax. The income and additional tax are calculated on Form
8889, Part III.
Example 1. You, age 53, become an eligible individ-
ual on December 1, 2023. You have family HDHP cover-
age on that date. Under the last-month rule, you contribute
$7,750 to your HSA.
You fail to be an eligible individual in June 2024. Be-
cause you didn’t remain an eligible individual during the
testing period (December 1, 2023, through December 31,
2024), you must include in your 2024 income the contribu-
tions made in 2023 that wouldn’t have been made except
for the last-month rule. You use the worksheet in the Form
8889 instructions to determine this amount.
January ................ -0-
February ................ -0-
March .................. -0-
April ................... -0-
May ................... -0-
June .................. -0-
July ................... -0-
August ................. -0-
September .............. -0-
October ................ -0-
November ............... -0-
December ............... $7,750.00
Total for all months ........ $7,750.00
Limitation. Divide the total by 12 $645.83
You would include $7,104.17 ($7,750.00 − $645.83) in
your gross income on your 2024 tax return. Also, a 10%
additional tax applies to this amount.
Example 2. You, age 39, have self-only HDHP cover-
age on January 1, 2023. You change to family HDHP cov-
erage on November 1, 2023. Because you have family
HDHP coverage on December 1, 2023, you contribute
$7,750 for 2023.
You fail to be an eligible individual in March 2024. Be-
cause you didn’t remain an eligible individual during the
testing period (December 1, 2023, through December 31,
2024), you must include in income the contribution made
that wouldn’t have been made except for the last-month
rule. You use the worksheet in the Form 8889 instructions
to determine this amount.
January ................ $3,850.00
February ................ $3,850.00
March .................. $3,850.00
April ................... $3,850.00
May ................... $3,850.00
June .................. $3,850.00
July ................... $3,850.00
August ................. $3,850.00
September .............. $3,850.00
October ................ $3,850.00
November ............... $7,750.00
December ............... $7,750.00
Total for all months ........ $54,000.00
Limitation. Divide the total by 12 $4,500.00
You would include $3,250.00 ($7,750.00 − $4,500.00) in
your gross income on your 2024 tax return. Also, a 10%
additional tax applies to this amount.
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
$4,850 (the contribution limit for self-only coverage
($3,850) plus the additional contribution of $1,000). How-
ever, see Enrolled in Medicare, later.
If you have more than one HSA in 2023, your total
contributions to all the HSAs can’t be more than
the limits discussed earlier.
Reduction of contribution limit. You must reduce the
amount that can be contributed (including any additional
contribution) to your HSA by the amount of any contribu-
tion made to your Archer MSA (including employer contri-
butions) for the year. A special rule applies to married peo-
ple, discussed next, if each spouse has family coverage
under an HDHP.
Rules for married people. If either spouse has family
HDHP coverage, both spouses are treated as having fam-
ily HDHP coverage. If each spouse has family coverage
under a separate plan, the contribution limit for 2023 is
$7,750. You must reduce the limit on contributions, before
taking into account any additional contributions, by the
amount contributed to both spouses’ Archer MSAs. After
that reduction, the contribution limit is split equally be-
tween the spouses unless you agree on a different divi-
sion.
The rules for married people apply only if both
spouses are eligible individuals.
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If both spouses are 55 or older and not enrolled in Med-
icare, each spouse’s contribution limit is increased by the
additional contribution. If both spouses meet the age re-
quirement, the total contributions under family coverage
can’t be more than $9,750. Each spouse must make the
additional contribution to its own HSA.
Example. For 2023, you and your spouse are both eli-
gible individuals. You each have family coverage under
separate HDHPs. You are 58 years old and your spouse is
53. You and your spouse can split the family contribution
limit ($7,750) equally or you can agree on a different divi-
sion. If you split it equally, you can contribute $4,875 to an
HSA (one-half the maximum contribution for family cover-
age ($3,875) + $1,000 additional contribution) and your
spouse can contribute $3,875 to an HSA.
Employer contributions. You must reduce the
amount you, or any other person, can contribute to your
HSA by the amount of any contributions made by your em-
ployer that are excludable from your income. This includes
amounts contributed to your account by your employer
through a cafeteria plan.
Enrolled in Medicare. Beginning with the first month
you are enrolled in Medicare, your contribution limit is
zero. This rule applies to periods of retroactive Medicare
coverage. So, if you delayed applying for Medicare and
later your enrollment is backdated, any contributions to
your HSA made during the period of retroactive coverage
are considered excess. See Excess contributions, later.
Example. You turned age 65 in July 2023 and enrol-
led in Medicare. You had an HDHP with self-only coverage
and are eligible for an additional contribution of $1,000.
Your contribution limit is $2,425 ($4,850 × 6 ÷ 12).
Qualified HSA funding distribution. A qualified HSA
funding distribution may be made from your traditional IRA
or Roth IRA to your HSA. This distribution can’t be made
from an ongoing SEP IRA or SIMPLE IRA. For this pur-
pose, a SEP IRA or SIMPLE IRA is ongoing if an employer
contribution is made for the plan year ending with or within
the tax year in which the distribution would be made.
The maximum qualified HSA funding distribution de-
pends on the HDHP coverage (self-only or family) you
have on the first day of the month in which the contribution
is made and your age as of the end of the tax year. The
distribution must be made directly by the trustee of the
IRA to the trustee of the HSA. The distribution isn’t inclu-
ded in your income, isn’t deductible, and reduces the
amount that can be contributed to your HSA. The qualified
HSA funding distribution is shown on Form 8889 for the
year in which the distribution is made.
You can generally make only one qualified HSA funding
distribution during your lifetime. However, if you make a
distribution during a month when you have self-only HDHP
coverage, you can make another qualified HSA funding
distribution in a later month in that tax year if you change
to family HDHP coverage. The total qualified HSA funding
distribution can’t be more than the contribution limit for
family HDHP coverage plus any additional contribution to
which you are entitled.
Example. In 2023, you are an eligible individual, age
57, with self-only HDHP coverage. You can make a quali-
fied HSA funding distribution of $4,850 ($3,850 plus
$1,000 additional contribution).
Funding distribution—testing period. You must re-
main an eligible individual during the testing period. For a
qualified HSA funding distribution, the testing period be-
gins with the month in which the qualified HSA funding
distribution is contributed and ends on the last day of the
12th month following that month. For example, if a quali-
fied HSA funding distribution is contributed to your HSA
on August 10, 2023, your testing period begins in August
2023, and ends on August 31, 2024.
If you fail to remain an eligible individual during the test-
ing period, for reasons other than death or becoming disa-
bled, you will have to include in income the qualified HSA
funding distribution. You include this amount in income in
the year in which you fail to be an eligible individual. This
amount is also subject to a 10% additional tax. The in-
come and the additional tax are calculated on Form 8889,
Part III.
Each qualified HSA funding distribution allowed has its
own testing period. For example, you are an eligible indi-
vidual, age 45, with self-only HDHP coverage. On June
18, 2023, you make a qualified HSA funding distribution.
On July 27, 2023, you enroll in family HDHP coverage and
on August 17, 2023, you make a qualified HSA funding
distribution. Your testing period for the first distribution be-
gins in June 2023 and ends on June 30, 2024. Your test-
ing period for the second distribution begins in August
2023 and ends on August 31, 2024.
The testing period rule that applies under the
last-month rule (discussed earlier) doesn’t apply to
amounts contributed to an HSA through a qualified HSA
funding distribution. If you remain an eligible individual
during the entire funding distribution testing period, then
no amount of that distribution is included in income and
won’t be subject to the additional tax for failing to meet the
last-month rule testing period.
Rollovers
A rollover contribution isn’t included in your income, isn’t
deductible, and doesn’t reduce your contribution limit.
Archer MSAs and other HSAs. You can roll over
amounts from Archer MSAs and other HSAs into an HSA.
You don’t have to be an eligible individual to make a roll-
over contribution from your existing HSA to a new HSA.
Rollover contributions don’t need to be in cash. Rollovers
aren’t subject to the annual contribution limits.
You must roll over the amount within 60 days after the
date of receipt. You can make only one rollover contribu-
tion to an HSA during a 1-year period.
Note. If you instruct the trustee of your HSA to transfer
funds directly to the trustee of another of your HSAs, the
transfer isn’t considered a rollover. There is no limit on the
number of these transfers. Don’t include the amount trans-
ferred in income, deduct it as a contribution, or include it
as a distribution on Form 8889.
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When To Contribute
You can make contributions to your HSA for 2023 through
April 15, 2024. If you fail to be an eligible individual during
2023, you can still make contributions through April 15,
2024, for the months you were an eligible individual.
Your employer can make contributions to your HSA
from January 1, 2024, through April 15, 2024, that are al-
located to 2023. Your employer must notify you and the
trustee of your HSA that the contribution is for 2023. The
contribution will be reported on your 2024 Form W-2,
Wage and Tax Statement.
Reporting Contributions on Your Return
Contributions made by your employer aren’t included in
your income. Contributions to an employee’s account by
an employer using the amount of an employee’s salary re-
duction through a cafeteria plan are treated as employer
contributions. Generally, you can claim contributions you
made and contributions made by any other person, other
than your employer, on your behalf, as a deduction.
Contributions by a partnership to a bona fide partner’s
HSA aren’t contributions by an employer. The contribu-
tions are treated as a distribution of money and aren’t in-
cluded in the partner’s gross income. Contributions by a
partnership to a partner’s HSA for services rendered are
treated as guaranteed payments that are deductible by
the partnership and includible in the partner’s gross in-
come. In both situations, the partner can deduct the contri-
bution made to the partner’s HSA.
Contributions by an S corporation to a 2% share-
holder-employee’s HSA for services rendered are treated
as guaranteed payments and are deductible by the S cor-
poration and includible in the shareholder-employee’s
gross income. The shareholder-employee can deduct the
contribution made to the shareholder-employee’s HSA.
Form 8889. Report all contributions to your HSA on
Form 8889 and file it with your Form 1040, 1040-SR, or
1040-NR. You should include all contributions made for
2023, including those made from January 1, 2024,
through April 15, 2024, that are designated for 2023. Con-
tributions made by your employer and qualified HSA fund-
ing distributions are also shown on the form.
You should receive Form 5498-SA, HSA, Archer MSA,
or Medicare Advantage MSA Information, from the trustee
showing the amount contributed to your HSA during the
year. Your employer’s contributions will also be shown on
Form W-2, box 12, code W. Follow the Instructions for
Form 8889. Report your HSA deduction on Form 1040,
1040-SR, or 1040-NR.
Excess contributions. You will have excess contribu-
tions if the contributions to your HSA for the year are
greater than the limits discussed earlier. Excess contribu-
tions aren’t deductible. Excess contributions made by your
employer are included in your gross income. If the excess
contribution isn’t included in box 1 of Form W-2, you must
report the excess as “Other income” on your tax return.
Generally, you must pay a 6% excise tax on excess
contributions. See Form 5329, Additional Taxes on Quali-
fied Plans (Including IRAs) and Other Tax-Favored Ac-
counts, to figure the excise tax. The excise tax applies to
each tax year the excess contribution remains in the ac-
count.
You may withdraw some or all of the excess contribu-
tions and avoid paying the excise tax on the amount with-
drawn if you meet the following conditions.
•
You withdraw the excess contributions by the due
date, including extensions, of your tax return for the
year the contributions were made.
•
You withdraw any income earned on the withdrawn
contributions and include the earnings in “Other in-
come” on your tax return for the year you withdraw the
contributions and earnings.
If you fail to remain an eligible individual during
any of the testing periods, discussed earlier, the
amount you have to include in income isn’t an ex-
cess contribution. If you withdraw any of those amounts,
the amount is treated the same as any other distribution
from an HSA, discussed later.
Deducting an excess contribution in a later year. You
may be able to deduct excess contributions for previous
years that are still in your HSA. The excess contribution
you can deduct for the current year is the lesser of the fol-
lowing two amounts.
•
Your maximum HSA contribution limit for the year mi-
nus any amounts contributed to your HSA for the year.
•
The total excess contributions in your HSA at the be-
ginning of the year.
Amounts contributed for the year include contributions
by you, your employer, and any other person. They also
include any qualified HSA funding distribution made to
your HSA. Any excess contribution remaining at the end of
a tax year is subject to the excise tax. See Form 5329.
Distributions From an HSA
You will generally pay medical expenses during the year
without being reimbursed by your HDHP until you reach
the annual deductible for the plan. When you pay medical
expenses during the year that aren’t reimbursed by your
HDHP, you can ask the trustee of your HSA to send you a
distribution from your HSA.
You can receive tax-free distributions from your HSA to
pay or be reimbursed for qualified medical expenses you
incur after you establish the HSA. If you receive distribu-
tions for other reasons, the amount you withdraw will be
subject to income tax and may be subject to an additional
20% tax. You don’t have to make withdrawals from your
HSA each year.
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If you are no longer an eligible individual, you can
still receive tax-free distributions to pay or reim-
burse your qualified medical expenses.
Generally, a distribution is money you get from your
HSA. Your total distributions include amounts paid with a
debit card and amounts withdrawn from the HSA by other
individuals that you have designated. The trustee will re-
port any distribution to you and the IRS on Form 1099-SA,
Distributions From an HSA, Archer MSA, or Medicare Ad-
vantage MSA.
Qualified medical expenses. Qualified medical expen-
ses are those expenses that would generally qualify for
the medical and dental expenses deduction. These are
explained in Pub. 502, Medical and Dental Expenses.
Amounts paid after 2019 for over-the-counter medicine
(whether or not prescribed) and menstrual care products
are considered medical care and are considered a cov-
ered expense.
For HSA purposes, expenses incurred before you es-
tablish your HSA aren’t qualified medical expenses. State
law determines when an HSA is established. An HSA that
is funded by amounts rolled over from an Archer MSA or
another HSA is established on the date the prior account
was established.
If, under the last-month rule, you are considered to be
an eligible individual for the entire year for determining the
contribution amount, only those expenses incurred after
you actually establish your HSA are qualified medical ex-
penses.
Qualified medical expenses are those incurred by the
following persons.
1. You and your spouse.
2. All dependents you claim on your tax return.
3. Any person you could have claimed as a dependent
on your return except that:
a. The person filed a joint return;
b. The person had gross income of $4,700 or more;
or
c. You, or your spouse if filing jointly, could be
claimed as a dependent on someone else’s 2023
return.
For this purpose, a child of parents that are di-
vorced, separated, or living apart for the last 6
months of the calendar year is treated as the de-
pendent of both parents whether or not the custodial pa-
rent releases the claim to the child’s exemption.
You can’t deduct qualified medical expenses as
an itemized deduction on Schedule A (Form
1040) that are equal to the tax-free distribution
from your HSA.
Insurance premiums. You can’t treat insurance pre-
miums as qualified medical expenses unless the premi-
ums are for any of the following.
1. Long-term care insurance.
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CAUTION
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2. Health care continuation coverage (such as coverage
under COBRA).
3. Health care coverage while receiving unemployment
compensation under federal or state law.
4. Medicare and other health care coverage if you were
65 or older (other than premiums for a Medicare sup-
plemental policy, such as Medigap).
The premiums for long-term care insurance (item (1))
that you can treat as qualified medical expenses are sub-
ject to limits based on age and are adjusted annually. See
Limit on long-term care premiums you can deduct in the
Instructions for Schedule A (Form 1040).
Items (2) and (3) can be for your spouse or a depend-
ent meeting the requirement for that type of coverage. For
item (4), if you, the account beneficiary, aren’t 65 or older,
Medicare premiums for coverage of your spouse or a de-
pendent (who is 65 or older) aren’t generally qualified
medical expenses.
Health coverage tax credit. You can’t claim this
credit for premiums that you pay with a tax-free distribution
from your HSA. See Pub. 502 for more information on this
credit.
Deemed distributions from HSAs. The following situa-
tions result in deemed taxable distributions from your
HSA.
•
You engaged in any transaction prohibited by section
4975 with respect to any of your HSAs at any time in
2023. Your account ceases to be an HSA as of Janu-
ary 1, 2023, and you must include the fair market
value of all assets in the account as of January 1,
2023, on Form 8889.
•
You used any portion of any of your HSAs as security
for a loan at any time in 2023. You must include the fair
market value of the assets used as security for the
loan as income on Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR.
Examples of prohibited transactions include the direct
or indirect:
•
Sale, exchange, or leasing of property between you
and the HSA;
•
Lending of money between you and the HSA;
•
Furnishing goods, services, or facilities between you
and the HSA; and
•
Transfer to or use by you, or for your benefit, of any as-
sets of the HSA.
Any deemed distributions won’t be treated as used to
pay qualified medical expenses. These distributions are
included in your income and are subject to the additional
20% tax, discussed later.
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Recordkeeping. You must keep records suffi-
cient to show that:
•
The distributions were exclusively to pay or reimburse
qualified medical expenses,
•
The qualified medical expenses hadn’t been previ-
ously paid or reimbursed from another source, and
•
The medical expenses hadn’t been taken as an item-
ized deduction in any year.
Don’t send these records with your tax return. Keep them
with your tax records.
Reporting Distributions on Your Return
How you report your distributions depends on whether or
not you use the distribution for qualified medical expenses
(defined earlier).
•
If you use a distribution from your HSA for qualified
medical expenses, you don’t pay tax on the distribu-
tion but you have to report the distribution on Form
8889. However, the distribution of an excess contribu-
tion taken out after the due date, including extensions,
of your return is subject to tax even if used for qualified
medical expenses. Follow the instructions for the form
and file it with your Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR.
•
If you don’t use a distribution from your HSA for quali-
fied medical expenses, you must pay tax on the distri-
bution. Report the amount on Form 8889 and file it
with your Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR. You may
have to pay an additional 20% tax on your taxable dis-
tribution.
HSA administration and maintenance fees with-
drawn by the trustee aren’t reported as distribu-
tions from the HSA.
Additional tax. There is an additional 20% tax on the
part of your distributions not used for qualified medical ex-
penses. Figure the tax on Form 8889 and file it with your
Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR.
Exceptions. There is no additional tax on distribu-
tions made after the date you are disabled, reach age 65,
or die.
Balance in an HSA
An HSA is generally exempt from tax. You are permitted to
take a distribution from your HSA at any time; however,
only those amounts used exclusively to pay for qualified
medical expenses are tax free. Amounts that remain at the
end of the year are generally carried over to the next year
(see Excess contributions, earlier). Earnings on amounts
in an HSA aren’t included in your income while held in the
HSA.
RECORDS
TIP
Death of HSA Holder
You should choose a beneficiary when you set up your
HSA. What happens to that HSA when you die depends
on whom you designate as the beneficiary.
Spouse is the designated beneficiary. If your spouse
is the designated beneficiary of your HSA, it will be treated
as your spouse’s HSA after your death.
Spouse isn’t the designated beneficiary. If your
spouse isn’t the designated beneficiary of your HSA:
•
The account stops being an HSA, and
•
The fair market value of the HSA becomes taxable to
the beneficiary in the year in which you die.
If your estate is the beneficiary, the value is included on
your final income tax return. The amount taxable to a ben-
eficiary other than the estate is reduced by any qualified
medical expenses for the decedent that are paid by the
beneficiary within 1 year after the date of death.
Filing Form 8889
You must file Form 8889 with your Form 1040, 1040-SR,
or 1040-NR if you (or your spouse, if married filing jointly)
had any activity in your HSA during the year. You must file
the form even if only your employer or your spouse’s em-
ployer made contributions to the HSA.
If, during the tax year, you are the beneficiary of two or
more HSAs or you are a beneficiary of an HSA and you
have your own HSA, you must complete a separate Form
8889 for each HSA. Enter “statement” at the top of each
Form 8889 and complete the form as instructed. Next,
complete a controlling Form 8889 combining the amounts
shown on each of the statement Forms 8889. Attach the
statements to your tax return after the controlling Form
8889.
Employer Participation
This section contains the rules that employers must follow
if they decide to make HSAs available to their employees.
Unlike the previous discussions, “you” refers to the em-
ployer and not to the employee.
Health plan. If you want your employees to be able to
have HSAs, they must have an HDHP. You can provide no
additional coverage other than those exceptions listed
earlier under Other health coverage.
Contributions. You can make contributions to your em-
ployees’ HSAs. You deduct the contributions on your busi-
ness income tax return for the year in which you make the
contributions. If the contribution is allocated to the prior
year, you still deduct it in the year in which you made the
contribution.
For more information on employer contributions, see
Notice 2008-59, 2008-29 I.R.B. 123, questions 23 through
27, available at IRS.gov/irb/2008-29_IRB/ar11.html.
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Comparable contributions. If you decide to make con-
tributions, you must make comparable contributions to all
comparable participating employees’ HSAs. Your contri-
butions are comparable if they are either:
•
The same amount, or
•
The same percentage of the annual deductible limit
under the HDHP covering the employees.
The comparability rules don’t apply to contributions made
through a cafeteria plan.
Comparable participating employees. Comparable
participating employees:
•
Are covered by your HDHP and are eligible to estab-
lish an HSA,
•
Have the same category of coverage (either self-only
or family coverage), and
•
Have the same category of employment (part-time,
full-time, or former employees).
To meet the comparability requirements for eligible em-
ployees who have neither established an HSA by Decem-
ber 31 nor notified you that they have an HSA, you must
meet a notice requirement and a contribution requirement.
You will meet the notice requirement if by January 15 of
the following calendar year you provide a written notice to
all such employees. The notice must state that each eligi-
ble employee who, by the last day of February, establishes
an HSA and notifies you that the eligible employee has es-
tablished an HSA will receive a comparable contribution to
the HSA for the prior year. For a sample of the notice, see
Regulations section 54.4980G-4 A-14(c). You will meet
the contribution requirement for these employees if by
April 15, 2024, you contribute comparable amounts plus
reasonable interest to the employees’ HSAs for the prior
year.
Note. For purposes of making contributions to HSAs
of non-highly compensated employees, highly compensa-
ted employees may not be treated as comparable partici-
pating employees.
Excise tax. If you made contributions to your employees’
HSAs that weren’t comparable, you must pay an excise
tax of 35% of the amount you contributed.
Employment taxes. Amounts you contribute to your em-
ployees’ HSAs aren’t generally subject to employment
taxes. You must report the contributions in box 12 of the
Form W-2 you file for each employee. This includes the
amounts the employee elected to contribute through a caf-
eteria plan. Enter code W in box 12.
Medical Savings Accounts
(MSAs)
Archer MSAs were created to help self-employed individu-
als and employees of certain small employers meet the
medical care costs of the account holder, the account
holder’s spouse, or the account holder’s dependent(s).
After 2007, you can’t be treated as an eligible indi-
vidual for Archer MSA purposes unless:
1. You were an active participant for any tax year ending
before 2008, or
2. You became an active participant for a tax year ending
after 2007 by reason of coverage under a high deduc-
tible health plan (HDHP) of an Archer MSA participat-
ing employer.
A Medicare Advantage MSA is an Archer MSA desig-
nated by Medicare to be used solely to pay the qualified
medical expenses of the account holder who is eligible for
Medicare.
Archer MSAs
An Archer MSA is a tax-exempt trust or custodial account
that you set up with a U.S. financial institution (such as a
bank or an insurance company) in which you can save
money exclusively for future medical expenses.
What are the benefits of an Archer MSA? You may
enjoy several benefits from having an Archer MSA.
•
You can claim a tax deduction for contributions you
make even if you don’t itemize your deductions on
Schedule A (Form 1040) or Schedule A (Form
1040-NR).
•
The interest or other earnings on the assets in your
Archer MSA are tax free.
•
Distributions may be tax free if you pay qualified medi-
cal expenses. See Qualified medical expenses, later.
•
The contributions remain in your Archer MSA from
year to year until you use them.
•
An Archer MSA is “portable,” so it stays with you if you
change employers or leave the work force.
Qualifying for an Archer MSA
To qualify for an Archer MSA, you must be either of the fol-
lowing.
•
An employee (or the spouse of an employee) of a
small employer (defined later) that maintains a
self-only or family HDHP for you (or your spouse).
•
A self-employed person (or the spouse of a self-em-
ployed person) who maintains a self-only or family
HDHP.
You can have no other health or Medicare coverage ex-
cept what is permitted under Other health coverage, later.
You must be an eligible individual on the first day of a
given month to get an Archer MSA deduction for that
month.
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If another taxpayer is entitled to claim you as a de-
pendent, you can’t claim a deduction for an
Archer MSA contribution. This is true even if the
other person doesn’t receive an exemption deduction for
you because the exemption amount is zero for tax years
2018 through 2025.
Small employer. A small employer is generally an em-
ployer who had an average of 50 or fewer employees dur-
ing either of the last 2 calendar years. The definition of
small employer is modified for new employers and grow-
ing employers.
Growing employer. A small employer may begin
HDHPs and Archer MSAs for its employees and then grow
beyond 50 employees. The employer will continue to meet
the requirement for small employers if the employer:
•
Had 50 or fewer employees when the Archer MSAs
began,
•
Made a contribution that was excludable or deductible
as an Archer MSA for the last year the employer had
50 or fewer employees, and
•
Had an average of 200 or fewer employees each year
after 1996.
Changing employers. If you change employers, your
Archer MSA moves with you. However, you may not make
additional contributions unless you are otherwise eligible.
High deductible health plan (HDHP). To be eligible to
contribute to an Archer MSA, you must be covered under
an HDHP. An HDHP has:
•
A higher annual deductible than typical health plans,
and
•
A maximum limit on the annual out-of-pocket medical
expenses that you must pay for covered expenses.
Limits. The following table shows the limits for annual
deductibles and the maximum out-of-pocket expenses for
HDHPs for 2023.
Self-only coverage Family coverage
Minimum annual
deductible $2,650 $5,300
Maximum annual
deductible $3,950 $7,900
Maximum annual
out-of-pocket
expenses $5,300 $9,650
Family plans that don’t meet the high deductible
rules. There are some family plans that have deductibles
for both the family as a whole and for individual family
members. Under these plans, if you meet the individual
deductible for one family member, you don’t have to meet
CAUTION
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the higher annual deductible amount for the family. If ei-
ther the deductible for the family as a whole or the deduc-
tible for an individual family member is less than the mini-
mum annual deductible for family coverage, the plan
doesn’t qualify as an HDHP.
Other health coverage. If you (and your spouse, if you
have family coverage) have HDHP coverage, you can’t
generally have any other health coverage. However, you
can still be an eligible individual even if your spouse has
non-HDHP coverage, provided you aren’t covered by that
plan. However, you can have additional insurance that
provides benefits only for the following items.
•
Liabilities incurred under workers’ compensation laws,
torts, or ownership or use of property.
•
A specific disease or illness.
•
A fixed amount per day (or other period) of hospitaliza-
tion.
You can also have coverage (whether provided through in-
surance or otherwise) for the following items.
•
Accidents.
•
Disability.
•
Dental care.
•
Vision care.
•
Long-term care.
Contributions to an MSA
Contributions to an Archer MSA must be made in cash.
You can’t contribute stock or other property to an Archer
MSA.
Who can contribute to my Archer MSA? If you are an
employee, your employer may make contributions to your
Archer MSA. (You don’t pay tax on these contributions.) If
your employer doesn’t make contributions to your Archer
MSA, or you are self-employed, you can make your own
contributions to your Archer MSA. You and your employer
can’t make contributions to your Archer MSA in the same
year. You don’t have to make contributions to your Archer
MSA every year.
If your spouse is covered by your HDHP and an
excludable amount is contributed by your spou-
se’s employer to an Archer MSA belonging to your
spouse, you can’t make contributions to your own Archer
MSA that year.
Limits
There are two limits on the amount you or your employer
can contribute to your Archer MSA.
•
The annual deductible limit.
•
An income limit.
Annual deductible limit. You or your employer can con-
tribute up to 75% of the annual deductible of your HDHP
(65% if you have a self-only plan) to your Archer MSA. You
CAUTION
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must have the HDHP all year to contribute the full amount.
If you don’t qualify to contribute the full amount for the
year, determine your annual deductible limit by using the
Line 3 Limitation Chart and Worksheet in the Instructions
for Form 8853, Archer MSAs and Long-Term Care Insur-
ance Contracts.
Example 1. You have an HDHP for your family all year
in 2023. The annual deductible is $6,000. You can contrib-
ute up to $4,500 ($6,000 × 75% (0.75)) to your Archer
MSA for the year.
Example 2. You have an HDHP for your family for the
entire period of July through December 2023 (6 months).
The annual deductible is $6,000. You can contribute up to
$2,250 ($6,000 × 75% (0.75) ÷ 12 × 6) to your Archer
MSA for the year.
If you and your spouse each have a family plan,
you are treated as having family coverage with the
lower annual deductible of the two health plans.
The contribution limit is split equally between the two of
you unless you agree on a different division.
Income limit. You can’t contribute more than you earned
for the year from the employer through whom you have
your HDHP.
If you are self-employed, you can’t contribute more than
your net self-employment income. This is your income
from self-employment minus expenses (including the de-
ductible part of self-employment tax).
Example 1. You earned $25,000 from TR Company in
2023. Through TR, you had an HDHP for your family for
the entire year. The annual deductible was $6,000. You
can contribute up to $4,500 to your Archer MSA (75%
(0.75) × $6,000). You can contribute the full amount be-
cause you earned more than $4,500 at TR.
Example 2. You are self-employed. You had an HDHP
for your family for the entire year in 2023. The annual de-
ductible was $6,000. Based on the annual deductible, the
maximum contribution to your Archer MSA would have
been $4,500 (75% (0.75) × $6,000). However, after de-
ducting your business expenses, your net self-employ-
ment income is $2,500 for the year. Therefore, you are
limited to a contribution of $2,500.
Individuals enrolled in Medicare. Beginning with the
first month you are enrolled in Medicare, you can’t contrib-
ute to an Archer MSA. However, you may be eligible for a
Medicare Advantage MSA, discussed later.
When To Contribute
You can make contributions to your Archer MSA for 2023
through April 15, 2024.
Reporting Contributions on Your Return
Report all contributions to your Archer MSA on Form 8853
and file it with your Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR. You
should include all contributions you or your employer
TIP
made for 2023, including those made from January 1,
2024, through April 15, 2024, that are designated for
2023.
You should receive Form 5498-SA, HSA, Archer MSA,
or Medicare Advantage MSA Information, from the trustee
showing the amount you or your employer contributed dur-
ing the year. Your employer’s contributions should be
shown on Form W-2, box 12, code R. Follow the Instruc-
tions for Form 8853 and complete the Line 3 Limitation
Chart and Worksheet in the instructions. Report your
Archer MSA deduction on Form 1040, 1040-SR, or
1040-NR.
Excess contributions. You will have excess contribu-
tions if the contributions to your Archer MSA for the year
are greater than the limits discussed earlier. Excess con-
tributions aren’t deductible. Excess contributions made by
your employer are included in your gross income. If the ex-
cess contribution isn’t included in Form W-2, box 1, you
must report the excess as “Other income” on your tax re-
turn.
Generally, you must pay a 6% excise tax on excess
contributions. See Form 5329, Additional Taxes on Quali-
fied Plans (Including IRAs) and Other Tax-Favored Ac-
counts, to figure the excise tax. The excise tax applies to
each tax year the excess contribution remains in the ac-
count.
You may withdraw some or all of the excess contribu-
tions and avoid paying the excise tax on the amount with-
drawn if you meet the following conditions.
•
You withdraw the excess contributions by the due
date, including extensions, of your tax return.
•
You withdraw any income earned on the withdrawn
contributions and include the earnings in “Other in-
come” on your tax return for the year you withdraw the
contributions and earnings.
Deducting an excess contribution in a later year. You
may be able to deduct excess contributions for previous
years that are still in your Archer MSA. The excess contri-
bution you can deduct in the current year is the lesser of
the following two amounts.
•
Your maximum Archer MSA contribution limit for the
year minus any amounts contributed to your Archer
MSA for the year.
•
The total excess contributions in your Archer MSA at
the beginning of the year.
Any excess contributions remaining at the end of a tax
year are subject to the excise tax. See Form 5329.
Distributions From an MSA
You will generally pay medical expenses during the year
without being reimbursed by your HDHP until you reach
the annual deductible for the plan. When you pay medical
expenses during the year that aren’t reimbursed by your
HDHP, you can ask the trustee of your Archer MSA to
send you a distribution from your Archer MSA.
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You can receive tax-free distributions from your Archer
MSA to pay for qualified medical expenses (discussed
later). If you receive distributions for other reasons, the
amount will be subject to income tax and may be subject
to an additional 20% tax as well. You don’t have to make
withdrawals from your Archer MSA each year.
If you no longer qualify to make contributions, you
can still receive tax-free distributions to pay or re-
imburse your qualified medical expenses.
A distribution is money you get from your Archer MSA.
The trustee will report any distribution to you and the IRS
on Form 1099-SA, Distributions From an HSA, Archer
MSA, or Medicare Advantage MSA.
Qualified medical expenses. Qualified medical expen-
ses are those expenses that would generally qualify for
the medical and dental expenses deduction. These are
explained in Pub. 502.
Amounts paid after 2019 for over-the-counter medicine
(whether or not prescribed) and menstrual care products
are considered medical care and are considered a cov-
ered expense.
Qualified medical expenses are those incurred by the
following persons.
1. You and your spouse.
2. All dependents you claim on your tax return.
3. Any person you could have claimed as a dependent
on your return except that:
a. The person filed a joint return;
b. The person had gross income of $4,700 or more;
or
c. You, or your spouse if filing jointly, could be
claimed as a dependent on someone else’s 2023
return.
For this purpose, a child of parents that are di-
vorced, separated, or living apart for the last 6
months of the calendar year is treated as the de-
pendent of both parents whether or not the custodial pa-
rent releases the claim to the child’s exemption.
You can’t deduct qualified medical expenses as
an itemized deduction on Schedule A (Form
1040) that are equal to the tax-free distribution
from your Archer MSA.
Special rules for insurance premiums. Generally,
you can’t treat insurance premiums as qualified medical
expenses for Archer MSAs. You can, however, treat premi-
ums for long-term care coverage, health care coverage
while you receive unemployment benefits, or health care
continuation coverage required under any federal law as
qualified medical expenses for Archer MSAs.
Health coverage tax credit. You can’t claim this
credit for premiums that you pay with a tax-free distribution
from your Archer MSA. See Pub. 502 for information on
this credit.
TIP
TIP
CAUTION
!
Deemed distributions from Archer MSAs. The follow-
ing situations result in deemed taxable distributions from
your Archer MSA.
•
You engaged in any transaction prohibited by section
4975 with respect to any of your Archer MSAs at any
time in 2023. Your account ceases to be an Archer
MSA as of January 1, 2023, and you must include the
fair market value of all assets in the account as of Jan-
uary 1, 2023, on Form 8853.
•
You used any portion of any of your Archer MSAs as
security for a loan at any time in 2023. You must in-
clude the fair market value of the assets used as se-
curity for the loan as income on Form 1040, 1040-SR,
or 1040-NR.
Examples of prohibited transactions include the direct
or indirect:
•
Sale, exchange, or leasing of property between you
and the Archer MSA;
•
Lending of money between you and the Archer MSA;
•
Furnishing goods, services, or facilities between you
and the Archer MSA; and
•
Transfer to or use by you, or for your benefit, of any as-
sets of the Archer MSA.
Any deemed distribution won’t be treated as used to
pay qualified medical expenses. These distributions are
included in your income and are subject to the additional
20% tax, discussed later.
Recordkeeping. You must keep records suffi-
cient to show that:
•
The distributions were exclusively to pay or reimburse
qualified medical expenses,
•
The qualified medical expenses hadn’t been previ-
ously paid or reimbursed from another source, and
•
The medical expenses hadn’t been taken as an item-
ized deduction in any year.
Don’t send these records with your tax return. Keep them
with your tax records.
Reporting Distributions on Your Return
How you report your distributions depends on whether or
not you use the distribution for qualified medical expen-
ses, defined earlier.
•
If you use a distribution from your Archer MSA for
qualified medical expenses, you don’t pay tax on the
distribution but you have to report the distribution on
Form 8853. Follow the instructions for the form and file
it with your Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR.
•
If you don’t use a distribution from your Archer MSA
for qualified medical expenses, you must pay tax on
the distribution. Report the amount on Form 8853 and
file it with your Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR. You
may have to pay an additional 20% tax, discussed
later, on your taxable distribution.
RECORDS
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If an amount (other than a rollover) is contributed
to your Archer MSA this year (by you or your em-
ployer), you must also report and pay tax on a dis-
tribution you receive from your Archer MSA this year that
is used to pay medical expenses of someone who isn’t
covered by an HDHP, or is also covered by another health
plan that isn’t an HDHP, at the time the expenses are in-
curred.
Rollovers. Generally, any distribution from an Archer
MSA that you roll over into another Archer MSA or an HSA
isn’t taxable if you complete the rollover within 60 days. An
Archer MSA and an HSA can receive only one rollover
contribution during a 1-year period. See the Form 8853 in-
structions for more information.
Additional tax. There is a 20% additional tax on the part
of your distributions not used for qualified medical expen-
ses. Figure the tax on Form 8853 and file it with your Form
1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR. Report the additional tax in
the total on Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR.
Exceptions. There is no additional tax on distribu-
tions made after the date you are disabled, reach age 65,
or die.
Balance in an Archer MSA
An Archer MSA is generally exempt from tax. You are per-
mitted to take a distribution from your Archer MSA at any
time; however, only those amounts used exclusively to pay
for qualified medical expenses are tax free. Amounts that
remain at the end of the year are generally carried over to
the next year (see Excess contributions, earlier). Earnings
on amounts in an Archer MSA aren’t included in your in-
come while held in the Archer MSA.
Death of the Archer MSA Holder
You should choose a beneficiary when you set up your
Archer MSA. What happens to that Archer MSA when you
die depends on whom you designate as the beneficiary.
Spouse is the designated beneficiary. If your spouse
is the designated beneficiary of your Archer MSA, it will be
treated as your spouse’s Archer MSA after your death.
Spouse isn’t the designated beneficiary. If your
spouse isn’t the designated beneficiary of your Archer
MSA:
•
The account stops being an Archer MSA, and
•
The fair market value of the Archer MSA becomes tax-
able to the beneficiary in the year in which you die.
If your estate is the beneficiary, the fair market value of
the Archer MSA will be included on your final income tax
return.
The amount taxable to a beneficiary other than
the estate is reduced by any qualified medical ex-
penses for the decedent that are paid by the ben-
eficiary within 1 year after the date of death.
CAUTION
!
TIP
Filing Form 8853
You must file Form 8853 with your Form 1040, 1040-SR,
or 1040-NR if you (or your spouse, if married filing a joint
return) had any activity in your Archer MSA during the
year. You must file the form even if only your employer or
your spouse’s employer made contributions to the Archer
MSA.
If, during the tax year, you are the beneficiary of two or
more Archer MSAs or you are a beneficiary of an Archer
MSA and you have your own Archer MSA, you must com-
plete a separate Form 8853 for each MSA. Enter “state-
ment” at the top of each Form 8853 and complete the form
as instructed. Next, complete a controlling Form 8853
combining the amounts shown on each of the statement
Forms 8853. Attach the statements to your tax return after
the controlling Form 8853.
Employer Participation
This section contains the rules that employers must follow
if they decide to make Archer MSAs available to their em-
ployees. Unlike the previous discussions, “you” refers to
the employer and not to the employee.
Health plan. If you want your employees to be able to
have Archer MSAs, you must make an HDHP available to
them. You can provide no additional coverage other than
those exceptions listed earlier under Other health cover-
age.
Contributions. You can make contributions to your em-
ployees’ Archer MSAs and deduct them for the year in
which you make them.
Comparable contributions. If you decide to make con-
tributions, you must make comparable contributions to all
comparable participating employees’ Archer MSAs. Your
contributions are comparable if they are either:
•
The same amount, or
•
The same percentage of the annual deductible limit
under the HDHP covering the employees.
Comparable participating employees. Comparable
participating employees:
•
Are covered by your HDHP and are eligible to estab-
lish an Archer MSA,
•
Have the same category of coverage (either self-only
or family coverage), and
•
Have the same category of employment (either
part-time or full-time).
Excise tax. If you made contributions to your employees’
Archer MSAs that weren’t comparable, you must pay an
excise tax of 35% of the amount you contributed.
Employment taxes. Amounts you contribute to your em-
ployees’ Archer MSAs aren’t generally subject to employ-
ment taxes. You must report the contributions on Form
W-2, box 12, code R.
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Medicare Advantage MSAs
A Medicare Advantage MSA is an Archer MSA designated
by Medicare to be used solely to pay the qualified medical
expenses of the account holder. To be eligible for a Medi-
care Advantage MSA, you must be enrolled in Medicare
and have an HDHP that meets the Medicare guidelines.
A Medicare Advantage MSA is a tax-exempt trust or
custodial savings account that you set up with a financial
institution (such as a bank or an insurance company) in
which the Medicare program can deposit money for quali-
fied medical expenses. The money in your account isn’t
taxed if it is used for qualified medical expenses, and it
may earn interest or dividends.
An HDHP is a special health insurance policy that has a
high deductible. You choose the policy you want to use as
part of your Medicare Advantage MSA plan. However, the
policy must be approved by the Medicare program.
Medicare Advantage MSAs are administered through
the federal Medicare program. You can get information by
calling 800-MEDICARE (800-633-4227) or through the In-
ternet at Medicare.gov.
Note. You must file Form 8853, Archer MSAs and
Long-Term Care Insurance Contracts, with your tax return
if you have a Medicare Advantage MSA.
Flexible Spending
Arrangements (FSAs)
A health FSA allows employees to be reimbursed for med-
ical expenses. FSAs are usually funded through voluntary
salary reduction agreements with your employer. No em-
ployment or federal income taxes are deducted from your
contribution. The employer may also contribute.
Note. Unlike HSAs or Archer MSAs, which must be
reported on Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR, there are
no reporting requirements for FSAs on your income tax re-
turn.
For information on the interaction between a health
FSA and an HSA, see Other employee health plans under
Qualifying for an HSA, earlier.
What are the benefits of an FSA? You may enjoy sev-
eral benefits from having an FSA.
•
Contributions made by your employer can be exclu-
ded from your gross income.
•
No employment or federal income taxes are deducted
from the contributions.
•
Reimbursements may be tax free if you pay qualified
medical expenses. See Qualified medical expenses,
later.
•
You can use an FSA to pay qualified medical expen-
ses even if you haven’t yet placed the funds in the ac-
count.
Qualifying for an FSA
Health FSAs are employer-established benefit plans.
These may be offered in conjunction with other em-
ployer-provided benefits as part of a cafeteria plan. Em-
ployers have flexibility to offer various combinations of
benefits in designing their plans.
Self-employed persons aren’t eligible for FSAs.
Certain limitations may apply if you are a highly
compensated participant or a key employee.
Contributions to an FSA
You contribute to your FSA by electing an amount to be
voluntarily withheld from your pay by your employer. This
is sometimes called a “salary reduction agreement.” The
employer may also contribute to your FSA if specified in
the plan.
You don’t pay federal income tax or employment taxes
on the salary you contribute or the amounts your employer
contributes to the FSA. However, contributions made by
your employer to provide coverage for long-term care in-
surance must be included in income.
When To Contribute
At the beginning of the plan year, you must designate how
much you want to contribute. Then, your employer will de-
duct amounts periodically (generally, every payday) in ac-
cordance with your annual election. You can change or re-
voke your election only if specifically allowed by law and
the plan.
Amount of Contribution
For 2023, salary reduction contributions to a health FSA
can’t be more than $3,050 a year (or any lower amount set
by the plan). This amount is indexed for inflation and may
change from year to year.
Generally, contributed amounts that aren’t spent by the
end of the plan year are forfeited. However, see Balance in
an FSA, later, for possible exceptions. For this reason, it is
important to base your contribution on an estimate of the
qualifying expenses you will have during the year.
Distributions From an FSA
Generally, distributions from a health FSA must be paid
only to reimburse you for qualified medical expenses you
incurred during the period of coverage. You must be able
to receive the maximum amount of reimbursement (the
amount you have elected to contribute for the year) at any
time during the coverage period, regardless of the amount
you have actually contributed. The maximum amount you
can receive tax free is the total amount you elected to con-
tribute to the health FSA for the year.
CAUTION
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You must provide the health FSA with a written state-
ment from an independent third party stating that the med-
ical expense has been incurred and the amount of the ex-
pense. You must also provide a written statement that the
expense hasn’t been paid or reimbursed under any other
health plan coverage. The FSA can’t make advance reim-
bursements of future or projected expenses.
Debit cards, credit cards, and stored value cards given
to you by your employer can be used to reimburse partici-
pants in a health FSA. If the use of these cards meets cer-
tain substantiation methods, you may not have to provide
additional information to the health FSA. For information
on these methods, see Revenue Ruling 2003-43, 2003-21
I.R.B. 935, available at IRS.gov/pub/irs-drop/rr-03-43.pdf;
Notice 2006-69, 2006-31 I.R.B. 107, available at
IRS.gov/irb/2006-31_IRB/ar10.html; and Notice 2007-2,
2007-2 I.R.B. 254, available at IRS.gov/irb/2007-02_IRB/
ar09.html.
Qualified medical expenses. Qualified medical expen-
ses are those specified in the plan that would generally
qualify for the medical and dental expenses deduction.
These are explained in Pub. 502.
Expenses incurred after December 31, 2019, for
over-the-counter medicine (whether or not prescribed)
and menstrual care products are considered medical care
and are considered a covered expense.
Qualified medical expenses are those incurred by the
following persons.
1. You and your spouse.
2. All dependents you claim on your tax return.
3. Any person you could have claimed as a dependent
on your return except that:
a. The person filed a joint return;
b. The person had gross income of $4,700 or more;
or
c. You, or your spouse if filing jointly, could be
claimed as a dependent on someone else’s 2023
return.
4. Your child under age 27 at the end of your tax year.
You can’t receive distributions from your FSA for the fol-
lowing expenses.
•
Amounts paid for health insurance premiums.
•
Amounts paid for long-term care coverage or expen-
ses.
•
Amounts that are covered under another health plan.
If you are covered under both a health FSA and an HRA,
see Notice 2002-45, Part V, 2002-28 I.R.B. 93, available at
IRS.gov/pub/irs-drop/n-02-45.pdf.
You can’t deduct qualified medical expenses as
an itemized deduction on Schedule A (Form
1040) that are equal to the reimbursement you re-
ceive from the FSA.
CAUTION
!
Qualified reservist distribution. A special rule allows
amounts in a health FSA to be distributed to reservists or-
dered or called to active duty. This rule applies to distribu-
tions made after June 17, 2008, if the plan has been
amended to allow these distributions. Your employer must
report the distribution as wages on your Form W-2 for the
year in which the distribution is made. The distribution is
subject to employment taxes and is included in your gross
income.
A qualified reservist distribution is allowed if you were
(because you were in the reserves) ordered or called to
active duty for a period of more than 179 days or for an in-
definite period, and the distribution is made during the pe-
riod beginning on the date of the order or call and ending
on the last date that reimbursements could otherwise be
made for the plan year that includes the date of the order
or call.
Balance in an FSA
FSAs are generally "use-it-or-lose-it" plans. This means
that amounts in the account at the end of the plan year
can't generally be carried over to the next year. However,
the plan can provide for either a grace period or a carry-
over.
The plan can provide for a grace period of up to 2 1/2
months after the end of the plan year. If there is a grace
period, any qualified medical expenses incurred in that
period can be paid from any amounts left in the account at
the end of the previous year. Your employer isn't permitted
to refund any part of the balance to you. See Qualified re-
servist distributions, earlier.
Plans may allow up to $610 of unused amounts remain-
ing at the end of the plan year to be paid or reimbursed for
qualified medical expenses you incur in the following plan
year. The plan may specify a lower dollar amount as the
maximum carryover amount. If the plan permits a carry-
over, any unused amounts in excess of the carryover
amount are forfeited. The carryover doesn't affect the
maximum amount of salary reduction contributions that
you are permitted to make.
A plan may allow either the grace period or a carryover,
but it may not allow both.
Employer Participation
For the health FSA to maintain tax-qualified status, em-
ployers must comply with certain requirements that apply
to cafeteria plans. For example, there are restrictions for
plans that cover highly compensated employees and key
employees. The plans must also comply with rules appli-
cable to other accident and health plans. Pub. 15-B, Em-
ployer’s Tax Guide to Fringe Benefits, explains these re-
quirements.
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Health Reimbursement
Arrangements (HRAs)
An HRA must be funded solely by an employer. The con-
tribution can’t be paid through a voluntary salary reduction
agreement on the part of an employee. Employees are re-
imbursed tax free for qualified medical expenses up to a
maximum dollar amount for a coverage period. An HRA
may be offered with other health plans, including FSAs.
Note. Unlike HSAs or Archer MSAs, which must be
reported on Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR, there are
no reporting requirements for HRAs on your income tax
return.
For information on the interaction between an HRA and
an HSA, see Other employee health plans under Qualify-
ing for an HSA, earlier.
What are the benefits of an HRA? You may enjoy sev-
eral benefits from having an HRA.
•
Contributions made by your employer can be exclu-
ded from your gross income.
•
Reimbursements may be tax free if you pay qualified
medical expenses. See Qualified medical expenses,
later.
•
Any unused amounts in the HRA can be carried for-
ward for reimbursements in later years.
Qualifying for an HRA
HRAs are employer-established benefit plans. These may
be offered in conjunction with other employer-provided
health benefits. Employers have complete flexibility to of-
fer various combinations of benefits in designing their
plans.
Self-employed persons aren’t eligible for HRAs.
Certain limitations may apply if you are a highly
compensated participant.
Contributions to an HRA
HRAs are funded solely through employer contributions
and may not be funded through employee salary reduc-
tions under a cafeteria plan. These contributions aren’t in-
cluded in the employee’s income. You don’t pay federal in-
come tax or employment taxes on amounts your employer
contributes to the HRA.
Amount of Contribution
There is no limit on the amount of money your employer
can contribute to the accounts. Additionally, the maximum
reimbursement amount credited under the HRA in the fu-
ture may be increased or decreased by amounts not previ-
ously used. See Balance in an HRA, later.
CAUTION
!
Distributions From an HRA
Generally, distributions from an HRA must be paid to reim-
burse you for qualified medical expenses you have incur-
red. The expense must have been incurred on or after the
date you are enrolled in the HRA.
Debit cards, credit cards, and stored value cards given
to you by your employer can be used to reimburse partici-
pants in an HRA. If the use of these cards meets certain
substantiation methods, you may not have to provide addi-
tional information to the HRA. For information on these
methods, see Revenue Ruling 2003-43, 2003-21 I.R.B.
935, available at IRS.gov/pub/irs-drop/rr-03-43.pdf; Notice
2006-69, 2006-31 I.R.B. 107, available at IRS.gov/irb/
2006-31_IRB/ar10.html; and Notice 2007-2, 2007-2 I.R.B.
254, available at IRS.gov/irb/2007-02_IRB/ar09.html.
If any distribution is, or can be, made for other than the
reimbursement of qualified medical expenses, any distri-
bution (including reimbursement of qualified medical ex-
penses) made in the current tax year is included in gross
income. For example, if an unused reimbursement is pay-
able to you in cash at the end of the year, or upon termina-
tion of your employment, any distribution from the HRA is
included in your income. This also applies if any unused
amount upon your death is payable in cash to your benefi-
ciary or estate, or if the HRA provides an option for you to
transfer any unused reimbursement at the end of the year
to a retirement plan.
If the plan permits amounts to be paid as medical bene-
fits to a designated beneficiary (other than the employee’s
spouse or dependents), any distribution from the HRA is
included in income.
Reimbursements under an HRA can be made to the fol-
lowing persons.
1. Current and former employees.
2. Spouses and dependents of those employees.
3. Any person you could have claimed as a dependent
on your return except that:
a. The person filed a joint return;
b. The person had gross income of $4,700 or more;
or
c. You, or your spouse if filing jointly, could be
claimed as a dependent on someone else’s 2023
return.
4. Your child under age 27 at the end of your tax year.
5. Spouses and dependents of deceased employees.
For this purpose, a child of parents that are di-
vorced, separated, or living apart for the last 6
months of the calendar year is treated as the de-
pendent of both parents whether or not the custodial pa-
rent releases the claim to the child’s exemption.
Qualified medical expenses. Qualified medical expen-
ses are those specified in the plan that would generally
TIP
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qualify for the medical and dental expenses deduction.
These are explained in Pub. 502.
Expenses incurred after December 31, 2019, for
over-the-counter medicine (whether or nor prescribed)
and menstrual care products are considered medical care
and are considered a covered expense.
Qualified medical expenses from your HRA include the
following.
•
Amounts paid for health insurance premiums.
•
Amounts paid for long-term care coverage.
•
Amounts that aren’t covered under another health
plan.
If you are covered under both an HRA and a health FSA,
see Notice 2002-45, Part V, which is available at
IRS.gov/pub/irs-drop/n-02-45.pdf.
You can’t deduct qualified medical expenses as
an itemized deduction on Schedule A (Form
1040) that are equal to the distribution from the
HRA.
Balance in an HRA
Some, but not all, HRAs permit amounts that remain at the
end of the year to be carried to the next year. Your em-
ployer isn’t permitted to refund any part of the balance to
you. These amounts may never be used for anything but
reimbursements for qualified medical expenses.
Employer Participation
For an HRA to maintain tax-qualified status, employers
must comply with certain requirements that apply to other
accident and health plans. Pub. 15-B, Employer’s Tax
Guide to Fringe Benefits, explains these requirements.
How To Get Tax Help
If you have questions about a tax issue; need help prepar-
ing your tax return; or want to download free publications,
forms, or instructions, go to IRS.gov to find resources that
can help you right away.
Preparing and filing your tax return. After receiving all
your wage and earnings statements (Forms W-2, W-2G,
1099-R, 1099-MISC, 1099-NEC, etc.); unemployment
compensation statements (by mail or in a digital format) or
other government payment statements (Form 1099-G);
and interest, dividend, and retirement statements from
banks and investment firms (Forms 1099), you have sev-
eral options to choose from to prepare and file your tax re-
turn. You can prepare the tax return yourself, see if you
qualify for free tax preparation, or hire a tax professional to
prepare your return.
CAUTION
!
Free options for tax preparation. Your options for pre-
paring and filing your return online or in your local com-
munity, if you qualify, include the following.
•
Free File. This program lets you prepare and file your
federal individual income tax return for free using soft-
ware or Free File Fillable Forms. However, state tax
preparation may not be available through Free File. Go
to IRS.gov/FreeFile to see if you qualify for free online
federal tax preparation, e-filing, and direct deposit or
payment options.
•
VITA. The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA)
program offers free tax help to people with
low-to-moderate incomes, persons with disabilities,
and limited-English-speaking taxpayers who need
help preparing their own tax returns. Go to IRS.gov/
VITA, download the free IRS2Go app, or call
800-906-9887 for information on free tax return prepa-
ration.
•
TCE. The Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) pro-
gram offers free tax help for all taxpayers, particularly
those who are 60 years of age and older. TCE volun-
teers specialize in answering questions about pen-
sions and retirement-related issues unique to seniors.
Go to IRS.gov/TCE or download the free IRS2Go app
for information on free tax return preparation.
•
MilTax. Members of the U.S. Armed Forces and quali-
fied veterans may use MilTax, a free tax service of-
fered by the Department of Defense through Military
OneSource. For more information, go to
MilitaryOneSource (MilitaryOneSource.mil/MilTax).
Also, the IRS offers Free Fillable Forms, which can
be completed online and then e-filed regardless of in-
come.
Using online tools to help prepare your return. Go to
IRS.gov/Tools for the following.
•
The Earned Income Tax Credit Assistant (IRS.gov/
EITCAssistant) determines if you’re eligible for the
earned income credit (EIC).
•
The Online EIN Application (IRS.gov/EIN) helps you
get an employer identification number (EIN) at no
cost.
•
The Tax Withholding Estimator (IRS.gov/W4App)
makes it easier for you to estimate the federal income
tax you want your employer to withhold from your pay-
check. This is tax withholding. See how your withhold-
ing affects your refund, take-home pay, or tax due.
•
The First-Time Homebuyer Credit Account Look-up
(IRS.gov/HomeBuyer) tool provides information on
your repayments and account balance.
•
The Sales Tax Deduction Calculator (IRS.gov/
SalesTax) figures the amount you can claim if you
itemize deductions on Schedule A (Form 1040).
Getting answers to your tax questions. On
IRS.gov, you can get up-to-date information on
current events and changes in tax law.
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•
IRS.gov/Help: A variety of tools to help you get an-
swers to some of the most common tax questions.
•
IRS.gov/ITA: The Interactive Tax Assistant, a tool that
will ask you questions and, based on your input, pro-
vide answers on a number of tax topics.
•
IRS.gov/Forms: Find forms, instructions, and publica-
tions. You will find details on the most recent tax
changes and interactive links to help you find answers
to your questions.
•
You may also be able to access tax information in your
e-filing software.
Need someone to prepare your tax return? There are
various types of tax return preparers, including enrolled
agents, certified public accountants (CPAs), accountants,
and many others who don’t have professional credentials.
If you choose to have someone prepare your tax return,
choose that preparer wisely. A paid tax preparer is:
•
Primarily responsible for the overall substantive accu-
racy of your return,
•
Required to sign the return, and
•
Required to include their preparer tax identification
number (PTIN).
Although the tax preparer always signs the return,
you're ultimately responsible for providing all the
information required for the preparer to accurately
prepare your return and for the accuracy of every item re-
ported on the return. Anyone paid to prepare tax returns
for others should have a thorough understanding of tax
matters. For more information on how to choose a tax pre-
parer, go to Tips for Choosing a Tax Preparer on IRS.gov.
Employers can register to use Business Services On-
line. The Social Security Administration (SSA) offers on-
line service at SSA.gov/employer for fast, free, and secure
W-2 filing options to CPAs, accountants, enrolled agents,
and individuals who process Form W-2, Wage and Tax
Statement, and Form W-2c, Corrected Wage and Tax
Statement.
IRS social media. Go to IRS.gov/SocialMedia to see the
various social media tools the IRS uses to share the latest
information on tax changes, scam alerts, initiatives, prod-
ucts, and services. At the IRS, privacy and security are our
highest priority. We use these tools to share public infor-
mation with you. Don’t post your social security number
(SSN) or other confidential information on social media
sites. Always protect your identity when using any social
networking site.
The following IRS YouTube channels provide short, in-
formative videos on various tax-related topics in English,
Spanish, and ASL.
•
Youtube.com/irsvideos.
•
Youtube.com/irsvideosmultilingua.
•
Youtube.com/irsvideosASL.
CAUTION
!
Watching IRS videos. The IRS Video portal
(IRSVideos.gov) contains video and audio presentations
for individuals, small businesses, and tax professionals.
Online tax information in other languages. You can
find information on IRS.gov/MyLanguage if English isn’t
your native language.
Free Over-the-Phone Interpreter (OPI) Service. The
IRS is committed to serving taxpayers with limited-English
proficiency (LEP) by offering OPI services. The OPI Serv-
ice is a federally funded program and is available at Tax-
payer Assistance Centers (TACs), most IRS offices, and
every VITA/TCE tax return site. The OPI Service is acces-
sible in more than 350 languages.
Accessibility Helpline available for taxpayers with
disabilities. Taxpayers who need information about ac-
cessibility services can call 833-690-0598. The Accessi-
bility Helpline can answer questions related to current and
future accessibility products and services available in al-
ternative media formats (for example, braille, large print,
audio, etc.). The Accessibility Helpline does not have ac-
cess to your IRS account. For help with tax law, refunds, or
account-related issues, go to IRS.gov/LetUsHelp.
Note. Form 9000, Alternative Media Preference, or
Form 9000(SP) allows you to elect to receive certain types
of written correspondence in the following formats.
•
Standard Print.
•
Large Print.
•
Braille.
•
Audio (MP3).
•
Plain Text File (TXT).
•
Braille Ready File (BRF).
Disasters. Go to IRS.gov/DisasterRelief to review the
available disaster tax relief.
Getting tax forms and publications. Go to IRS.gov/
Forms to view, download, or print all the forms, instruc-
tions, and publications you may need. Or, you can go to
IRS.gov/OrderForms to place an order.
Getting tax publications and instructions in eBook
format. Download and view most tax publications and
instructions (including the Instructions for Form 1040) on
mobile devices as eBooks at IRS.gov/eBooks.
IRS eBooks have been tested using Apple's iBooks for
iPad. Our eBooks haven’t been tested on other dedicated
eBook readers, and eBook functionality may not operate
as intended.
Access your online account (individual taxpayers
only). Go to IRS.gov/Account to securely access infor-
mation about your federal tax account.
•
View the amount you owe and a breakdown by tax
year.
•
See payment plan details or apply for a new payment
plan.
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•
Make a payment or view 5 years of payment history
and any pending or scheduled payments.
•
Access your tax records, including key data from your
most recent tax return, and transcripts.
•
View digital copies of select notices from the IRS.
•
Approve or reject authorization requests from tax pro-
fessionals.
•
View your address on file or manage your communica-
tion preferences.
Get a transcript of your return. With an online ac-
count, you can access a variety of information to help you
during the filing season. You can get a transcript, review
your most recently filed tax return, and get your adjusted
gross income. Create or access your online account at
IRS.gov/Account.
Tax Pro Account. This tool lets your tax professional
submit an authorization request to access your individual
taxpayer IRS online account. For more information, go to
IRS.gov/TaxProAccount.
Using direct deposit. The safest and easiest way to re-
ceive a tax refund is to e-file and choose direct deposit,
which securely and electronically transfers your refund di-
rectly into your financial account. Direct deposit also
avoids the possibility that your check could be lost, stolen,
destroyed, or returned undeliverable to the IRS. Eight in
10 taxpayers use direct deposit to receive their refunds. If
you don’t have a bank account, go to IRS.gov/
DirectDeposit for more information on where to find a bank
or credit union that can open an account online.
Reporting and resolving your tax-related identity
theft issues.
•
Tax-related identity theft happens when someone
steals your personal information to commit tax fraud.
Your taxes can be affected if your SSN is used to file a
fraudulent return or to claim a refund or credit.
•
The IRS doesn’t initiate contact with taxpayers by
email, text messages (including shortened links), tele-
phone calls, or social media channels to request or
verify personal or financial information. This includes
requests for personal identification numbers (PINs),
passwords, or similar information for credit cards,
banks, or other financial accounts.
•
Go to IRS.gov/IdentityTheft, the IRS Identity Theft
Central webpage, for information on identity theft and
data security protection for taxpayers, tax professio-
nals, and businesses. If your SSN has been lost or
stolen or you suspect you’re a victim of tax-related
identity theft, you can learn what steps you should
take.
•
Get an Identity Protection PIN (IP PIN). IP PINs are
six-digit numbers assigned to taxpayers to help pre-
vent the misuse of their SSNs on fraudulent federal in-
come tax returns. When you have an IP PIN, it pre-
vents someone else from filing a tax return with your
SSN. To learn more, go to IRS.gov/IPPIN.
Ways to check on the status of your refund.
•
Go to IRS.gov/Refunds.
•
Download the official IRS2Go app to your mobile de-
vice to check your refund status.
•
Call the automated refund hotline at 800-829-1954.
The IRS can’t issue refunds before mid-February
for returns that claimed the EIC or the additional
child tax credit (ACTC). This applies to the entire
refund, not just the portion associated with these credits.
Making a tax payment. Payments of U.S. tax must be
remitted to the IRS in U.S. dollars. Digital assets are not
accepted. Go to IRS.gov/Payments for information on how
to make a payment using any of the following options.
•
IRS Direct Pay: Pay your individual tax bill or estimated
tax payment directly from your checking or savings ac-
count at no cost to you.
•
Debit Card, Credit Card, or Digital Wallet: Choose an
approved payment processor to pay online or by
phone.
•
Electronic Funds Withdrawal: Schedule a payment
when filing your federal taxes using tax return prepara-
tion software or through a tax professional.
•
Electronic Federal Tax Payment System: Best option
for businesses. Enrollment is required.
•
Check or Money Order: Mail your payment to the ad-
dress listed on the notice or instructions.
•
Cash: You may be able to pay your taxes with cash at
a participating retail store.
•
Same-Day Wire: You may be able to do same-day
wire from your financial institution. Contact your finan-
cial institution for availability, cost, and time frames.
Note. The IRS uses the latest encryption technology
to ensure that the electronic payments you make online,
by phone, or from a mobile device using the IRS2Go app
are safe and secure. Paying electronically is quick, easy,
and faster than mailing in a check or money order.
What if I can’t pay now? Go to IRS.gov/Payments for
more information about your options.
•
Apply for an online payment agreement (IRS.gov/
OPA) to meet your tax obligation in monthly install-
ments if you can’t pay your taxes in full today. Once
you complete the online process, you will receive im-
mediate notification of whether your agreement has
been approved.
•
Use the Offer in Compromise Pre-Qualifier to see if
you can settle your tax debt for less than the full
amount you owe. For more information on the Offer in
Compromise program, go to IRS.gov/OIC.
Filing an amended return. Go to IRS.gov/Form1040X
for information and updates.
CAUTION
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Checking the status of your amended return. Go to
IRS.gov/WMAR to track the status of Form 1040-X amen-
ded returns.
It can take up to 3 weeks from the date you filed
your amended return for it to show up in our sys-
tem, and processing it can take up to 16 weeks.
Understanding an IRS notice or letter you’ve re-
ceived. Go to IRS.gov/Notices to find additional informa-
tion about responding to an IRS notice or letter.
Responding to an IRS notice or letter. You can now
upload responses to all notices and letters using the
Document Upload Tool. For notices that require additional
action, taxpayers will be redirected appropriately on
IRS.gov to take further action. To learn more about the
tool, go to IRS.gov/Upload.
Note. You can use Schedule LEP (Form 1040), Re-
quest for Change in Language Preference, to state a pref-
erence to receive notices, letters, or other written commu-
nications from the IRS in an alternative language. You may
not immediately receive written communications in the re-
quested language. The IRS’s commitment to LEP taxpay-
ers is part of a multi-year timeline that began providing
translations in 2023. You will continue to receive communi-
cations, including notices and letters, in English until they
are translated to your preferred language.
Contacting your local TAC. Keep in mind, many ques-
tions can be answered on IRS.gov without visiting a TAC.
Go to IRS.gov/LetUsHelp for the topics people ask about
most. If you still need help, TACs provide tax help when a
tax issue can’t be handled online or by phone. All TACs
now provide service by appointment, so you’ll know in ad-
vance that you can get the service you need without long
wait times. Before you visit, go to IRS.gov/TACLocator to
find the nearest TAC and to check hours, available serv-
ices, and appointment options. Or, on the IRS2Go app,
under the Stay Connected tab, choose the Contact Us op-
tion and click on “Local Offices.”
The Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS)
Is Here To Help You
What Is TAS?
TAS is an independent organization within the IRS that
helps taxpayers and protects taxpayer rights. TAS strives
to ensure that every taxpayer is treated fairly and that you
know and understand your rights under the Taxpayer Bill
of Rights.
How Can You Learn About Your Taxpayer
Rights?
The Taxpayer Bill of Rights describes 10 basic rights that
all taxpayers have when dealing with the IRS. Go to
TaxpayerAdvocate.IRS.gov to help you understand what
CAUTION
!
these rights mean to you and how they apply. These are
your rights. Know them. Use them.
What Can TAS Do for You?
TAS can help you resolve problems that you can’t resolve
with the IRS. And their service is free. If you qualify for
their assistance, you will be assigned to one advocate
who will work with you throughout the process and will do
everything possible to resolve your issue. TAS can help
you if:
•
Your problem is causing financial difficulty for you,
your family, or your business;
•
You face (or your business is facing) an immediate
threat of adverse action; or
•
You’ve tried repeatedly to contact the IRS but no one
has responded, or the IRS hasn’t responded by the
date promised.
How Can You Reach TAS?
TAS has offices in every state, the District of Columbia,
and Puerto Rico. To find your advocate’s number:
•
Go to TaxpayerAdvocate.IRS.gov/Contact-Us;
•
Download Pub. 1546, The Taxpayer Advocate Service
Is Your Voice at the IRS, available at IRS.gov/pub/irs-
pdf/p1546.pdf;
•
Call the IRS toll free at 800-TAX-FORM
(800-829-3676) to order a copy of Pub. 1546;
•
Check your local directory; or
•
Call TAS toll free at 877-777-4778.
How Else Does TAS Help Taxpayers?
TAS works to resolve large-scale problems that affect
many taxpayers. If you know of one of these broad issues,
report it to TAS at IRS.gov/SAMS. Be sure to not include
any personal taxpayer information.
Low Income Taxpayer Clinics (LITCs)
LITCs are independent from the IRS and TAS. LITCs rep-
resent individuals whose income is below a certain level
and who need to resolve tax problems with the IRS. LITCs
can represent taxpayers in audits, appeals, and tax collec-
tion disputes before the IRS and in court. In addition,
LITCs can provide information about taxpayer rights and
responsibilities in different languages for individuals who
speak English as a second language. Services are offered
for free or a small fee. For more information or to find an
LITC near you, go to the LITC page at
TaxpayerAdvocate.IRS.gov/LITC or see IRS Pub. 4134,
Low Income Taxpayer Clinic List, at IRS.gov/pub/irs-pdf/
p4134.pdf.
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To help us develop a more useful index, please let us know if you have ideas for index entries.
See “Comments and Suggestions” in the “Introduction” for the ways you can reach us.
Index
A
Archer MSAs 11-15
Assistance (See Tax help)
C
Contributions to:
FSA 16
HRA 18
HSA 5
MSA 12
D
Death of:
HSA holder 10
MSA holder 15
Distributions from:
FSA 16
HRA 18
HSA 8
MSA 13
E
Employer participation:
FSA 17
HRA 19
HSA 10
MSA 15
F
Flexible spending
arrangements 16, 17
Balance in 17
Contributions to 16
Distributions from 16
Grace period 17
Qualifying for 16
When to contribute 16
Form:
5329 8, 13
5498–SA 8, 13
8853 15
8889 8, 10
H
Health plans, high deductible 4, 12
Health reimbursement
arrangements 18, 19
Balance in 19
Contributions to 18
Distributions from 18
Qualifying for 18
Health savings accounts 3-11
Balance in 10
Contributions to 5
Deemed distributions 9
Distributions from 8
Last-month rule 6
Partnerships 8
Qualifying for 3
Rollovers 7
S corporations 8
When to contribute 8
High deductible health plan 4, 12
M
Medical expenses, qualified 9, 14,
17, 18
Medical savings accounts 11-16
Balance in 15
Contributions to 12
Deemed distributions 14
Distributions from 13
Medicare Advantage MSAs 16
Qualifying for 11
When to contribute 13
Medicare Advantage MSAs 16
P
Preventive care 4
Publications (See Tax help)
Q
Qualified HSA funding
distribution 7
T
Tax help 19
Testing period:
Last-month rule 6
Qualified HSA funding distribution 7
Publication 969 (2023) 23
