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FUNDING YOUR HSA
HSA > Individuals & Families > Funding Your HSA
Your HSA can be funded by your employer, yourself, or anyone else up to your maximum contribution limit. 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. And contributions to your HSA made by your employer may be excluded from your gross wages.
While no one that qualifies to establish a Health Savings Account is required to actually open the account, there are some real benefits that may not be obvious. Consider this
example:
Paul's Story
Paul, a very healthy and active 23 year old single employee has never missed a day of work due to sickness. Aside from a routine check up, he never needs to
see his doctor.
Now his employer is offering him a health plan that is HSA-eligible. Paul's employer is not providing any contributions to his HSA, it's up to him to establish the account. Since
Paul does not have any health issues, the HSA doesn't really seem all that important to him. Although he really doesn't want to set aside any money in his HSA, he does open the account with a
small amount of money before forgetting about it.
Months later, Paul is in a bad accident. While he has his HSA-eligible insurance, he also now has medical bills. Since he had opened the HSA before acquiring the medical expenses, he
can make tax-deductible deposits into that HSA and turn right around and make tax-free payments for his medical bills -- saving him a lot of money!
Self Funding
When making a contribution to your HSA, be sure not to exceed the annual contribution limit. Remember, all deposits count toward the grand total of your
annual contribution even if you have withdrawn money from the plan. You cannot make a deposit beyond the annual IRS limit in an attempt to replace money previously withdrawn.
If an employer contributes the full amount allowed for the employee, no additional deposits can be made during the tax year. However, if the employer only makes a partial
contribution, the employee or anyone else can contribute the difference -- up to the contribution limit, including any allowable "catch-up" contributions.
Employer Funding
Although not obligated, some businesses contribute to their employees' Health Savings Account -- either a partial or full amount of the allowed annual
contribution.
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