I'm having a hard time filing my federal taxes because the system continues to bring me back to a 8889-t form that I don't have . Can you help me remove this question?

[Opus 17]

Form 8889 is for a health savings account or HSA.  You need the form if you contributed to, or took a withdrawal from, an HSA during the year.  Did you do these things?  Do you have a figure in box 12 of your W-2 with code W?

[BMcCalpin · Accepted solution]

Opus 17 is correct that if you made contributions to or took distributions from your HSA in 2017, then you would have to add form 8889 to your tax return.

Note that this is not a form you receive in the mail, but a form that TurboTax adds automatically when you go through the HSA interview (Federal->Deductions & Credits->Medical->HSA MSA Contributions).

As Opus 17 also notes, if you have an entry on your W-2 in box 12 with a code of W, then your employer thinks that you have an HSA (and they are probably right). The same is true if you received a form 1099-SA reporting on your distributions from the HSA (medical expenses that you paid for with HSA funds).

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If, however, you are positive that you don't have an HSA and want TurboTax to stop asking you about it, then please do the following:

The safest - although brute force - way to fix this is to do the following:

1. make a copy of your W-2(s) (if you don't have the paper copies)

2. delete your W-2(s) (use the garbage can icon next to the W-2(s) on the Income screen

3. go to Tax Tools (on the left), and navigate to Tools->Delete a form

4. delete form(s) 8889-T, 8889-S (if one), and 1099-SA (if one)

5. go back and re-add your W-2(s), preferably adding them manually

*** AGAIN NOTE *** if you have the code W in box 12 on your W-2, this will not work, because the IRS requires you to add form 8889 to your return.