@kyatham123
@matthewbj
@bill_oleary
"In my case (married filing jointly) I had to mark (check box) that we both have “health related accounts” though its just one of us who pays for it."
This is not an accurate way to describes how HSAs work.
HSAs belong only to an individual; it does not matter if the couple has Family HDHP coverage, like an IRA, the HSA belongs to only one person.
"In a family plan though one person is paying into HSA, both family members are on the account"
This is true for the HDHP insurance policy, but it is not true for the HSA.
"so when you’re asked to check all the boxes that apply under both names, for the question “Tell us about the health-related accounts you had in [year]” make sure you check HSA for both members ."
This is not correct. Answering this way will cause TurboTax to issue two forms 8889 - one for each taxpayer - when, in fact, only one taxpayer actually has an HSA. This may cause considerable confusion with the IRS down the road. Plus in the HSA interview, you will be answering questions about the spouse's HSA that don't apply because the spouse doesn't have an HSA.
"if not it assumes that you didn’t have an account or HDHP and asks why you had a break"
No, this is not the reason. The problem - as I described above several times - is that most taxpayers should not see this question. It should be presented only to taxpayers who had an HSA in 2019 and who contributed to it. Unfortunately, the question does not clarify this, so many taxpayers answer Family or Self, when they should just answer NONE.
If you do not have an HSA (remember, an HSA belongs only to an individual), then do not check that you have an HSA. And if you did not have an HSA in 2019 (this is for tax year 2020) or did not make any contributions to it, then answer the "What type of High Deductible Health Plan did [your name] have on December 1, 2019?" with NONE.
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