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Deductions & credits
"If you're Medicare eligible you can't contribute to an HSA whether you're covered or not,"
Actually this is a misconception (although a common one). The Tax Code appears to say this (referring to taxpayers old enough to be eligible for Medicare), but the IRS later clarified in a Notice that only if you are actually covered by Medicare are you precluded from contributing to an HSA. From IRS Notice 2008-59, Question 5.
If you are putting off starting Social Security until as late as possible to maximize your SS payments, you do not have to go on Medicare if you are covered by a large employer group health plan, whether yours or your spouse's. This is often the situation whereby a taxpayer over 65 is not on Medicare. I say, "often", but I believe I've read that only 4% of taxpayers delay their Social Security until age 70.
No, there are no negative ramifications to your situation. As I approach the age of 70 myself, and I continuing to contribute to my HSA (I am not on Medicare and we are covered by my spouse's HDHP), I am watching for the day that I enroll in Medicare with its 6-month fallback. That is, after the age of 65 when you enroll in Medicare, they reset your start date to 6 months earlier. This means that your eligibility for contributing to the HSA stops 6 months before you thought you would enroll.
So, in your 69th year, you have to keep track of your HSA contributions to make sure that you allow for the reduced annual HSA contribution limit.
Make sense?
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