@Opus 17 @dmertz I appreciate all of your help through this. I expect to find out definitively next week whether the HSA was ever frozen or not, and will take correction action if it wasn't (which I believe is most likely the case)
Based on my understanding, I have over-contributed the following:
2021: 475.01 (not including $1,200.00 from July-Oct that was eligible at the time)
2022: 3600.00
2023: 1200.00 (so far)
To my understanding, I could withdraw my 2021 excessive contribution as an unqualified withdrawal (and pay the 6% excise tax on it for 2021 and again for 2022, the 20% penalty on an unqualified withdrawal, plus ordinary income tax), then withdraw the 2022 and 2023 excessive contributions as excessive contributions (and only pay income tax on it), and submit my amended 2021 and 2022 returns accordingly. If I were to do this, and nothing else, I assume I could still theoretically leave the $1,200 from my eligible months in 2021 in the account (right?)
However, what I still don't understand is, if I were to withdraw - let's say - $2,000 this year for qualified medical expenses incurred this year, then which year's contributions would that be considered taken out of? Or would it at all? If I can get away with simply paying a 6% excise tax on this amount, rather than ordinary income tax, that would seem more prudent, right? But then how in the heck would the IRS consider the interplay of correcting my over-contributions each year with the withdrawals for medical expenses in 2023? Would I simply do what I described in the previous paragraph, and then withdraw any remainder down to $0 (for 2023) as an excessive contribution?
Alternatively, in a scenario where I have - let's say - $4,000 in medical expenses this year, and I use HSA funds to cover it, would the IRS's special six-month rule still apply for 2022 (even though I wouldn't be able to withdraw all of the excess contributions I made in 2022) or would I get dinged for not being able to withdraw the full $3,600 in ineligible contributions for that year?
