Thanks @dmertz. Though, this seems wildly complicated and raises more questions than it answers! For example, does a gain/loss calculation need to be performed for 2023, even though I never invested any of my 2023 contributions, since it depends on the value of the HSA rather than the investments?
I gave an overview of this situation to my custodian and asked if they can calculate the gain(s)/loss(es) for each year. But since the asked me for those values, I don't have confidence they'll be able to help. In which case, I am truly at a loss. I know I owe the IRS some amount of money, but with this gain/loss issue, I can't have any confidence that any amounts that I calculate would be accurate.
If my custodian can't help, then it's almost tempting to reinvest my HSA in some terrible investments, just to lose more money so I can avoid these calculations altogether. OR, just forget any tax benefit whatsoever, have everything distributed as a normal distribution, and pay the maximum penalty (20% plus the 6% each year) to make this go away. But even in that case, I would still need to figure out a number to report for any gains, right?
Can you tell me what the easiest method would be to resolve this, assuming I don't care about how much it costs? I feel so frustrated and beaten down by this process.
