Deductions & credits

@Sendankit2 

You basically have three options.

1. Put the money back into the old (closed) HSA as a return of excess distribution.  The bank may or may not allow that.  (It is extremely unlikely that the new HSA will accept the check as a return of mistaken distribution.)

 

2. Spend the money in 2024 for medical expenses that you do not request HSA reimbursement for.  If you will have pediatrician visits, co-pays, vision and dental expenses that are more than $1495 in 2024, just figure you are using this money to pay those expenses.

 

3. Report the refund as a type of taxable income called a "taxable recovery", a refund of a previous tax deduction or tax-free amount, on your 2024 tax return.  If you look in the "Other uncommon income" section in Turbotax, there may be a specific entry for reporting a reimbursement of a previous deduction.  If not, reporting it as other miscellaneous income is the correct thing to do.  This will not be subject to the 20% penalty for HSA expenses used for non-medical purposes (either now or even if you are audited later), because you operated in good faith in 2023 when you withdrew the money.  (And note that if you had, say, $1000 of medical expenses, and you don't request new reimbursement, then you have "used up" $1000 of the refund, and only the remaining $495 represents a taxable recovery.)

 

Whether or not you make a new HSA contribution to give yourself a tax deduction is an entirely separate matter, depending on the type of health insurance coverage you have and what your contribution limit for 2023 or 2024 would be, and whether you have reached those limits yet.