In the HSA section of the Turbo questionnaire it is asking if I had an HSA in 2017. Is this a typo or does it have some connection to my HSA status in 2018?

[alduff15412]

The questionnaire seems to be ignoring my 2018 HSA status.  Very odd.

[BMcCalpin · Accepted solution]

Are you referring to the question "What type of HDHP coverage did you have on December 1, 2017?" This is a poorly worded question that really wants to know if you took advantage of the last-month rule in 2017. Yes, the date is correct.

TurboTax has detected that you (or your spouse) did not have HDHP coverage through all of 2018 (if you have an HSA but your spouse doesn't, then TurboTax never had the chance to determine the spouse's HSA coverage - or vice versa). This leads to the 2017 question.

If you (or your spouse) did not have an HSA, read the following. Answering "Family" or "Self" to this question when you did not have an HSA so never went through the HSA interview to show that you (whichever of you) had HDHP coverage triggers this ("lapse in coverage") error.

So for each of you:

• if you (or your spouse) were covered under an HDHP for every month in 2017 or
• if you (or your spouse) were covered under an HDHP in every month of 2018 or
• if you (or your spouse) made no HSA contributions in 2017 at all or
• if you never had in 2017 or 2018 any HDHP coverage,

then you (whichever of you) should enter "None" for the 12/1/2017 answer even if you were covered, because this last-month question doesn't apply to you.

If you did have an HSA, then answer the question and TurboTax will see if it needs to apply the last-month rule. This rule allows you to use the full annual HSA contribution limit if you had coverage on the last month, I.e., 12/1/2019). The catch is that if you used this, then you had to stay under HDHP coverage for all of 2018, or be penalized.