Why am I showing an excess HSA contribution?
For 2019, the maximum total amount you and/or your employer can contribute to your HSA account is $3,500 for an individual plan, or $7,000 for a family plan. This is the sum of both your contribution and your employer's.
If you're 55 or older, you're also allowed to contribute up to an additional $1,000 for a maximum of $4,500 (individual) or $8,000 (family).
Remember that there are penalties if you have an excess contribution to your HSA, unless withdrawn before filing your tax return. Also, additional tax would be owed if your distribution was used for something other than medical expenses.
A common error that usually results in excess contributions is if you, on the Let's enter your HSA contributions screen, accidentally duplicated the amounts already reported in the first line, contributions from Box 12 of your W-2.
If you're within the limits but you're getting the excess HSA contribution message, it's most likely because you're not eligible or you answered the eligibility questions incorrectly. To recap, the HSA eligibility requirements are:
- You must be enrolled in a high deductible health plan (HDHP).
- You can’t be enrolled in Medicare or another secondary health insurance policy.
- You can’t be claimed as a dependent on somebody else's return.
To review your answers, step through the HSA interview again. An easy way to get there is to search for hsa in the search box in the upper right, then select the Jump to link in the search results.
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