HDHP with no HSA?

[squidlady]

I am confused by the HDHP portion of TT Home & Biz. I am self-employed and my husband is semi-retired. We purchased our HDHP plans through Obamacare. We have never had an HSA.

So when I'm working on our taxes, "tell us about the health-related accounts you had in 2017" I chose "none of the above".  (no HSA, MSA, or Medicare Advantage).

Next screen - what type of HDHP did you have on Dec. 1, 2016 - I put "family" since my husband had it too.

The next screen makes no sense to me and does not apply. "Did your HDHP lapse..." It did not lapse, we still have it! But there is no way to answer "It did not lapse" - only "Yes, it ended due to disability" or "No, it ended due to other reasons". What do I do?

[Opus 17]

You don't by chance have a W-2 with a figure in box 12 using code W, do you?  Or maybe you entered a code W number by mistake when you meant to select a different code?

[squidlady]

No, I am self-employed and have 1099's. I do have one W2 but it has nothing in box 12. Thanks though!

[Coleen3 · Accepted solution]

The question on the page before you see that you had a “lapse” in coverage is causing the issue.

On the previous page you should see the question, “What type of High Deductible Health Plan did [spouse] have on December 1, 2016?”.  The choices are Family, Self only, or None. 

If you have been covered under your husband’s family plan, you might think you should answer Family to the question.  However, the answer should be None. 

It is referring to what type of plan you held in your name on December 1, 2016.  If you had your own separate HDHP on that date, then choose the type of plan that you had.  If instead you were covered under the plan in your husband’s name, then you should choose Non

[Opus 17]

Although this is the workaround to one specific bug, I'm not sure that is the issue here.  If the customer says no to having any savings account and doesn't have code W, the question about HDHP should never even come up, unless the program is designed badly, or there is a transfer error from the prior return marking them as having an HDHP last year.  @squidlady Post further comments if this doesn't help you.

[squidlady]

I'm still not 100% sure - We each have a plan (I'm bronze, he's gold). We have had the same plans since he semi-retired and we had to shop on the Obamacare exchange.  How would my answer to "what kind of HDHP did you have?" be "none" if I actually had one? What triggered the screen which says "We see you had a break in HDHP coverage during 2017" because I never (knowingly) stated anything of the sort? Am I missing something? Thank you both for your patience and your help.

[Opus 17]

I'm getting triggered on the "break" question as well and I think it's an error, although I need more investigation.
If you say "No" that you don't have HDHP insurance, this should not cause a problem because the kind of insurance doesn't matter unless you have an HSA or MSA, if you don't, no penalties or problems should arise.  Likewise, no matter how you enter the break in coverage question, it should not lead to consequences as long as you don't have an HSA.

[squidlady]

Thank you. I see that some other people are asking very similar questions. Wonder if TT can fix this (if it is indeed a bug) and update the software for us.

[Coleen3]

What exactly are you trying to do? Take the self-employed insurance deduction? The HDHP I would imagine only applies to the HSA. The bottom line is you had insurance. If you paid, rather than with the PTC, you can enter it and ignore the fact that it is a HDHP.

[squidlady]

I am trying to correctly answer the questions asked in the software.  We have had the same insurance for several years with no break in coverage. I hesitate to put "none" when asked what kind of insurance we had on 12/1/16 because if I say "none" - won't it conflict with my actually having had insurance then, and which is reflected on the 1095-A? In other words, I'm supposed to say "none" even though I did have insurance? That's my issue.

[Coleen3]

But, what I am saying is that these questions are only applicable to HDHP. If you had insurance through the Marketplace, indicate that you had it and fill in your 1095-A. That should be all you have to do for verifying the minimum essential coverage.

[squidlady]

I didn't know that my Marketplace plan WAS HDHP until today when I was working on my taxes. I had never heard of HDHP. I had to dig to find this out.  I've already filled in the 1095-A information. I did what you suggested and put "none" in the box you mentioned above, and I ran the error check with no issues. I guess what you are saying is that HDHP doesn't factor in if you bought insurance throught Marketplace, is that correct? (If that is true, and IF it doesn't state this in TT, it probably should. I realize I could have missed it though, there are many other warnings in the software for "if you bought your insurance through the Marketplace, don't fill this [particular box]  in").

[Coleen3]

It doesn't factor in unless you had an HSA. It is a requirement for having one.

[squidlady]

Ok, thanks.

[Coleen3]

You're welcome. I'm glad it was helpful.