Hi, does the amount transferred via a HSA trustee-to-trustee transfer count towards the annual 2019 HSA contribution limit of $3,500?

[mmn1239]

I made 2019 HSA contributions at Company A, transferred this amount via a trustee-to-trustee transfer to Company B (where I also made 2019 contributions).

Now if I add box 12d W amounts from both of my W2's the total amount is higher than the annual limit, and I'm getting asked about excess HSA contributions.

Trying to figure out if a trustee-to-trustee transfer (that includes current tax-year contributions) counts towards the annual contribution limit or not. 

Getting conflicting information here - 1st link below states "doesn’t count towards your annual contribution", 2nd link below states "if you made current tax-year contributions to your prior HSA, those contribution amounts will be counted toward the annual IRS contribution limit".

https://medium.com/@livelyme/hsa-rollovers-and-transfers-demystified-a757c9d7fc4e

http://www.hsabank.com/hsabank/members/transfer-rollover-hsa-funds

The 'Tip' section on the IRS link below makes it seem like it doesn't count towards the limit, and  states 'Do not include the amount transferred in income'.  How do we not include this as income - is this done by manually editing the box 12d W amount from the Company A W2 form in TurboTax?

https://apps.irs.gov/app/vita/content/37/37_08_005.jsp?level=basic

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p969.pdf (also not super helpful)

Thanks!

[DMarkM1]

The transfer would not count as a contribution.  I'm just not sure how that amount is getting into TurboTax.  If you contributed to Company A and that is on your W2 and then contributed an additional amount to Company B and that is on your W2.  Where is the transfer amount showing up?  A rollover contribution should show in Box 4 of your 5498 and not be included in Box 1,2, or 3.   

[mmn1239]

Thanks for the response - I only received a 1099-SA from the original HSA bank, and 5498-SA from the new HSA bank.  Neither form includes the transfer amount, which is interesting.

I called both HSA banks today, and they mentioned that if you contribute to to an HSA in 2019 and then do a trustee-to-trustee transfer, the amount contributed in 2019 from the original bank/HSA does indeed count towards the annual maximum limit (but the rest of the transfer does not).  Which I guess makes sense, as that's similar to a 401k roll over, and if not would be a major potential loop-hole.

Looks like I need to research how to handle excess HSA contributions.

[DavidD66]

For information on Excess Contributions to an HSA see:  Publication 969 (2019), Health Savings Accounts and Other Tax-Favored Health Plans