I am on medicare but would like to open an HSA for my wife. Can I deduct the $3350 contribution from our joint return ?

My wife has an HDHP that she pays for since she's self employed. She did not earn any income in 2016 and we file jointly so I wanted to know if I could contribute to an HSA for her and deduct the contribution from my income ? Thanks

The contribution would be on a joint tax return so yes, you can.

Income is not required to make an HSA contribution.  Although you cannot contribute to your own HSA account for any month that you were covered by Medicare, your wife can contribute to her HSA account and receive a deduction.

Unfortunately, you may not be eligible unless you already have a HDHP

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

For 2016, the maximum total amount you and/or your employer can contribute to your HSA account is $3,350 for an individual plan or $6,750 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 $4,350 (individual) or $7,750 (family).

If you made HSA contributions not reported on your W-2 (this is uncommon), we'll ask about that when you step through the Medical section. Look for the questions Were HSA contributions made in 2016? or Do you need to make any adjustments to your HSA contribution amount? Answer Yes and we'll open a screen where you can enter that information.