I have a Health Savings Account. Is the annual administration fee of $45.00 tax deductible? If so, where do I enter this amount?

[CCWuellner]

I paid the $45 fee directly to the administrator.  It was not paid from the Health Savings Account.

[AnnetteB]

I have not been able to find a resource that addresses this one way or the other when the fees are paid out of pocket rather than from the HSA account.  So, looking at it as if it were deductible, where would it go?  It would not be considered a medical expense, so it wouldn’t be reported there.  

The only possible place that it may fit would be as part of Schedule A Itemized Deductions subject to 2% of your AGI.  According to the IRS, “You can deduct investment fees, custodial fees, trust administration fees, and other expenses you paid for managing your investments that produce taxable income.”  However, if the funds in the HSA are used for the purpose that they are intended, they are not taxable income.  Therefore, to fall on the conservative side of the fence, my recommendation is to not deduct the fees.

[AnnetteB · Accepted solution]

If the administration fee was paid directly from the Health Savings Account (HSA), then the amount is not deductible. 

Funds in the HSA have either been put into the account without having been taxed, or a deduction has been taken for them.  Therefore, to deduct the administration fee would be “double-dipping”.

[chiachen89]

Are these expenses considered medical expenses then? It not we have to pay 20% penalty for this distribution, which was done without our consent, it was withdrawn by the health administrator and not users ourselves.

[dmertz]

Even if paid with funds from outside the HSA the payment is not presently deductible because this deduction has been suspended for tax years 2018 through 2025.  (The original question was asked and answered with regard to a 2015 tax return.)

No, the maintenance fee is not a medical expense.

A maintenance fee taken from your HSA should *not* have been reported as a distribution from the HSA on Form 1099-SA.