I have money in an HSA account. I won’t have access to my HSA debit card for another 7-10 business days. What’s the last day before I have to spend that money?

[matt-00-ruiz]

I feel like I read that I will get penalized if I don’t spend it by Wednesday.  

[BillM223]

No, no, HSAs don't work that way - that's how FSAs worked (and still do to some extent).

You can leave money in your HSA for years, and spend it when you need to.

[matt-00-ruiz]

Thank you.  Super helpful.  

[Opus 17 · Accepted solution]

Once you have funds in an HSA, they are yours forever.  You are allowed to withdraw them to cover qualifying medical expenses for yourself, your spouse and your dependents, at any future time, even if your insurance changes and you no longer can make new contributions.  April 18 is the last date to make new contributions to count for the prior tax year (if you did not already contribute the maximum) but has nothing to do with spending.

An FSA from your employer is use-it-or-lose-it.  The deadline to withdraw  funds might be April 18, but is set by your employer, and you usually only have a 2 month grace period to submit claims.  (An FSA for 2022 can only be used to pay for 2022 expenses and claims must usually be submitted by 2/28/23.)