Is my HDHP premium pass through that goes into my hsa account tax deductible? I’m trying to figure out if I can count that as me making a contribution in my HSA.

[Critter-3]

If this is done thru the payroll system it is already pre tax so you cannot also deduct it as an adjustment to income on the return.  Look at your W-2 box 12 code W represents the HSA  contribution you and the employer have already made.

The HSA is handled in 3 parts in the TT program :

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/health-care/help/what-is-a-health-savings-account-hsa/00/25765

First the contribution:

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/entering-importing/help/where-do-i-enter-my-hsa-contribution/00/26...

https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tips/health-care/what-is-the-irs-form-8889/L8hRNHx4o

Next the limitations screen to confirm you are eligible to make the contributions:

Until you complete the HSA portion of the TurboTax interview to establish your eligibility for an HSA contribution, TurboTax will treat the amount entered on the W-2 form as an excess HSA contribution.

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/health-care/help/why-am-i-showing-an-excess-hsa-contribution/00/26...

And lastly any distribution:

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/health-care/help/why-is-my-hsa-distribution-taxable/00/26609

[Mike9241]

not sure what you mean by "HDHP premium pass through that goes into my hsa account" an HSA can not be used to pay your HDHP premiums.  

[BillM223 · Accepted solution]

It depends.

How is the pass-through reported on your W-2? Is it part of the amount that is with the code DD in box 12 on the W-2? Do you have a code W in Box 12, and if so, is the pass-through amount part of the amount with code W? Yes, you will probably have to ask the payroll department.

Code DD shows the amount of health insurance premiums that you and your employer pay towards your HDHP policy. Code W shows the amount that contributions that your employer and/or you through payroll deduction make to your HSA.

In the simple case, anything that goes into your HSA (from any source) is an HSA contribution, so the answer is "yes", but now we have to figure out how it gets reported on your tax return. Please answer the questions in the first paragraph and we'll take a look.

[Edited 1/13/2023 } 9:07 am]

[rileymac4]

I do not have a code W. I only have a code DD. 

This info may help you get a better idea. I pay 170$ every two weeks and my employer pays the rest of the premium. The health plan I have gives 200$ of the total premium every month and puts it in my HSA. So what is contributed to my HSA is the 200$ a month from that plus what I put in on my own after tax I do not do it via payroll deduction. 

In my mind I think I could count the 200$ a month as me contributing because I do pay more than that personally for the premium since it’s 170$ every two weeks. It just seems like a gray line to me because idk how I would ever figure out if it’s my 200$ from my premium or my employers premium they pay that gives the 200$ to my hsa. 

[BillM223 · Accepted solution]

So your code DD amount is equal to 12 times $340 plus whatever your employer put in towards the premium? That is, the $200/month is part of the amount reported with code DD, right?

If so, then let's do this...

1. Go into your HSA interview. Indicate on the first screen that you have an HSA (if it's not already checked). 
2. Proceed through the interview.  
3. On the screen "Let's enter [your name] HSA contributions, enter the amount of after-tax contributions you made ("what I put in on my own after tax I do not do it via payroll deduction. "). 
4. Continue to the next screen which says "Did your employer tell you about any other contributions?". 
5. Answer YES and you will see three additional lines. 
6. On the bottom line ("Employer and payroll contributions not reported in Box 12 of your W-2"), enter the $2,400 (or whatever the exact amount of the pass-through is).

The result of these steps is that the $2,400 HSA pass-through amount will show up on line 9 (Employer contributions made to your HSAs for 2022) on your 8889, but it will not affect the rest of your return, because this amount was already removed from your income when if was part of the code DD amount (which is removed from Wages in box 1 before your employer printed the W-2). Yes, you contributed it, but since your employer already removed it from income as part of code DD, you should not try to deduct it separately.

Make sense?

[rileymac4]

Yes thank you for your help.

[FEK]

So, my husband works - I am retired.  He holds all the insurance (high deductible plan) and the HSA.   I have entered all the information - then it goes to me - and asks whether I had a HDP all year - If I answer family or self - it says I had a break in health coverage - which I didn't  If I answer none - then I am saying I am ineligible.  There is no option for covered under spouse.  How do I respond?  

[JamesG1]

Do you have a health savings account in your name?  Or are you only covered by the Family plan in the name of your spouse?

I think that you are saying that you do not have your own health savings account and you are covered by a Family plan in the name of your spouse.  

If this is the case, do not report that you had a health savings account at the screen Tell us about the health-related accounts you had in 2022.

You will only answer questions about your spouse and the Family plan in the spouse's name.

@FEK 

[LH24]

This approach makes sense, but my taxes went up when I included contributions from healthcare Premium payments ("Premium pass through") made through my paycheck.  Both the employee contributions (box 12 W) and the Premium pass through (part of box 12 DD) are both pre-tax (tax free), so why would my total tax increase?  

Background: my HSA is partially funded by employee contributions, and partially by an amount passed through from healthcare Premium payments.  My box 12 W only shows the employee contribution but not the Premium pass through.  I contributed slightly over the max limit, and withdrew the excess amount.  If I enter the Premium pass through as "contributions not in Box 12", then Turbotax correctly identifies the overfunding and I can accurately check "I will/have withdrawn the excess".  But why would my total taxes increase if all these contributions are taken pre-tax?

[BillM223]

The answer simply put is that not all of your contributions are still pre-tax.

If I understood you correctly, TurboTax did calculate an excess HSA contribution. Since all of your contributions were through your employer, TurboTax presumed that the contributions had been removed from Wages in Box 1 on your W-2 before your W-2 was printed.

So, the excess has to be added back to Other Income, to undo the effect of removing the contributions from Wages. So your tax will go up because your income goes up.

Make sense?

[LH24]

Makes total sense.  In hindsight, the tax increase was appropriate for the excess that is now considered new taxable money.

Thank you!

[FEK]

I am covered under my husband's High Deductible Account -   The question "What type of High Deductible Health Plan did (my name) have on December 1, 2021?    If (my name) had HDHP coverage on December 1, 2021 but failed to be an eligible individual for other reasons, select None.  BUT - none of the three options work.  Since I already stated on the return that we are married, that we have a family plan - this questions is crazy.  If I say Family - It says that I had a break in HDHP health plan coverage during 2022 - Let us know if this was the result of a disability.  I had no break in coverage.  It says the same thing if I say self only - which I know is incorrect.  BUT If I say none - then I am saying I am an ineligible individual -   which is incorrect.  But I can't pass by this - there should be a does not apply  So frustrated.  

[SharonD007]

Since you are on your husband's plan, you did not have your own High Deductible Health Plan so your answer would be NONE. The question is referring to the type of plan you had in your name in December 2022. If you had your own separate plan, you would enter SELF or FAMILY.

For more information, please review the TurboTax article What is a high-deductible health plan (HDHP)?.

[FEK]

Thank you!  We finally found it - but was just not well documented in TurboTax  🙂  Thank you for your response!