My employer contributed to and HSA but I did not. Do I need to enter this information if I did not use the money?

[JohnB5677]

No, there is no need to post anything. The employer contribution is on the W-2, and will carry over. 

• Your employer contributed is show up in Box 12 of your W-2 with a code W. 
  • This will automatically carry over into the system.
  • If you did not make additional contributions, there is nothing to enter.
• The 1099-SA is used to report any distribution of funds from your HSA during the prior year. 
  • If you didn't get a 1098-SA, you will have nothing to report.
• You should go through the HSA section of TurboTax after you enter the W-2 to insure it is included correctly.

 Select Tax Tools

• This is on the left sidebar
• You may have to minimize the Federal and State options
• You also may have to scroll down on that menu

1. Once you can work on Tax Tools
2. On the drop-down select Tools
3. There will be 3 or 4 green boxes
4. Select Topics Search
5. Type HSA
6. Continue through the questions.

Edited 03/10/2025 | 9:43 AM PST

@tmk0370 

[melissadalby]

My husband put $2400 into his HSA through Payroll. His W-2 does not show this amount at all.  His employer is stating that there was an error when setting it up in their new payroll system and it wasn't set up as a cafeteria plan so therefore should not be put on the W-2 because it was taken out after taxes instead of before.  Is this correct? I'm having trouble figuring out how to enter it into TT correctly so he gets credit for putting that money in through payroll and so that he gets credit for already paying that tax amount that he technically shouldn't have.

[BillM223]

tmk0370

Since your employer made contributions to your HSA (as documented by the code W in box 12 of your W-2), you must go through the HSA interview to show that you had HDHP coverage, at least. This will add form 8889 to your return, which is required in your case.

In the HSA interview, you will be asked about personal contributions. This is referring for contributions that you sent directly to the HSA custodian, and not to payroll deductions (which you apparently didn't have anyway).

melissadalby

Sadly, a lot of employers don't really get the HSA process. In your case, apparently, the employer did not take the $2,400 out of Wages in boxes 1, 3, and 5 when the W-2 was printed, like they should have.

Despite what your employer says, contributions to an HSA most definitely belong in box 12 with a code W on the W-2. The fact that this makes it similar to a Section 125 plan causes no end of confusion, which his employer needs to work on.

So you are being taxed on this money. In this case, I would report the $2,400 as a "personal contribution" in the HSA interview. This would not be normal, but since his employer made the initial mistake and probably won't/can't fix it, this is the most direct approach to get the right numbers on the 8889.

@melissadalby 

@tmk0370