HSA Contribution

[petestan]

Can I make a contribution to my HSA in 2020 and deduct that contribution on my 2019 return ?

[MinhT1]

Yes, you have until April 15, 2020 for make contributions to your HSA for tax year 2019 up to the allowed limit, and you can deduct these contributions on your 2019 tax return.

[mjrnascar24]

I have an HSA account that is no longer getting contributions from my former employer. I have made a personal contribution in the amount on $5,000.00 and during the online contribution process , was asked if I wanted to post this against my 2019 or 2020 account contributions. I selected the 2019 option which was the only contribution for that calendar year. When I went through the 1099-SA income portion of my TurboTax, which showed a distribution of $3,300.00 of qualified medical expenses, as I entered the personal contribution amount the updated refund box decreased unexpectedly and I received a notice that I had excess contributions, though no contributions were entered as part of my W-2 information.

I was under the impression that a contribution would lower my AGI and positively affect the refund amount.

Can you please explain the tax rule and what changes I need to make to take advantage of this tax saving opportunity.

[ThomasM125]

The maximum HSA contribution you can make without incurring a penalty for an individual plan in 2019 is $3,500. So, the $5,000 contribution would result in a penalty if you had an individual plan, so that may explain the increase in tax.

Also, you need to indicate that you used the HSA distribution reported on form 1099-SA for qualifying medical expenses to avoid that distribution from being subject to income tax.