I am trying to determine if I overfunded my HSA. TurboTax help says its form 5329 line 48. Yet, I completed a 8889 for HSA, not a form 5329. Where should I look?

[BMcCalpin · Accepted solution]

TurboTax is asking if you overfunded your HSA in 2016, so you need to look on your 2016 tax return.

If you did not overfund your HSA in 2016, then you probably won't have a 5329 (although you might have one for other reasons, with line 48 blank). The 5329 is generated automatically in a number of situations where you have to pay extra tax as a penalty.

If you didn't have a 5329 in 2016, then enter zero for the amount you overfunded in 2016.

[charandy]

I have exactly the same question while I am doing the Federal Return for 2020 - and the answer given is for 2016.  What is the answer for THIS YEAR?

[BillM223]

In the HSA interview, when TurboTax asks you if you overfunded your HSA in the previous year (so, for tax year 2020, the question is for 2019), it wants to know if you had an excess HSA contribution in 2019 AND did you carry some or all of that excess forward to 2020?

That is, if you had an excess contribution in 2019 and withdrew the excess before April 15, 2020, then you should answer this question with NO. Despite the wording of the question, TurboTax only wants to know if you carried over an excess, not if you had an excess and withdrew it on time.

This is why there is the reference for form 5329. If you had an excess and failed to withdraw it all by the due date of the return, then you would have a form 5329 on your 2019 return, where the 6% penalty is calculated.

On the other hand, if you returned the excess in a timely manner, then there would be no 5329 - for the HSA anyway.