I don't understand my HSA contribution - Box 12 has 12a, 12b, 12c and 12d. Which one shows my personal contribution to my HSA - not what my employer contributed

[Opus 17]

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@saratogad wrote:

Not helpful.  I need to know the EMPLOYER contribution, not mine.

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Why?  Under the tax code, all contributions made via payroll deduction are "employer" contributions, whether they come from your salary or an employer match.  The tax treatment is that you agree to a voluntary salary reduction, and the employer makes the contributions for you.

There is no tax reason to know the breakdown.  It doesn't matter to the HSA bank, and it doesn't matter on your tax return.  The only contributions that are separately deductible are contributions you made directly to the HSA bank by check or deposit from your after-tax funds.  You don't list your voluntary payroll deductions any place except box 12.

If you are just curious, you will have to ask your employer. 

[Taxunprofessional]

Ok I see that my box 12 W has an amount listed but the “2020 employer and payroll contributions” field is set to $0. So I’m not sure if I’m supposed to enter the info from box 12 as a personal contribution of not. The description below says it’ll show as $0 if I don’t have anything in 12 W but I do. W2 was imported and box 12W was included prior so  not sure why it’s showing as $0. 

This amount includes contributions to your HSA from your payroll deductions, and any additional contributions from your employer.
If you don't see an amount here, it's because you haven't finished your W-2 info, or you didn't have any HSA contributions through your employer this year. 

[Opus 17]

@Taxunprofessional 

there are several different tax items that can be in box 12, and many taxpayers have more than one item. HSA contributions are indicated with a capital letter W.

If you made HSA contributions via payroll deduction, but you have no amount in box 12 listed with a code W, then you need to get a corrected W-2 from your employer.  

[Taxunprofessional]

Thank you for your response. Yes my W2 shows box 12 W but the turbo tax field is not recognizing it under the detailed HSA portion. It says my amount is zero and they the reason is because my box 12 W might’ve been empty but it’s clearly on my W2 and was entered in. I even redid my tax return to make sure. I don’t want to add the amount again if it’s already been accounted for but I cannot tell based on the language used. My refund charges based on whether or not I manually add the info or not. 

[Opus 17]

@Taxunprofessional 

I think you said you imported your W-2? Something may have gone wrong. I would start by deleting it and importing it again, or deleting it and then entering it manually.

[Taxunprofessional]

Thank you, I’ll try it again. 

[Opus 17]

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@Taxunprofessional wrote:

Thank you, I’ll try it again. 

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It's just that it's pretty much impossible for people on this forum to troubleshoot Turbotax Online, you really need to call support if you have a sticky problem because they can do a screen share and also look at the internal worksheets in your tax file.  If you were using Turbotax Desktop (installed on your own Mac or PC) it is a little easier. 

[Taxunprofessional]

No worries, I appreciate your help. I figured out that the import was importing the numbers but not the letters in section 12 which is why it was showing as $0. I updated this and saw that my refund was calculating correctly without adding the additional contribution. Thank you for your help!! 

[acep1111]

Thank you for this very detailed answer--however you're ignoring a couple of question that have been asked repeatedly by this and other clients:

1.  HOW DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU CONTRIBUTED AND WHAT YOUR EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTED GIVEN THAT THE 12W IS THE SUM OF THE TWO.

2. IF THIS AMOUNT IS BELOW THE ALLOWABLE LIMIT, AND NONTAXABLE, HOW COME THE TAXES OWED INCREASE AS SOON AS THIS INFORMATION IS ENTERED INTO BOX 12? It seems to me, the program is backwards and the double reporting is not the fault of the user but of the designer. If this is a common mistake, please do not assume the user does not know what they are doing--take responsibility and change how the information is requested and entered, or inform the user of what's going on as one moves through the program. If one needs to become an expert and read the tax code and your code, then what is the point of having this software help you?

[acep1111]

Scrap my question 1--it has been answered by a different person. Question 2 still holds, though.

[Opus 17]

@acep1111 

When you first enter your W-2 including an amount in box 12 with code W, TurboTax assumes it is taxable until you continue in the program and certify that you had a qualifying HD HP for the entire year, or you provide the details on what months you were covered by an HTHP so that the program can figure out your maximum allowable contribution.  TurboTax can’t assume that the money is tax free until you certify that you were in fact enrolled in a qualifying HD HP. This question will come later in the W-2 interview, if you don’t skip around, and it will also come up in the HSA interview on the medical expenses section of the deductions and credits page.

[bryanvidden60]

Why does this also show up as other income and is taxed?

[Critter-3]

The HSA has 3 parts to it ... keep going ...

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

First the contribution:

Usually on the W-2 box 12 code W.

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.

In the Deductions & credits tab under Medical. 

And lastly any distribution:

Form 1099-SA. 

[HH78DD]

Why does TurboTax require to withdraw your 12W funds?

[TeresaM]

HSA, or Health Savings Accounts, contributions are generally pulled pre-tax but you will need to reconcile that distributions were used for qualified medical expenses or they will be converted back to taxable income. You should have received a Form 1099-SA that shows the distributions for qualified medical expenses. 

To enter your Form 1099-SA go to the Deductions and Credits section, from the menu on the left. 

1. Scroll down to the Medical section and click on Show More
2. Then select Start or Revisit for HSA, MSA Contributions
3. It will ask questions about your HSA and prompt you to enter your Form 1099-SA

After this section is reconciled, the contributions in your HSA should remain pretax. 

If the contributions were more than was allowed for the type of account and health insurance policy, TurboTax may advise you to withdraw excess contributions before they incur a penalty. 

If this information did not address your specific question, please share more details about which screen and if there is an error message.