Spouse and HDHP/HSA question

[normang]

I am completing the HSA section of the interview and after the HSA summary, I am asked, what type of HDHP plan did my spouse have in Dec of the 2019, the responses are Family, Self Only, or None, the qualifier after the question seems to be if she had HDHP coverage, but failed to be an eligible individual for other reasons select "none" ..  When reviewing the help for "eligible individual",  it says not enrolled in Medicare, everyone our age needs to be enrolled in Medicare, but we are not subscribed to any "parts" of it, and are not paying any medicare plan fees at this time, our sole coverage is my health plan though my work.  

So my answer to this is Family coverage, and has been since I'v been employed at my current company.  However, i want to be sure this is the correct response to this question or what impact if any there is if its the wrong answer?  

Also.... If I say "Family", it asks confusingly if the HDHP coverage lapsed in 2020 due to disability..   and the totally confusing responses are...  Yes, the coverage ended due to disability, or No, the coverage ended for other reasons.. the coverage has NOT ended..   Which seems to imply that my previous response was "wrong" ???

Now this is my HSA, not my spouse's for our medical expenses.  So what are the correct responses for my seemingly simple situation made overly complicated in a tax form.  

Thanks

Norm

[AnnetteB6 · Accepted solution]

When one person on a joint return has Family High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) coverage that includes their spouse, the question regarding what type of HDHP coverage the spouse has should be answered None, unless the spouse has separate HDHP coverage in their own name.  This will eliminate the message saying that the spouse has a 'break in coverage'.

[guyathome]

That is helpful to know. Turbo Tax could definitely improve their question on that screen, or add a little explanation for this very common scenario. If a doctor asked my spouse "Do you have a health plan", she would not say "No, I do not", and that is how many people will think.

[paulharv66]

Thanks for asking question -- the same thing tripped me up.

"So what are the correct responses for my seemingly simple situation made overly complicated in a tax form. " ~ very well put!

[paulharv66]

Totally agree with you - it's so confusing. TT's handling of HSA in general leaves a lot to be desired.

[retired-cpa]

i have been entering every possible combinations of answers to avoid the "interruption of coverage" diagnostic, and have got it now, (no change in tax either way);  But now I am getting a separate 8889 for the spouse, allocating part of the contribution to the spouse.  Is this correct?

[Critter-3]

If only one of you had the HSA account and took a distribution the only that person should have an 8889 ... delete the unneeded form ...

Here's the general procedure for viewing the forms list and deleting unwanted forms, schedules, and worksheets in TurboTax Online:

1. Open your return in TurboTax. (To do this, sign in to TurboTax, and select Take me to my return.)
2. In the left-side menu, select Tax Tools > Tools.
3. In the pop-up window Tool Center, choose Delete a form.
4. Select Delete next to the form/schedule/worksheet in the list and follow the onscreen instructions.

[retired-cpa]

Thank you very much--I wish they could simplify this reporting, but hey, it's the government!

[debbersj]

Thank you for your question on such a confusing question.
The answer was simple and helpful.

[greenwillow]

I agree, the way this was worded was confusing! I hope it's been clarified for this tax year

[richsmolen]

It's been 4 years since this flawed question has been asked by Turbo Tax. When is Intuit going to fix it?

[PeterB-2022]

Agree, it is very confusing,  for my case, though I enrolled into HDHP plan which should cover my spouse, choosing an answer of either Yes or None seems both can make sense for my spouse.

I suggest Turbotax put an example or detailed explain there, like copying and pasting juset:

"When one person on a joint return has Family High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) coverage that includes their spouse, the question regarding what type of HDHP coverage the spouse has should be answered None, "

[BillM223]

Unfortunately, it is not that simple. There are situations (like if the spouse has an HSA), that this question becomes legitimate for the spouse to answer.

I agree that the question needs to be reworded; all I can say is that the previous question (did you use the last-month rule in 2022?) was even worse, because no one knew what the last-month rule was. 

[jneumann69]

This is still not fixed in the 2025 version of Turbotax. Get it together Intuit!