Open TurboTax

Why sign in to the Community?

  • Submit a question
  • Check your notifications
or and start working on your taxes
Announcements
Still need to file? Our experts can get your taxes done right. Get started >
Close icon
Do you have a TurboTax Online account?

We'll help you get started or pick up where you left off.

cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 
jhenia3469
New Member

Why do I have to fill out 2017 hsa stuff?

 
1 Reply
BMcCalpin
Level 13

Why do I have to fill out 2017 hsa stuff?

It's a long story...

It is possible that you took advantage of the "last-month" rule in 2017. This rule allows you to use the full annual HSA contribution limit, even if you had not been under HDHP coverage the entire year, so long as you were covered on December 1, 2017.

However, the catch is that if you used the last-month rule, then you had to stay under HDHP coverage for all of 2018, or face possible penalties. And obviously, we wouldn't know if you stayed under HDHP coverage for all of 2018 until you did your 2018 return.

So everyone who didn't show HDHP coverage for all of 2018 gets asked the question, "What type of HDHP coverage did you have on December 1, 2017?" If you answer "Self" or "Family", you are likely to get a "lapse in coverage" message.

If you get a lapse in coverage message, you are asked a number of things about 2017, because TurboTax has to recalculate your 2017 HSA contribution limit based on the number of months you actually had coverage, and if your actual 2017 contributions exceeded that, then you would be penalized.

So, you see, there really is a good reason for TurboTax to ask about 2017, even if it's hard to understand why.

message box icon

Get more help

Ask questions and learn more about your taxes and finances.

Post your Question
message box icon

Ready to start your taxes?

Hand off your taxes, get expert help, or do it yourself.

See Pricing
Manage cookies
v
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789-_~