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Level 2
October 23, 2019
Solved

HSA and FSA

  • October 23, 2019
  • 2 replies
  • 46 views

What are the penalties for having both an HSA and an FSA in the same year?  

 

Our situation was unintentional... but either way, here we are.  My wife's company insurance auto-signed her up for an FSA and wouldn't allow her to change it after the fact.  I had already elected continued the HSA I've had for a few years through my company's insurance plan.

 

What do we need to do about this situation come tax time?  Does the amount of money contributed affect any potential penalties?  

 

Thanks!

    Best answer by BillM223

    Expert Reviewed

    The way that FSAs and HSAs work is this:

     

    1. An FSA always covers both spouses, which means that it is a disqualifying health coverage for the spouse (you?) with the HDHP policy.

    2. This means that while you are covered by the FSA, that you cannot contribute to your HSA. So if we are speaking about 2019, then any contributions that you have made in 2019 will need to be withdrawn.

    3. However, your HSA doesn't go away - you just can't contribute to it while you are covered by the FSA.

    4. You can still take distributions (spend money) on qualifying medical expenses from the HSA even while covered by the FSA.

    5. The limiting factor is that you cannot use funds from both the FSA and the HSA for the same medical expenses.

    6. Your coverage for the month is determined by the coverage on the first day of the month, so if your spouse started coverage on January 15, then the first month you have disqualifying coverage in February.

     

    To withdraw any HSA already contributed to your HSA in 2019, you will need to contact your HSA custodian and ask for a withdrawal of excess contributions. The custodian will send you a form to complete for this purpose (or it may be online - look for it), and then they will send you a check for the amount of the contributions. Yes, this will become income and you will have to pay income tax on it.

     

    Do not worry about the earnings on the amount on the excess contributions - the HSA custodian will calculate that and put it on a 1099-SA for either 2019 or 2020. It will have a "2" for the distribution code in box 3 and the amount of the earnings in box 2. This will be added to your income in whatever year the 1099-SA is for (2019 or 2020).

     

    When you do your tax return in TurboTax, you will have to indicate that you were not covered by an HDHP for any month in 2019 (if your spouse was covered all year, otherwise indicate which months). This will cause TurboTax to take steps to ask if you have or will withdraw the contributions (which are probably on your W-2 in box 12 with a code of W), add the amount to your income, and generate a correct form 8889. If you get more than one 1099-SA, enter them both unless one is marked "Corrected" in which case enter that one and not the first one.

     

    NOTE!!! Be sure to get payroll to stop the HSA withholding in your paychecks!!! In fact, you might as well not do the request for the withdrawal of excess contributions until you are sure that the payroll deduction for the HSA has stopped (so you do the request only once).

    2 replies

    Critter
    Level 15
    October 23, 2019
    Ok ... so she has an FSA and you have an HSA ? If so that is allowed since you both have insurance thru your individual employers.
    Level 2
    October 23, 2019

    Interesting!  Well, that's good news.  Would you happen to have a link that explains that that is the case??  I assume this would not require that we file taxes separately or anything, correct?  Also do you happen to know if it matters if medical expenses for her, have been paid via my HSA while she has that FSA?  I know spouses are covered even if they're not on my insurance.. but does her FSA complicate this at all?  Thanks for the response!

    BillM223Answer
    Level 15
    October 23, 2019

    Expert Reviewed

    The way that FSAs and HSAs work is this:

     

    1. An FSA always covers both spouses, which means that it is a disqualifying health coverage for the spouse (you?) with the HDHP policy.

    2. This means that while you are covered by the FSA, that you cannot contribute to your HSA. So if we are speaking about 2019, then any contributions that you have made in 2019 will need to be withdrawn.

    3. However, your HSA doesn't go away - you just can't contribute to it while you are covered by the FSA.

    4. You can still take distributions (spend money) on qualifying medical expenses from the HSA even while covered by the FSA.

    5. The limiting factor is that you cannot use funds from both the FSA and the HSA for the same medical expenses.

    6. Your coverage for the month is determined by the coverage on the first day of the month, so if your spouse started coverage on January 15, then the first month you have disqualifying coverage in February.

     

    To withdraw any HSA already contributed to your HSA in 2019, you will need to contact your HSA custodian and ask for a withdrawal of excess contributions. The custodian will send you a form to complete for this purpose (or it may be online - look for it), and then they will send you a check for the amount of the contributions. Yes, this will become income and you will have to pay income tax on it.

     

    Do not worry about the earnings on the amount on the excess contributions - the HSA custodian will calculate that and put it on a 1099-SA for either 2019 or 2020. It will have a "2" for the distribution code in box 3 and the amount of the earnings in box 2. This will be added to your income in whatever year the 1099-SA is for (2019 or 2020).

     

    When you do your tax return in TurboTax, you will have to indicate that you were not covered by an HDHP for any month in 2019 (if your spouse was covered all year, otherwise indicate which months). This will cause TurboTax to take steps to ask if you have or will withdraw the contributions (which are probably on your W-2 in box 12 with a code of W), add the amount to your income, and generate a correct form 8889. If you get more than one 1099-SA, enter them both unless one is marked "Corrected" in which case enter that one and not the first one.

     

    NOTE!!! Be sure to get payroll to stop the HSA withholding in your paychecks!!! In fact, you might as well not do the request for the withdrawal of excess contributions until you are sure that the payroll deduction for the HSA has stopped (so you do the request only once).

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    Level 2
    November 25, 2022

    Hello. I am getting married on December 5, 2022. I have a family hdhp and have contributed to an hsa all year. My fiancé has an fsa account.  She was supposed to opt out of her fsa during open enrollment, but didn’t realize her employer automatically re-enrolled her in the fsa. Knowing this I switched my insurance during open enrollment to a non-hdhp plan for the 2023 year. However, what if/any are the tax implications for 2022? Upon reading this article I have stopped contributing to my hsa for the 2022 tax year, but will I have to withdraw the entire year’s contributions since she had an fsa for all of 2022 (and now 2023)? Any help is appreciated! Thanks!

    Level 15
    January 11, 2023

    You started your FSA coverage on December 5, 2022, right? That is, you didn't start any FSA coverage until you got married, right? Since the coverage you have on the first day of the month is the coverage you have for the whole month (in your case, HDHP, not the FSA), you were not covered for any month by the FSA in 2022. Therefore, you had no conflicting coverage to your HDHP in 2022, and so there is no effect on your 2022 return.

     

    You seem to have started out 2023 on the right foot, but I suspect that you will want to drop the FSA and restart the HDHP coverage as soon as you can (which may not be soon) because the HSA program is almost certainly a better deal for you than the FSA.

     

    P.S., You have until April 15, 2023 to contribute to your HSA for 2022 (remember you must specify that the contribution is for 2022) if you want to "fill up" the contributions to the limit for 2022 (which will be the normal HSA annual contribution limit).

     

    @Lindamartina

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