I am unemployed yet covered by my spouse's health insurance. How do I answer "What type of High Deductible Health Plan did xxxx have on December 1, 2021?"

[greg102]

Also says: "If xxxx had HDHP coverage..." What does "had coverage" mean? To me, it mean's my spouse's insurance "covers" me. But does it instead mean I have my own plan in my name?

[Mike9241]

was the person it is asking about covered by an HDHP.  doesn't matter whether it's their HDHP or spouse's. 

[RalphH1 · Accepted solution]

I agree with Mike9241. Your intuitive idea that you were officially covered by a high-deductible health plan because you were included in your spouse’s family plan is correct. Both spouses are eligible to make HSA contributions in that scenario.

Admittedly, there’s a little controversy about this among tax pros, some of whom maintain that only the one official owner of the family plan is eligible. This is probably because a lot of the IRS’s info on this isn’t very clear. But it is stated, here in Publication 969, that “If either spouse has family HDHP coverage, both spouses are treated as having family HDHP coverage.” (The Internal Revenue Code itself just says, “...is covered under a high deductible plan...”) I think that’s clear enough, and the HSA Store (here) and many others (including the Champ, Mike) also do.

Note also (in both of those links) that you must split the family contribution limit amount equally between the two of you, unless you agree on another allocation. When you’re doing a joint return in TurboTax, the program will bring up the “excess contribution” screens (advising you of your options) if the two spouses together contributed more than $7,300.

@greg102, the Community is here if you have additional HSA questions!