Health Savings Accounts (HSA)

Yes, over-the-counter (OTC) medications are an eligible expense. An OTC medication is a product with an active drug ingredient. A few of the most common items are pain relief medication, cold and flu products, allergy products, and heartburn medication. You can find a comprehensive list on the HSA Store website.

Yes, IRS Form 8889 is used to report HSA contributions and distributions. You must complete this form each year with your tax return. Please consult a tax professional regarding tax rules.

The tax treatment of employer HSA contributions depends on how the business is incorporated. For sole proprietors, partnerships, and S-corporations, contributions to a partner’s HSA will be treated as a distribution to the partner and included in the partner’s income and may be deductible by the partner but not by the business (see IRS Notice 2005-8 for treatment of HSA contributions in exchange for guaranteed payments of services rendered for partners and two percent shareholder employees of S-corporations). For larger corporations, employer contributions are treated as employer-provided coverage for medical expenses under an accident or health plan.

Yes. An employer may fully fund the employee’s HSA at the beginning of the year, however HSAs belong to the individual and not the employer and the employer has no further control over the accounts after they have been funded. As a result, many employers elect to fund employee’s HSAs periodically throughout the year.

No. Employers are under no obligation to make any contributions to their employees’ HSAs. Many employers find that contributing to employees’ HSA accounts may help improve adoption of HDHPs and HSAs, especially if they are transitioning from a more traditional type of health coverage.

Employee contributions to an HSA can be made by payroll deductions or personal deposits. When an employee makes contributions through a payroll deduction and is ran through a Section 125 plan (also called a salary reduction or cafeteria plan) these dollar are pre-tax, including social security tax. If employees make personal deposits into their HSA it is on a post tax basis. The amount can be deducted from their taxable income but they will not recover the social security tax.