Internal Revenue Service United States Department of the Treasury
Level Basic Intermediate Advanced Military International

Health Savings Accounts (HSA)

Types of Tax-Favored Arrangements

Individuals Who Qualify for an HSA

To be an eligible individual and qualify for an HSA, taxpayers must meet the following requirements:

  • Be covered by a high-deductible health plan (HDHP) on the first day of the month
  • Not be covered by other health insurance (see Publication 969 for exceptions)
  • Not be enrolled in Medicare (the individual can be HSA-eligible for the months before being covered by Medicare)
  • Not be eligible to be claimed as a dependent on someone else's tax return (see Caution)
Caution

If another taxpayer is entitled to claim an exemption for the individual, the individual cannot claim a deduction for an HSA contribution. This is true even if the other person does not actually claim the exemption.

Caution

An employee covered by an HDHP and a health FSA or an HRA that pays or reimburses qualified medical expenses generally cannot make contributions to an HSA.

Rules for Married Individuals

In the case of married individuals, each spouse who is an eligible individual who wants to have an HSA must open a separate HSA. Married couples cannot have a joint HSA, but distributions can be used to cover the qualified expenses of the other spouse.
Publication 969

Publication 969