The greatest soccer player of all time, Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi, loves penalties because it's yet another opportunity for him to score a goal.
Penalties aren't quite as fun for health savings accounts. Avoid paying fines or taxes on HSA withdrawals by following the rules below.
Qualified medical expenses
If you withdraw your HSA funds for a qualified medical expense, the withdrawn funds are tax-free. Yay!
Receipt reminder
Use your Health Wallet to store receipts for qualified medical expenses. Keeping careful records always helps protect your future self.
Ineligible (unqualified) expenses
If you withdraw HSA funds for an expense that is not qualified, you are subject to taxes and penalties. The penalties vary.
Under 65
If you are under 65 years old, you will have to pay
Ordinary income taxes AND
a 20% penalty for the amount you disbursed out of your HSA.
65+ or disabled
If you are 65 or older or disabled, you will pay ordinary income taxes on the withdrawn funds. There is no 20% penalty on the withdrawn funds.
Correcting an ineligible expense
If you made a mistake and withdrew funds for an ineligible expense, avoid potential penalties by correcting the ineligible expense before the tax deadline.
ATM withdrawals
You might be wondering, "Why can’t I withdraw money from the ATM with my HSA card?"
We don't allow for ATM withdrawals from HSA to protect you (and us) from fraud. If an unauthorized person obtained your card, we don't want them to cash out your account!
In the (very highly unlikely) event that you have a 'cash only' qualified health expense, you can always pay out of pocket and then reimburse yourself from your HSA. Remember to keep your receipts!
Source: Internal Revenue Code 223, Health Savings Accounts