Informational Purposes Only
The following content has been prepared for informational purposes only, and should not be relied on for tax, legal, or accounting advice. Consult with a tax professional for your own reporting purposes.
Health savings accounts offer three main tax advantages for federal income taxes:
HSA contributions are tax-free. (You can contribute pre-tax via payroll or contribute post-tax and claim your contribution as a tax deduction.)
Withdrawals (or distributions) for qualified medical expenses are tax-free. (You can withdraw funds for qualified medical expenses without being taxed.)
HSA growth is tax-free. (You are not taxed on interest or investment growth with HSA funds.)
In this article, we'll break down the tax filing process for HSAs.
HSA tax glossary
Here are two key terms to understand when filing taxes with an HSA:
Contributions: Any amount funded to your HSA, either by you, your employer, parents, etc.
Distribution: Any amount withdrawn from your HSA (e.g., using your debit card to pay for a qualified medical expense)
Form 8889: The form you’ll submit
If you contributed or used HSA funds during the past tax year, the IRS requires you to prepare Form 8889 with your tax return. The purpose of this form is to:
Report health savings account (HSA) contributions (including those made on your behalf and employer contributions).
Figure your HSA deduction.
Report distributions (funds distributed) from HSAs.
Figure amounts you must include in income and additional tax you may owe if you fail to be an eligible individual.
Where to find Form 8889
You can get this form from the IRS website, your tax advisor, or whatever software you might use to file your taxes. Use the forms (1099-SA and 5498-SA) to fill out the necessary information and send it in!
The forms we file: 1099-SA & 5498-SA
We provide you with a copy of the two tax forms that we submit to the IRS: 1099-SA and 5498-SA. You (or your tax professional) may use these forms to complete your taxes.
1099-SA
Form 1099-SA discloses distributions, aka withdrawals. This form shows how much you spent out of your HSA during the tax year.
Note: If you didn't use your HSA funds in the tax year, you won't receive a 1099-SA form—there's nothing to report!
1099-SA boxes
Box 1 – Gross distribution. This box shows the total amount distributed from the account during the tax year displayed on the form.
Box 2 – Earnings on excess contributions. This box shows the earnings on any excess contributions distributed from an HSA or Archer MSA by the due date of the income tax return.
Box 3 – Distribution code.
Box 3 codes
Normal Distribution
Excess Contributions
Disability
Death
Prohibited Transaction
Death distributions after the year of death to a non-spouse beneficiary
5498-SA
This form discloses any contributions (the total amount deposited into your HSA) during the tax year.
Note on "preliminary"
Technically, you can contribute HSA funds in the new year leading up to the tax filing deadline for the previous tax year. For this reason, we label the provided 5498-SA form as "Preliminary"—you could technically still contribute to your HSA for the previous year, and this form would need to be updated to reflect this new information.
5498-SA boxes
Box 1 — This box is only for contributions made to Archer MSAs. If you don’t have an Archer MSA, you’ll get a value of zero for this box.
Box 2 — Reports total contributions received into your HSA in the Prior Calendar Year.
Important: This includes any IRA-to-HSA transfers and any contributions made.
Box 3 — This box reports the total HSA contributions made in the Current Calendar Year for the Prior Calendar Year.
How to access 1099-SA and 5498-SA
View and download your tax forms by following these two steps:
Select Profile.
Select Tax Forms.
When tax forms are available
Tax forms on this platform will be available by January 31 each year. The forms will be sent on the following dates:
1099-SA on 1/31
5498-SA on 5/31
Note on 5498-SA date
Technically, you can contribute HSA funds in the new year leading up to the tax filing deadline for the previous tax year. For this reason, we label the provided 5498-SA form as "Preliminary" and deliver it on 5/31 — you could technically still contribute to your HSA for the previous year, and this form would need to be updated to reflect this new information.
Question about tax forms?
Do your contributions exceed the annual maximum limit, or do you see a discrepancy?
We recommend reviewing your transactions to ensure your distributions and contributions are correctly categorized.
If you need further assistance, please reach out to our support team.
State taxes for HSAs
Don't forget about state taxes! Your state may tax HSA contributions or HSA investment growth. Check out our article on this topic.