Eligibility

Are you eligible for a health savings account (HSA)?

You must meet the following requirements to be eligible to make tax-free contributions to an HSA:

  • You must be covered under a high deductible health plan (HDHP)
  • You must have no other medical coverage
  • You must not be enrolled in Medicare
  • You must not be claimed as a dependent on someone else’s tax return
  • You must have a valid Social Security Number

You are disqualified for tax-free contributions if:

  • You are enrolled in a federal government plan like Medicare A, B, or D, or Tricare (if you have VA benefits, receiving preventive care services or treatment for a service-related disability from the VA does not disqualify an individual from participating in an HSA)
  • Your spouse covers you on an IU plan or another employer’s medical plan unless it is also a high deductible health plan
  • Your spouse has a health reimbursement account (HRA) or flexible spending account (FSA) that is unrestricted, and the account could be used to cover your HDHP deductible

You are still eligible for tax-free HSA contributions if your spouse has other medical coverage. However, you cannot be covered on their non-HDHP medical plan or their HRA/FSA plan and still be eligible for tax-free HSA contributions.

If you are ineligible for tax-free HSA contributions, you can waive the HSA and still enroll in an HDHP.

Special considerations

You cannot be covered as an employee or as a dependent under any other plans that can cover the expenses you incur to meet your HDHP deductible and still be eligible for tax-free HSA contributions.

However, you may have automobile, dental, vision, disability, or long-term care insurance at the same time as an HDHP, and coverage for a specific disease (e.g., a cancer policy) or illness, as long as it pays a specific dollar amount when the policy is triggered.

Yes, but you must coordinate your enrollment and contributions to ensure compliance with IRS rules:

  • If each of you has employee-only HDHP coverage, you can contribute up to the individual limit to your HSAs. After age 55, you can also each make the $1,000 catch-up contribution.
  • If either of you has family HDHP coverage, your combined contributions can’t exceed the family limit. However, after age 55, you can still make the additional $1,000 catch-up contribution to your individual accounts.

No. According to the U.S. Department of State, all J-1 Visa holders must have health insurance; however, the insurance policy cannot have a deductible that exceeds $500.

J-1 Visa holders are eligible for the Anthem PPO $500 Deductible plan.

If this is your first year of coverage under a HDHP and you start mid-year, you can contribute up to the full applicable federal limit; including a full catch-up amount if age 55 or greater, so long as you start your HDHP coverage no later than December 1 of that year.

However, you will be subject to a testing period. The testing period requires that you maintain HSA eligibility for a period beginning on December 1 of the year you started and ending on December 31 of the next year.

If this is not your first year of the HSA and you stop your HSA eligibility mid-year, you are only allowed to contribute 1/12 of the applicable federal limit times the number of months you were eligible.

Calculate with the HSA Prorated Maximum Worksheet (2025)

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