You can use your HSA funds as soon as the account is open and contribution have been deposited in your account. These funds do not have to be spent within a certain time limit. They can also be used to pay expenses for your spouse or your IRS-qualified tax dependents.
You can access your funds in several different ways.
Using your IU Benefit Card
Your IU Benefit Card is a debit-type Visa that can be used to pay for your eligible expenses at the time of service, or when you receive your bill from any healthcare provider.
Pay immediately by swiping your card
Write the card number on the provider’s bill and return to your provider
Reimbursing yourself for eligible expenses you paid for out of pocket
Log in to your HSA account and select the File Claim/Reimburse Self button on your account page.
Send yourself one-time or repeating checks
Transfer funds directly from your HSA to a personal bank account
As long as your HSA was established at the time the expense was incurred, you saved the receipt, and it was not otherwise reimbursed, you can reimburse yourself for the expense from your HSA at any time, even years later.
Send an online payment to a provider
Log in to your account and select the Send Payment button on your account page.
The IRS makes this determination—you can get an up-to-date definition of what qualifies in the version of Publication 502 that relates to your filing.
You do not submit records with your IRS return, but it is your responsibility to maintain records for all of your expenses in the event the IRS requests them.
Specifically, the IRS requires that you must be able to show that:
The distributions were exclusively to pay or reimburse qualified health expenses.
The qualified health expenses had not been previously paid or reimbursed from another source.
The health expenses had not been taken as an itemized deduction in any year.
You can use HSA funds to pay for covered expenses that apply toward the HDHP annual deductible and coinsurance costs (e.g. medical services, prescriptions, mental health services, etc).
You can also pay for qualified health expenses that your health plan might not cover, such as vision care (eyeglasses and contact lenses), dental and orthodontic services. (Note: If you have an FSA, you will use those funds for these kinds of expenses. Find out more about the FSA.)
Qualified health expenses also include long-term care premiums, Medicare premiums, Medicare copays, and COBRA premiums.
You can use your HSA funds to pay for the qualified health expenses of yourself, your spouse* or your IRS-qualified tax dependents even if they are not covered on your medical plan.
*A spouse means one by marriage, either opposite-sex or same-sex, legally entered into in one of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, or a U.S. territory or a foreign country.
Spouses qualify for preferential federal tax treatment of health care benefits.
It is legally possible for parents to keep children up to age 26 on their health plans if they have no other coverage – even those who are married and living away from home. However, HSA funds can only be spent on family members who qualify as tax dependents as defined by IRS tax rules.
In order to be treated as a qualifying child, an individual must not have attained the age of 19 years old, or 24 if a student, before the close of the tax year.
Your IU Benefit card can be used at any healthcare provider where Visa is accepted in the world. You are responsible for verifying that the expense is a qualified medical expense under Section 213(d) of the Internal Revenue Code and IRS Publication 502.
Any card transaction outside of U.S. currency is subject to the current daily exchange rate established by VISA. Depending on the card, you could be charged a markup or a conversion fee. These fees are like what you'd pay for any other credit card and can range anywhere from 1–3% depending on the provider. Check with your provider regarding these fees.
HSAs are only offered in the U.S., as they are a U.S. tax benefit. You can leave the funds in your HSA and use your IU Benefit card for eligible healthcare expenses you incur overseas, but funds from the HSA must be deposited in a U.S. bank. They cannot be directly transferred to an overseas bank account.
No. You can only use your HSA funds for expenses incurred after your account is established.
If you transferred an existing HSA balance to WEX, your account is considered to have been established on the date the original account was established. This means that you can use the funds in your HSA for any expense that you incurred since that original date.
When your HDHP coverage ends, you are no longer eligible to make or receive tax-free HSA contributions. However, the money in your HSA is yours until you spend it.
You may keep your HSA with WEX and continue to use the funds to pay for qualified expenses. Because you are no longer an active employee, you will be responsible for the account maintenance fees.
If you become eligible again, i.e., you re-enroll in a HDHP, you can make additional contributions to your HSA.
Please remember that you are responsible for tracking your personal contribution limit, including coordinating contributions with your spouse if they also contribute to an HSA). Contact your tax advisor if you have additional questions about your specific situation.
If you terminate your HDHP coverage in the middle of a calendar year, your maximum contribution for that year is prorated based on the number of months that you were enrolled in an HDHP plan.
You can return the money to your account if there is clear and convincing evidence that the withdrawal was a mistake.
There are two options for repaying the funds:
Option 1
Make an online contribution through your WEX account.
