An HSA, or Health Savings Account, is a unique tax-advantaged account that can be used to pay for current or future healthcare expenses. When combined with a high-deductible health plan, it offers savings and tax advantages that a traditional health plan can’t duplicate. With an HSA, employees will have:
- A tax-advantaged saving account that they can use to pay for eligible medical expenses as well as deductible, co-insurance, prescriptions, vision, and dental care expenses.
- Unused funds that will roll over year to year. There’s no “use it or lose it” penalty.
- Potential to build more savings through investing. Employees can choose from a variety of HSA self-directed investment options with no minimum balance required.
- Catch-up contributions available for those age 55 or over.
- Additional retirement savings. After age 65, funds can be withdrawn for any purpose without penalty but may be subject to income tax if not used for qualified medical expenses.
IRS-qualified Medical Expenses
You can use your Health Savings Account (HSA) to pay for a wide range of IRS-qualified medical expenses for yourself, your spouse or qualified dependents. An IRS-qualified medical expense is defined as an expense that pays for healthcare services, equipment, or medications. Funds used to pay for IRS-qualified medical expenses are always tax-free.
HSA funds can be used to reimburse yourself for past medical expenses if the expense was incurred after your HSA was established. While you do not need to submit any receipts, you must save your receipts for tax purposes.
In general, your HSA can be used for:
- Expenses applied to your health plan deductible
- Co-insurance or co-pays
- Dental care services
- Vision care services
- Prescription services
- Over-the-counter medications prescribed by your doctor*
- Certain medical equipment
