Health Savings Accounts (HSAs)
A Health Savings Account (HSA) is a tax-exempt trust or custodial account you set up with a qualified HSA trustee to pay or reimburse certain medical expenses you incur. You must be an eligible individual to qualify for an HSA.

No permission or authorization from the IRS is necessary to establish an HSA. You set up an HSA with a trustee. A qualified HSA trustee can be a bank, an insurance company, or anyone already approved by the IRS to be a trustee of individual retirement arrangements (IRAs) or Archer MSAs. The HSA can be established through a trustee that is different from your health plan provider.
What are the benefits of an HSA?

• You may enjoy several benefits from having an HSA.
• You can claim a tax deduction for contributions you, or someone other than your employer, make to your HSA even if you don’t itemize your deductions on Schedule A (Form 1040).
• Contributions to your HSA made by your employer (including contributions made through a cafeteria plan) may be excluded from your gross income.
• The contributions remain in your account until you use them.
• The interest or other earnings on the assets in the account are tax free.
• Distributions may be tax free if you pay qualified medical expenses. See Qualified medical expenses.
• An HSA is “portable.” It stays with you if you change employers or leave the work force.

Qualifying for an HSA

To be an eligible individual and qualify for an HSA, you must meet the following requirements.

• You are covered under a high deductible health plan (HDHP), described later, on the first day of the month.
• You have no other health coverage except what is permitted under Other health coverage.
• You aren’t enrolled in Medicare.
• You can’t be claimed as a dependent on someone else’s tax return.