HSA Contribution Limits 2026 and 2027

The 2026 HSA contribution limit is $4,400 for self-only coverage and $8,750 for family coverage, and the IRS has already set 2027 at $4,500 and $9,000. If you are 55 or older by the end of the year, you can add $1,000 on top in either year. Those are the full-year numbers. Your own limit can be lower if you were not eligible all year, if your employer puts money in, if you are married with family coverage, or if Medicare starts partway through the year. This page covers the figures, the rules that cut them down, and a calculator that applies them.

The Short Answer

• 2026: $4,400 self-only, $8,750 family (IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-19).
• 2027: $4,500 self-only, $9,000 family (IRS Revenue Procedure 2026-24, published June 2026).
• Catch-up at 55+: $1,000 extra in both years. It is fixed in the tax code and is not adjusted for inflation.
• The limit covers all money going in, yours plus your employer's, including payroll deductions through a cafeteria plan.
• Medicare ends contributions from the first month you are enrolled, and Part A can be backdated up to six months when you sign up after 65.
• Deadline: 2026 contributions can be made until April 15, 2027.

Calculate Your HSA Limit

Pick the year, your coverage, your age and the months you were eligible. The calculator applies the IRS month-by-month method, the last-month rule, the catch-up and any employer money, and shows how much room you have left.

HSA Limits for 2026 and 2027

Each spring the IRS publishes the next year's HSA figures. To qualify, your health plan has to meet both the deductible floor and the out-of-pocket ceiling for the year, and the contribution limit depends on whether that plan covers just you or you plus at least one other person.

Sources: IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-19 (2026), IRS Rev. Proc. 2026-24 (2027), IRC §223(b)(3) (catch-up). The out-of-pocket maximum counts deductibles, copayments and similar costs, "but not premiums." The higher direct primary care cap applies to an arrangement covering more than one person.

The 2027 increase is $100 for self-only and $250 for family coverage. The catch-up has been $1,000 since 2009 and the statute has no inflation adjustment for it, so it will stay at $1,000 unless Congress changes the law. Not saving inside an HSA yet? Our guide to how a health savings account works covers the tax treatment, and is an HSA worth it runs the cost side of a high-deductible plan.

HSA contribution limits by year

What Counts as an HDHP Now

You can only contribute for a month in which you are covered by a high deductible health plan (HDHP) on the first day of that month and have no other disqualifying coverage. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (Public Law 119-21) widened that in three ways, and IRS Notice 2026-5 explains how each one works.

• Bronze and catastrophic marketplace plans count as HDHPs for months beginning after December 31, 2025. The law covers any bronze or catastrophic plan "available as individual coverage through an Exchange," even if its deductible or out-of-pocket maximum misses the HDHP figures in the table. The IRS adds that the same plan bought off-Exchange also qualifies if it is available on the Exchange.
• Direct primary care no longer disqualifies you, also from months beginning after December 31, 2025. A fixed-fee arrangement covering only primary care is not treated as other health coverage if the fees total no more than $150 a month, or $300 if the arrangement covers more than one person. The cap stays at $150 and $300 for 2027. You can also pay those fees from the HSA.
• Telehealth before the deductible is allowed permanently, for plan years beginning after December 31, 2024. An HDHP can cover telehealth and other remote care with no deductible and still qualify. The IRS notes this does not extend to in-person services, equipment or drugs supplied alongside a telehealth visit.

A general-purpose health FSA still disqualifies you, while a limited-purpose dental and vision FSA does not. If your employer offers a limited-purpose FSA, it can sit alongside the HSA with its own separate limit: $3,400 of salary reductions for 2026 (IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32), with up to $680 carried over if the plan allows. Our HSA vs FSA comparison covers how the two work together.

Partial Years and the Last-Month Rule

The annual limit is really twelve monthly limits added up. The tax code limits your deduction to "the sum of the monthly limitations for months during such taxable year that the individual is an eligible individual," and each monthly limit is one-twelfth of the annual figure. The IRS Form 8889 instructions turn that into a chart: for each month you were eligible on the 1st, write down the full annual amount for your coverage type, write zero for other months, add the twelve lines and divide by 12. If you are 55 or older, the catch-up is included month by month as well.

The last-month rule overrides that. If you are eligible on December 1, Pub 969 says "you are considered an eligible individual for the entire year," with the coverage type you had on December 1. So someone who starts an HDHP in September can still contribute the full year's amount.

That comes with a testing period. You must stay eligible from December 1 through December 31 of the following year. If you drop out for any reason other than death or disability, the extra amount the last-month rule allowed is added to your income for the year you dropped out, and "this amount is also subject to a 10% additional tax."

If you are not eligible on December 1, there is no shortcut: your limit is the month-by-month figure. You can still contribute for the months you did qualify, up to the deadline.

Employer Money, Spouses and the Catch-Up

Employer contributions count. Pub 969: you "must reduce the amount you or any other person can contribute to your HSA by the amount of any contributions made by your employer that are excludable from your income. This includes amounts contributed to your account by your employer through a cafeteria plan." Your own payroll deductions are treated as employer contributions for this purpose. So with self-only coverage in 2026, a $1,000 employer deposit leaves $3,400 for you to add, or $4,400 if you are 55 or older. The total across all your HSAs is capped by the same single limit.

Payroll beats a direct deposit. Money you put in through your employer's payroll (a cafeteria plan) is treated as an employer contribution, and IRS Publication 15-B lists employer HSA contributions as exempt from Social Security and Medicare tax as well as income tax. A deposit you make yourself is deductible on your return, but you have already paid Social Security and Medicare tax on that pay (up to 7.65%). Same limit, slightly bigger tax break through payroll.

Spouses share one family limit. If either spouse has family HDHP coverage, both are treated as having family coverage. The family limit is "split equally between the spouses unless you agree on a different division," and the IRS notes this split applies only when both spouses are eligible individuals. In 2026 a couple can divide $8,750 any way they like, including $8,750 to one and nothing to the other.

The catch-up is per person, and it has to go into your own account. Pub 969 is blunt: "You can't have a joint HSA." When both spouses are 55 or older, Pub 969 says "Each spouse must make the additional contribution to their own HSA." That makes the 2026 household maximum $10,750 ($8,750 + $1,000 + $1,000), but only if each spouse has an HSA. If only one spouse has an account, the household loses one $1,000 catch-up. For 2027 the same couple can put in $11,000.

Planning a larger savings push before retirement? The same age-50-plus logic for retirement accounts is in our 2026 401(k) limits guide.

Medicare and Working Past 65

Turning 65 does not end HSA contributions. Medicare enrollment does. Pub 969: "Beginning with the first month you are enrolled in Medicare, your contribution limit is zero. This rule applies to periods of retroactive Medicare coverage."

That retroactive coverage is what catches people who work past 65. According to Medicare.gov, if you sign up for premium-free Part A after 65, "Your Part A coverage starts 6 months back from when you sign up or when you apply for benefits from Social Security," though never before the month you turned 65. Claiming Social Security brings Part A with it: SSA rules say people entitled to monthly benefits "may not waive HI entitlement" (HI is Part A). Medicare.gov's advice is direct: "you and your employer should stop contributing to your HSA 6 months before you retire or apply for benefits from Social Security."

The Pub 969 version of this example: a person who turned 65 and enrolled in Medicare in July 2025, with self-only coverage, had a limit of "$2,650 ($5,300 × 6 ÷ 12)." The money already in your HSA is still yours after Medicare starts, and it can pay Medicare premiums tax-free once you are 65 (Medigap premiums excepted). See Medicare Part B premiums for 2026 and how IRMAA surcharges can raise them.

Federal Employees on FEHB HDHPs

FEHB high-deductible plans fund your HSA automatically. OPM explains that "the health plan passes through a portion of the health plan premium as a deposit to the HSA each month," with different amounts for Self Only and for Self Plus One or Self and Family. Federal employees can add their own pre-tax money "through their payroll provider or through their health plan's HSA trustee."

The plan's pass-through counts toward the IRS limit, so subtract it first. For example, the 2026 GEHA HDHP brochure on OPM's site lists $83.33 a month for Self Only ($1,000 a year) and $166.66 a month for Self Plus One or Self and Family, and says your contributions plus the pass-through cannot exceed $4,400 or $8,750. A Self Only enrollee under 55 in that plan can therefore add $3,400 for 2026. Pass-through amounts differ by plan and year, so check your own brochure. OPM also notes that if you are enrolled in Medicare, "you are not eligible for an HSA. The Plan will provide an HRA instead." For the retirement side of a federal career, see the FERS retirement calculator.

Deadlines and Fixing an Excess Contribution

Deadline. Contributions for a year can be made up to the regular tax filing deadline, not including extensions. For 2026 that means April 15, 2027. Tell your HSA custodian which year a deposit made between January 1 and April 15 is for. Employer deposits in that window can also count for the prior year if the employer designates them that way.

Excess contributions. Anything above your limit is not deductible, and Pub 969 says you "must pay a 6% excise tax on excess contributions," which "applies to each tax year the excess contribution remains in the account." A $1,000 excess left in for three years costs $180 in excise tax alone.

To avoid the 6% charge, withdraw the excess and the income it earned by the due date of your return, including extensions, and report the earnings as other income. If you already filed on time without fixing it, the Form 8889 instructions allow the withdrawal up to six months after the original due date with an amended return. A third option is to leave the excess in and treat it as a contribution for the next year, if you have unused room then. The 6% still applies for the year it sat as excess.

Taking Money Out: Taxes and the 20% Penalty

The limit is only half the rulebook. What you can take out tax-free is the other half:

• Qualified medical expenses: tax-free at any age.
• Anything else, before 65: the withdrawal is added to your taxable income and you owe an extra 20% on it (26 U.S.C. §223(f)(4)).
• Anything else, from 65 on: no 20% penalty. The statute waives it for distributions after you reach Medicare age, and also after disability or death. You still pay ordinary income tax, so a non-medical withdrawal at 65+ is taxed like a traditional IRA withdrawal.

That is why many people treat an HSA as a second retirement account: contribute the maximum, pay current medical bills from other money, and let the account grow. Keep receipts, because IRS Publication 969 lets you reimburse yourself later for a qualified expense incurred after the HSA was set up.

State taxes can differ. California does not recognize HSAs: the Franchise Tax Board's Schedule CA instructions require you to add back employer HSA contributions, and say HSA "interest or other earnings ... are not treated as tax deferred" and are taxable in the year earned. If you live in another state, check how it treats HSA contributions before counting on a state tax saving.

Sources & Methodology

• IRS Revenue Procedure 2026-24: 2027 HSA limits ($4,500 / $9,000), HDHP deductible and out-of-pocket figures, and the 2027 direct primary care cap.
• IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-19: 2026 HSA limits ($4,400 / $8,750) and HDHP figures.
• 26 U.S.C. §223 (govinfo): monthly limits, the $1,000 catch-up, the married-couple split, Medicare, and the last-month rule and testing period.
• Public Law 119-21, sections 71306 (telehealth), 71307 (bronze and catastrophic plans) and 71308 (direct primary care).
• IRS Notice 2026-5: IRS guidance on the Public Law 119-21 HSA changes.
• IRS Publication 969: last-month rule, testing period, employer contributions, married couples, Medicare, deadlines and excess contributions.
• Instructions for Form 8889: the Line 3 Limitation Chart, the additional contribution worksheet and the excess-withdrawal rules.
• Medicare.gov, When does Medicare coverage start? and Working past 65: six-month Part A backdating and the HSA warning.
• SSA POMS HI 00801.002: Part A cannot be waived while receiving monthly benefits.
• OPM, Health Savings Accounts and the 2026 GEHA HDHP brochure: FEHB premium pass-through.
• IRS Publication 15-B (2026): employer HSA contributions exempt from income tax withholding, Social Security, Medicare and FUTA tax.
• IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32: 2026 health FSA limit ($3,400) and carryover ($680).
• IRS Rev. Procs. 2024-25, 2023-23, 2022-24 and 2021-25: HSA limits for 2025, 2024, 2023 and 2022.
• California Franchise Tax Board, Schedule CA (540) instructions: California's non-conformity with federal HSA rules.

Dollar limits come from the revenue procedures. The current editions of Pub 969 and the Form 8889 instructions are for 2025 returns. We applied their month-by-month method, which comes from the statute and did not change in 2026, to the 2026 and 2027 dollar amounts. Examples labelled hypothetical are illustrations, not real taxpayers.

This article is for general information and is not financial or tax advice. Figures are from IRS Revenue Procedures 2026-24 and 2025-19, 26 U.S.C. §223, Public Law 119-21, IRS Notice 2026-5, IRS Publication 969, the Form 8889 instructions, Medicare.gov, SSA and OPM, checked against the primary sources on 2026-10-05. Check your plan documents and, for a complicated situation, talk to a tax professional.

FAQ

What is the HSA limit for married filing jointly?
There is no separate joint limit, because HSAs are individual accounts. If either spouse has family HDHP coverage, the couple shares one family limit ($8,750 for 2026, $9,000 for 2027), split however they choose, and each spouse aged 55 or older can add $1,000 to their own HSA. If both have self-only coverage, each has their own $4,400 limit for 2026.

Is there a penalty for using HSA money for non-medical expenses?
Before 65, yes: the withdrawal is taxable income plus a 20% additional tax. From 65 on, or after disability, the 20% no longer applies, but non-medical withdrawals are still taxed as ordinary income. Qualified medical expenses are tax-free at any age.

What were the HSA limits in past years?
Self-only and family limits were $3,650 and $7,300 in 2022, $3,850 and $7,750 in 2023, $4,150 and $8,300 in 2024, and $4,300 and $8,550 in 2025, per the IRS revenue procedures for each year.

What is the HSA contribution limit for 2026?
$4,400 with self-only HDHP coverage and $8,750 with family coverage, plus $1,000 if you are 55 or older by December 31, 2026.

What are the HSA limits for 2027?
$4,500 self-only and $9,000 family, set by IRS Revenue Procedure 2026-24. The 55+ catch-up stays at $1,000. A 2027 HDHP needs a deductible of at least $1,750 self-only or $3,500 family.

Does my employer's HSA contribution count toward the limit?
Yes. Employer deposits and your own payroll deductions through a cafeteria plan all count. Subtract them from the annual limit to find what you can still add.

Can both spouses make the $1,000 catch-up?
Yes, if both are 55 or older, both are HSA-eligible and not on Medicare, and each has their own HSA. The catch-up cannot go into the other spouse's account.

When should I stop HSA contributions before Medicare?
Medicare.gov says you and your employer should stop contributing six months before you retire or apply for Social Security benefits, because premium-free Part A is backdated up to six months (never earlier than the month you turned 65). If you enroll at 65, stop when Medicare starts.

What happens if I start an HDHP mid-year?
If you are covered on December 1, the last-month rule lets you contribute the full year's amount, but you must stay eligible through December 31 of the next year or pay income tax plus a 10% additional tax on the extra. Otherwise your limit is prorated by the months you were eligible on the 1st.

What is the deadline for 2026 HSA contributions?
April 15, 2027, the regular filing deadline. A filing extension does not extend it.

What if I contributed too much?
Withdraw the excess plus its earnings by your return's due date, including extensions, to avoid the 6% excise tax. Excess left in the account is taxed at 6% for each year it remains.

Do bronze marketplace plans qualify for an HSA now?
Yes, from January 2026. Bronze and catastrophic plans available as individual coverage through a marketplace count as HDHPs under Public Law 119-21.

Cite This Page

Journalists, educators and bloggers are welcome to cite this guide. Please link back so readers can reach the calculator and primary sources.

"HSA Contribution Limits 2026 and 2027." Wealthy Pot, 2026. https://wealthypot.com/hsa-contribution-limits/