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hi - had an HSA account with ~$3k. employer changed providers. looks like employer opened FSA not HSA. i never rec'd cards, didn't realize this. i've been paying med exp and saving receipts. saw today that the 'old' HSA ~$3k balance is not reflected in the FSA account. i have an HSA medical plan, is this a rectifiable error that will restore my prior HSA $3k, plus last years payroll deposits? or, is all the money gone because they started an FSA in error instead of an HSA? thanks. also, if employer HR is not helpful, do i have any recourse?

Hi, I'm looking for some guidance on how to unravel a mess we've created with adding both an FSA and HSA for 2023. My wife started a new job with her own healthcare coverage and added an FSA with $250 for 2023. I have a HSA maxed at $3850 and partly paid by my employer. She didn't realize this would create a problem with having both FSA and HSA in the same year and it's too late now to change the plans. I found an older post here from 2009 and wanted to confirm that the advice was still current. The post says to suspend contributions to the HSA and to spend down the FSA asap. Once the FSA is empty, restart the HSA contributions and I can then contribute up to the annual amount. I'm also seeing conflicting posts that say FSA coverage applies to the whole year regardless of whether it's spent down so disqualifies HSA contributions for the whole year. It also doesn't say if there are penalties or what to do with any money contributed to the HSA. What happens to this money? Does it need to be removed from the HSA and/or taxed at the end of the year? Can I continue with contributions to the HSA and just pay the tax? I also found a post about the possibility that her FSA may include a clause where "the spouse can elect that the money in the FSA can only be used by family members not covered by the HSA" so checking that out. I'm looking for any help on what to do next. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

I’ve got an interesting (and a bit confusing) question for everyone. Here’s the background. 1) I was on an EPO from Jan to Oct 2013 and on HDHP from Nov 2013 to Dec 2013. 2) I have an FSA for whole of 2013, with balance of $100 at end of 2013. As of now, I still have an outstanding bill for $150 for 2012 expenses which needs to be claimed. This should make my FSA balance 0. 3) The FSA has no grace period, but in 2014, the new rules permits FSA carry forward of $500. 4) The FSA became a limited FSA from Nov 2013 onwards despite the fact I have not contributed to a HSA. (but the HSA account was setup automatically) 5) From Jan 2014 onwards, I’ve started contributing to the HSA via payroll. Q1) Can I utilize the last month rule to contribute the full $3250 to my HSA for 2013? From what I have read (extensively) I know I should be able to, but yet, contributing seems to contradict the rule that I can’t contribute to HSA if I have a FSA for the year. Q2) If not, would I be able to use the last month rule once I've completed the FSA claims for 2013 and fully deplete my FSA to 0 today? Q3) If I didn’t contribute to a HSA in 2013, will my FSA still be limited to dental and optical regardless? Been puzzling me to no end... Any tax/IRS/HSA experts care to share your thoughts?