Incorrectly signed up HSA under the wrong person

[Guest krugs525]

My wife and son are on one health care plan and I am on another. I went to sign up for two separate HSA accounts at my bank. The problem is that I put them both in my name, and the bank was using my SSN as the "owner" of the account, which means that they will report it for tax purposes as being my account. However, I've been using one of the HSAs for my wife and son for the last few months. In short, I've been paying their medical expenses out of my HSA.

A few questions...

1) What do I do when tax time comes around and now I have a form from my bank stating that I contributed X dollars to my HSA and then spent it, when I actually spent it on my wife and son's expenses

2) Since we're on separate health care plans, do I need to have separate HSA accounts (one for me, one for them)?

3) Since we're on separate plans, can I contribute $3050 for myself and $6100 for my wife and son (since they're on a family plan)

Thanks!

[Guest jgarber]

It sounds like you may have done this correctly (even with two health savings accounts in your name). Since you have qualifying insurance (a high deductible health plan), you can have a health savings account. If your wife's coverage is not a qualifying high deductible health plan, she is not able to have a health savings account in her name. If she does have qualifying HDHP coverage, she is still not required to have a health savings account.

REGARDLESS of whose name and SSN the account is in, you are able to use the funds to pay for qualifying medical expenses of you (the account holder), your spouse (even if they have other coverage), and your dependents (again, even if they have other coverage).

To answer your questions...

1) What do I do when tax time comes around and now I have a form from my bank stating that I contributed X dollars to my HSA and then spent it, when I actually spent it on my wife and son's expenses Your wife & son's expenses are considered qualifying expenses for your account.

2) Since we're on separate health care plans, do I need to have separate HSA accounts (one for me, one for them)? No. Only the account holder with qualifying coverage (high dedictible health plan) can open and make HSA contributions. If she has qualifying coverage, she still isn't required to have her own HSA.

3) Since we're on separate plans, can I contribute $3050 for myself and $6100 for my wife and son (since they're on a family plan)

No. You and your family are limited to the family maximum ($6100).