Missed HSA election window at company, can I still contribute on my own?

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tjaden
Posts: 54
Joined: Mon Nov 24, 2008 1:44 pm

Missed HSA election window at company, can I still contribute on my own?

Post by tjaden »

So, I forgot to press the Submit button on my benefit elections for 2017 and my HSA contribution is $0 for 2017. Years ago, it seemed that there was always a 'correction' period that benefits people could correct this type of thing, but I digress. My question is simple (I hope). Can I just make my own contributions (post-tax) and then claim the deduction later when I do my returns in 2018? If yes, do I have to use a completely separate HSA (outside of my company-provided HSA). I didn't find any particular mention of this specific case in the IRS pub 969 (https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p969.pdf).

Thanks,
TJ
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Meg77
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Re: Missed HSA election window at company, can I still contribute on my own?

Post by Meg77 »

Contact HR on this. You have a specific time to select your benefits such as what kind of health plan you want. But at most companies you can change your contribution rate at least on a quarterly basis to accounts like HSAs and 401ks. And in any event they might just make an exception and manually adjust your selection.

If they say no, they may be able to advise about whether you can open your own HSA. I believe you can. But you have to be enrolled in a qualified HDHP through your work to be eligible to contribute to one (which you probably are since you had the option of contributing to an HSA during enrollment).
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simplesimon
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Re: Missed HSA election window at company, can I still contribute on my own?

Post by simplesimon »

I believe you can deduct HSA contributions when it comes time to file but you will not get the FICA tax benefit.
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Edie
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Re: Missed HSA election window at company, can I still contribute on my own?

Post by Edie »

You can deposit your HSA money into the same account you already have, or you can get a different one if you want. I did my HSA contributions to my company-provided account this year post tax and will get the deduction when we file our taxes.
simplesimon wrote:I believe you can deduct HSA contributions when it comes time to file but you will not get the FICA tax benefit.
simplesimon is correct that you will not get the FICA tax benefit.
Topic Author
tjaden
Posts: 54
Joined: Mon Nov 24, 2008 1:44 pm

Re: Missed HSA election window at company, can I still contribute on my own?

Post by tjaden »

Ok, great... thanks everyone for your help!
2retire
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Re: Missed HSA election window at company, can I still contribute on my own?

Post by 2retire »

The bigger question is, will you still be covered at all by health insurance in 2017. At my company, if you didn't submit your benefits package by the deadline day, you are SOL. You don't get any coverage for the following year. If your company isn't like that, I would expect that they would continue the deductions you have been having them take for the past year. It would be best to call HR and find out what they plan to do about you.
inbox788
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Re: Missed HSA election window at company, can I still contribute on my own?

Post by inbox788 »

Most benefit plans keep the status quo (or whatever equivalent default) for those that fail to meet the deadline. Often, this is exactly what you want or adequate. But when it come to the HSA amount to contribute, it seems some/many/all are opt-in, so they zero out if you don't actively select the amount to contribute. If that's the case, hopefully the correct health plan is already selected and HR can adjust the HSA contribution amount a few days after their deadline. It's not a real deadline, but they do need time to process, and won't like the extra work. If they won't, I don't see why you couldn't do it outside the company, but it's more work for you, and I don't know how you'd deal with the pre-tax vs after tax stuff.
Topic Author
tjaden
Posts: 54
Joined: Mon Nov 24, 2008 1:44 pm

Re: Missed HSA election window at company, can I still contribute on my own?

Post by tjaden »

Thanks for the additional help. Yes, my company defaults to all of the prior year elections except HSA and limited FSA.

I believe making the contributions post-tax would just be a matter of sending in the money and then adding the deduction to my income tax filing like a non-corporate plan.
Spirit Rider
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Re: Missed HSA election window at company, can I still contribute on my own?

Post by Spirit Rider »

You seem all too willing to assume that you can't change this before the start of the year.

The HSA contribution amount is not subject to open enrollment rules. This is purely subject to company/payroll policies. Every company I have worked for, let you change HSA contributions at any time with a 1-2 payroll period delay. The worst I have ever heard of was a quarterly change. I think it is HIGHLY likely that you can have this changed by the first of the year.
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