Health Savings Account (HSA)HSA FAQs

A health savings account (HSA) offers a tax-advantaged way to save and pay for qualified medical expenses. The unspent HSA money rolls over to the next year, and you keep control of the account, even if you switch employers.

HSAs are tax-advantaged in 3 ways:

1. Contributions using after-tax money may be tax-deductible. If your HSA is through your employer, you can make pre-tax payroll contributions.
2. Withdrawals are free from federal income taxes when spending on qualified medical expenses (QMEs).
3. Any investment growth is also tax-free.

Your HSA money is always yours, even if you change employers, providers, or move to another state.

If you have an existing HSA at another provider, you are eligible to open a Fidelity HSA and transfer your existing account to Fidelity at any time.

When transferring an HSA, it's important to note that your existing HSA may be in 2 separate types of accounts:

• A bank account holding your cash balance
• A brokerage account holding your investments

Both account types are eligible to be transferred, however, a separate transfer request may be required for each one. Your current HSA provider can help you determine the right process and discuss your options. Note: Some financial institutions don't allow in-kind transfers of investments held in an HSA.

Learn more about transferring your HSA.

Your HSA is always yours, even if you change health insurance plans. However, if you switch to a health plan that is not HSA-eligible, you will no longer be eligible to make future contributions to your HSA.

There are no fees for opening a Fidelity HSA^®, which you invest yourself, or a Fidelity Go^® HSA, which Fidelity manages and invests for you. However, with a Fidelity Go^® HSA, your account balance must be at least $10 for us to invest your money according to the investment strategy you've chosen.

The Fidelity Go^® HSA does not charge advisory fees on balances under $25,000, but there is a 0.35% advisory fee per year for balances of $25,000 and above. This includes unlimited 1-on-1 coaching calls.

On average, according to the 2024 Fidelity Retiree Health Care Cost Estimate, a 65-year-old individual may need $165,000 in after-tax savings to cover health care expenses.¹

Unlike most FSAs, HSA money is:

• Never "use-it-or-lose-it." Unspent HSA money always rolls over to the next year.
• Always yours, even if you change employers or move to a new state.
• Investable in some cases (like Fidelity’s HSA), with no federal income taxes on any growth.

If you have taken possession of the funds, you no longer qualify for the non-reportable transfer of assets. However, you can still process a rollover into the HSA within 60 days of receiving the funds. You can mail in the check with a deposit slip and we'll get it processed for you. This will be reported as a rollover contribution on your taxes. You can only make one rollover contribution to an HSA per year. It's not included in your income, isn't tax-deductible, and doesn't reduce your contribution limit. Please consult a tax advisor with questions.

You can't transfer an FSA into an HSA, but you can make a once-in-a-lifetime contribution to your HSA from your IRA. This is sometimes called a "qualified HSA funding distribution from an IRA" or a "rollover from an IRA." These contributions are not subject to federal income taxes or the 10% penalty for early withdrawals.

The IRS defines a qualified medical expense (QME) as the cost to diagnosis, treat, or prevent disease and includes equipment and supplies needed for those purposes.

The account holder can order an extra HSA debit card for a spouse and eligible dependents online.

The only rollover HSA money that counts toward your IRS contribution limit is what you've contributed during the existing calendar year.

You can open and contribute to as many health savings accounts (HSAs) as you like. Remember that the annual IRS contribution limit applies to the total amount you contribute to all your HSAs. Opening additional HSAs doesn't increase your limit.

The IRS defines HSA contributions each year. For 2024, HSA contribution limits are $4,150 for individual health plans and $8,300 for family health plans. For 2025, HSA contribution limits are $4,300 for individual health plans and $8,550 for family health plans.

If you're age 55 or older during the tax-year, you may also be eligible to make an additional $1,000 catch-up contribution annually. Please note that if you have an employer-sponsored HSA, any contributions made by your employer will count toward these limits. If you're married and covered by a family health plan, you and your spouse can both contribute to your HSA. If you do, all of your contributions will count toward the yearly contribution limit for family health plans. See IRS Publication 969 for more on annual HSA contribution limits.

You have 5 ways you can contribute to your HSA.

1. Transfer money: Make a one-time or recurring transfer from a bank account or another Fidelity account.
2. Deposit a check: Use the Fidelity Mobile^® app to make a mobile deposit.
3. Use money from another HSA: Transfer some or all of your balance from another HSA.
4. Move money from an IRA: Complete a one-time transfer—there’s no penalty and it’s tax-free.
5. Direct deposit: Deposit directly from your paycheck.

Please see our guide to moving money at Fidelity for more information.

There is no minimum for annual contributions to your HSA.

To give yourself an idea of what may be the right amount for you, try our Health Savings Account Calculator.

Anyone can make an after-tax contribution to your Fidelity HSA. Generally, contributions another person makes to your HSA will not be tax-deductible for the contributor, and the IRS's annual contribution limits will still apply. See IRS Publication 969 for more on annual HSA contribution limits.

Check with your employer about their HSA contribution policies and capabilities. You can also make after-tax contributions from your paycheck—those contributions are federal income tax-deductible.

If you're 55 or older during the tax year, you may be able to make a catch-up contribution to your HSA, up to $1,000 per year. Your spouse, if age 55 or older, could also make a catch-up contribution, but will need to open their own HSA.

If you contributed above the IRS's annual limit unintentionally, submit a Fidelity Return of Excess Contribution request in accordance with the applicable instructions. If you take no action until you file taxes, you’ll be responsible for paying taxes on and may be penalized for the amount you contributed above the IRS’s annual contribution limit.

Your account number can be found on your Account Summary page when you log into Fidelity.com. The Fidelity routing number is 101205681. These account and routing numbers can only be used for depositing money in your HSA, not for spending your HSA money. For further information and instructions, see our resource on determining your routing and account numbersLog In Required.

You can make a once-in-a-lifetime contribution to your HSA from your IRA. This is sometimes called a "qualified HSA funding distribution from an IRA or a rollover from an IRA." These contributions are not subject to federal income taxes or the 10% penalty for early withdrawals. If you choose to do a one-time IRA contribution, you can effectively use your IRA money to pay for medical expenses, such as a major unexpected expense, without having to pay federal income taxes or penalties on it, as you would if you took an early IRA distribution to pay for that expense. However, contributions from an IRA will count toward the IRS's annual limits on HSA contributions—unlike a rollover between two HSAs—and those IRA contributions are not tax deductible.

• Fidelity IRA to Fidelity HSA transfers: Contact a Fidelity HSA representative to initiate a transfer of your Fidelity IRA to your Fidelity HSA.
• External (non-Fidelity) IRA to Fidelity HSA transfers: Request a one-time distribution from your non-Fidelity IRA and have your IRA custodian send a check made payable to Fidelity Management Trust Company (or FMTC), FBO [your name]. Also include a deposit slip or letter of instruction with the check. Include the account number and the contribution tax year in the check memo field when you mail the check to Fidelity. Learn how to deposit a check by mail. If your IRA custodian needs other instructions, please call 866-402-7610 to speak to a Fidelity HSA representative.

It may take 2–5 weeks or, in some cases, more, depending on how quickly your current HSA provider responds. If any of your HSA money is invested, your current HSA may be held in 2 separate accounts which are both eligible to be transferred.

• A bank account holding your cash balance
• A brokerage account holding your investments

If you become ineligible to contribute to your HSA, you can still spend your HSA savings tax-free for qualified medical expenses anytime, including through retirement.

You're eligible to open and contribute to an HSA if you are:

• Enrolled in an HSA-eligible health plan
• Not covered by another health plan
• Not enrolled in Medicare
• Unable to be claimed as a dependent on someone else's tax return

An HSA-eligible health plan, also known as a high-deductible health plan (HDHP) is a health plan you need to be enrolled in to be able to contribute to an HSA.

If you opened an HSA while ineligible, call Fidelity to close your HSA. There are no taxes or penalties for opening an HSA while ineligible, as long as you don't make contributions to it. Any contributions you do make will be subject to federal income taxes and/or penalties. Keep in mind: Even if while ineligible, you can consolidate any old HSAs into one HSA using a direct custodian-to-custodian transfer.

An HSA-eligible health plan may cost less than other health plan types. Typically, they have higher annual deductibles and maximum out-of-pocket limits, but have lower monthly premiums.²

Investing your HSA money can help your savings grow over time, with any growth being free from federal income taxes. It's a great way to help cover the costs of health care through retirement.

You can invest your HSA money in a broad range of individual stocks, mutual funds, and other securities. Learn more about HSA investing.

You can buy and sell your HSA investments as often as you like. However, you will be subject to standard commissions and investment-related fees. See www.fidelity.com/commissions for more information.

The SIPC protects your uninvested HSA money, up to $500,000. If you choose to invest some or all of your HSA money, those investments could lose money. All investing involves risk, including risk of loss.³

Accessing your invested HSA money is as simple as selling your investments in the same way you’d sell any other investment. The money should be available for withdrawal when the trade settles, usually within a few business days.

When you open a new Fidelity HSA^®, we automatically put your uninvested cash into the Fidelity^® Government Cash Reserves, but you can also choose another cash option. Understanding the differences between your core options can help you make the choice that's right for you. Below are the HSA core options available to you:

Fidelity^® Government Cash Reserves (FDRXX) money market fund⁴
Money market funds are mutual funds that invest in short-term debt securities issued by short-term, high-quality entities that borrow money to repay principal and interest to investors within a short time period. Money market funds have different characteristics than a bank sweep so read the fund's prospectus carefully. 


or

Fidelity's FDIC Insured Deposit Sweep Program⁵
Through the program, the uninvested cash balance in your Fidelity HSA^® is swept to one or more program banks where it is eligible for FDIC insurance. For more information, please refer to the FDIC-Insured Deposit Sweep Program Disclosure (PDF) and the Fidelity Health Savings Account (HSA) Program Banks list.

Interest rates or yields may vary due to market conditions.

The option to choose your position appears during account opening; however, you can also change it at any time.

1. Log in to Fidelity.com and select your Fidelity HSA^® account. In the Positions tab, select Core or FDRXX.
2. Select the Change core position button.
3. Select FDIC or Fidelity Government Cash Reserves (FDRXX), then click "Preview order," and "Submit."

Switching is free and will not change your ability to access or invest this money.

There are no fees for opening a Fidelity HSA^®, which you invest yourself, or a Fidelity Go® HSA, which Fidelity manages and invest for you. However, with a Fidelity Go^® HSA, your account balance must be at least $10 for us to invest your money according to the investment strategy you've chosen.

When investing for yourself in a Fidelity HSA^®, mutual fund expenses will still apply, as do commissions, interest charges, and other expenses related to transactions or holding specific investments.

If you have a Fidelity HSA^® through your employer, your account may be charged an administrative fee of up to $12 per quarter ($48 annually), unless it’s paid by your employer. That administrative fee may be waived for households established before a certain date and meeting certain asset minimums at Fidelity.

When you enroll in a Fidelity Go^® HSA, you turn the day-to-day investment decisions for your money over to a team of experienced professionals, who provide this service for a fee. Based on information you provide, these professionals invest your money to help you meet your investment goals. Most of your experience with Fidelity Go^® takes place online—including providing information about yourself, opening your account, and tracking your investments. For more information, go to fidelity.com/go.

Even though Fidelity Go^® HSAs are intended for investing goals of three years or longer, you can still reimburse yourself for qualified medical expenses you pay out-of-pocket by submitting a withdrawal request. When you do, we'll sell securities in your account for you. After the money has settled, which can take up to ten business days, we'll send it to you by check, electronic funds transfer (EFT), or transfer of funds to another account.

If your HSA money is invested, you may be able to do an in-kind transfer into a self-directed HSA, which allows your HSA provider to transfer both your cash balance and your investments to Fidelity. You may need a separate transfer request for each. Some HSA providers don't allow this, which means you'd need to liquidate your investments before moving the money.

Transfers directly into a Fidelity Go^® HSA can be made in cash or in-kind, if they are transferred in-kind they will be liquidated and reinvested, but you can transfer securities you don’t wish to liquidate into a Fidelity HSA^®.

Your HSA transfer could be delayed for a number of reasons, some of which are avoidable. The most common include:

• Not supplying a complete account statement
• Not signing the transfer form
• Giving incomplete or incorrect account information
• Providing a name that doesn't match what's on the account

Please review all your information carefully to prevent any avoidable delays.

There is no minimum balance required to start investing your Fidelity HSA^® money. However, certain mutual funds may have minimum investment requirements.

You can use your HSA to pay for doctor's visits, hospital services, surgery, and medications, to name a few. For a full list, see IRS Publication 502.

Direct-deposit contributions from a linked bank account are usually available in your HSA within a few hours. Transfers from other HSAs or an IRA are usually available in your HSA within a few business days, once Fidelity receives the money from a third-party provider. Please see our guide to moving money with Fidelity for more information.

If you don’t have enough set aside in your core position in your HSA, you can pay for your qualified medical expense out-of-pocket now and reimburse yourself later, once you have enough money in your HSA. If you’re investing your HSA money, you can sell some of your investments any time, and that money will be available to use when the trade settles, usually within a few business days.

You can choose to cash out your HSA any time, but if you're not using the money to pay for qualified medical expenses, your withdrawal will be subject to taxes and may be subject to penalties.

You can withdraw your HSA money penalty-free any time before or during retirement to pay for qualified medical expenses. If you use it for any other expense before retirement, your withdrawal will be subject to taxes and may be subject to penalty. If you use your HSA money for any other expense after age 65, you'll just have to pay the taxes, and you won't be penalized. Please see IRS Publication 502 for a complete and up-to-date list of qualified medical expenses.

If you use your HSA money on something other than qualified medical expenses before retirement, your withdrawal will be subject to taxes, and it may be subject to a 20% penalty. If you use it for something other than qualified medical expenses after age 65, your withdrawal will be subject to taxes but not penalized.

Your HSA is always yours, so you can still spend your HSA money on qualified medical expenses with no federal income taxes or penalties in retirement.

Retirement-related qualified medical expenses, covered by your HSA, could include:

• COBRA coverage costs
• Health care coverage while you’re receiving unemployment benefits
• Medicare premiums other than Medicare Supplemental coverage
• Qualified long-term care coverage

If you choose to use your HSA money for something other than qualified medical expenses, you will be responsible for paying federal income taxes on it and may be penalized if you’re under age 65. You’ll also still be eligible to contribute to your HSA in retirement as long as you aren’t enrolled in Medicare or covered by an ineligible health plan.

Keep all your receipts for your out-of-pocket qualified medical expenses as well as documentation for your claims and your explanations of benefits (EOBs).

To make a repayment to your Fidelity HSA, submit a completed "Fidelity HSA^® Return of Mistaken Distribution" form to Fidelity in accordance with applicable instructions.

You can use your HSA money to pay for qualified medical expenses (QMEs) for your spouse and dependent children as long as everyone meets eligibility requirements and you, the account owner, have authorized each of them by requesting an additional HSA debit card in their name. Debit cards are only available for the Fidelity HSA^®.

You can pay for any qualified medical expense out of pocket and reimburse yourself anytime from your health savings account (HSA)—there's no cutoff date. The expenses must have occurred since opening the HSA.

In the Fidelity HSA, contributions, qualified withdrawals, and investment growth are all federal income tax-free.

Form 1099-SA reports all withdrawals, including charges to your HSA debit card, you have made from your HSA during the tax year. You should report the withdrawal amounts from Form 1099-SA on Form 8889 only if you withdrew from your HSA.

Form 5498-SA summarizes your HSA contributions, holdings, and fair market value. This form is informational only and does not need to be filed with your taxes. Please refer to our tax information guide for further details.

Fidelity will complete and file form 990T on your behalf, if necessary. This form only applies to investments in limited partnerships, so most HSA owners should not expect to need or receive one of these.

Since assets are transferred directly from trustee to trustee, this is a non-reportable transfer, and there will be no tax forms to worry about. Don't include the amount transferred in income, deduct it as a contribution, or include it as a distribution when you file your taxes. You can process an unlimited number of TOAs per year and they're not subject to annual contribution limits.

You can view your contributions history on your Portfolio Summary page after you log into Fidelity.com.

To avoid taxes and penalties on HSA money, spend it only on qualified medical expenses (QMEs). Keep in mind, some states tax HSA money.