Unmarried Couple w/ Child: HSA Limits

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Topic Author
austin757
Posts: 483
Joined: Wed Jun 06, 2018 11:48 am

Unmarried Couple w/ Child: HSA Limits

Post by austin757 »

Say if you have an unmarried couple with a child. The child is on the father's healthcare plan (HDHP w/HSA). The mother, however, files taxes with the child as the dependent; the father is a single filer.

Can the father make the family contribution ($7200) to his HSA, even though the child is not on his taxes? Or is being on the healthcare plan enough to make the family contribution?

If it matters, all expenses are paid out-of-pocket. The money is invested in the HSA and father plans to let it grow until retirement.
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FiveK
Posts: 15742
Joined: Sun Mar 16, 2014 2:43 pm

Re: Unmarried Couple w/ Child: HSA Limits

Post by FiveK »

Yes. "Family HDHP coverage is HDHP coverage for an eligible individual and at least one other individual." See p. 4 of https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p969.pdf.

On p. 9 of Pub. 969 one finds "For this purpose, a child of parents that are di-vorced, separated, or living apart for the last 6 months of the calendar year is treated as the de-pendent of both parents whether or not the custodial pa-rent releases the claim to the child’s exemption." I'm not sure how that applies (or doesn't) if the parents were never married.
Topic Author
austin757
Posts: 483
Joined: Wed Jun 06, 2018 11:48 am

Re: Unmarried Couple w/ Child: HSA Limits

Post by austin757 »

Thanks. I saw that publication too but wasn't sure about if it was just two parents.
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