2023-2024 HSA Contribution Limits and Rules

If you woke up this morning and the first thing that popped into your head was: I wonder what the HSA contribution limits for 2023 and 2024 are? You’re in the right place. Even if it wasn’t your first thought, I’m still glad you’re thinking about it now.

Because the cost of health care is going up (what a surprise). And while that’s a bummer, the silver lining could be a Health Savings Account, or HSA. It is for me!

Like the name suggests, an HSA is a savings account that helps you set aside money for medical expenses. Simple enough, right?

Well, as with most things involving the federal government, it gets a bit more complicated from there. Once you know if you’re eligible for an HSA, there are rules about how much you can contribute to your account each year.

But don’t worry about getting stuck in the weeds. We’re going to break down everything you need to know about HSA contributions for 2023 and 2024 right here.

What Are HSA Contribution Limits?

Unlike a savings account at your local bank, you can’t just keep adding to an HSA. Because of the awesome tax benefits of an HSA, the government has capped the amount you can contribute each year. Otherwise, we could all put a lot of our money in there and never have to pay taxes on it. Uncle Sam still wants his share!

Every year, the government increases the limit by a percentage or two to keep up with inflation. We all know inflation has been kind of crazy lately, so this next year, Uncle Sam is raising the limit by 8% for singles and 7% for families.¹

HSA Contribution Limits for 2023

In 2023, the maximum annual contribution an individual can make to an HSA is $3,850. For families in 2023, that number is $7,750.² That’s not a whole lot more than 2022, but we’ll take what we can get! And keep in mind, these numbers include what your employer contributes too.

HSA Contribution Limits for 2024

Are y’all excited for 2024? I am! Especially because I can put an extra $550 in my family HSA! The government raised the limits by a lot for 2024, bringing the individual limit up to $4,150 and the family limit to $8,300.⁴

Historical HSA Contribution Limits

Let’s take a look at where the limits have been a few years back.

As you can see, the government is pushing up the limits by bigger leaps lately to keep up with inflation. So take advantage, guys!

Why Do You Want an HSA?

So, what does all this mean exactly? Why wouldn’t you just keep that $4,150 or $8,300 in a savings account? That’s a fair question.  

I’ll walk through the details of how an HSA helps you save money below.

Pay for Medical Expenses Tax Free

The main point of an HSA is to pay for your medical expenses—this includes anything from dental work to supplements prescribed by a functional doctor to gauze bandages—with money you earned and didn’t have to pay taxes on. To put it another way, you get to keep more of the money you earn to pay for medical stuff. Who doesn’t want that?

Tax-Free Contributions

One of the most attractive features of an HSA is the tax-free contributions. You can add to your HSA straight from your paycheck by using a pretax payroll deduction. You never touch the money and it drops right into your HSA.

Or, say you’re self-employed or your employer doesn’t offer an HSA, you can make deposits into your HSA and then claim them as tax deductions come tax time. You can’t do that with a regular savings account!

But heads up, California and New Jersey residents: These states don’t offer state income tax deductions for your HSA contributions. If you’re still unsure or confused, reach out to one of our RamseyTrusted tax pros—they’ll walk you through your options based on your state’s rules.

Tax-Free Growth

Not only are your contributions tax-free, but so is the interest they earn. Whether you hit the max annual contribution or not, you’ll start earning interest on whatever you contribute.

Plus, once you reach a certain amount in your HSA, you can invest your savings in mutual funds, and you won’t be taxed on that growth either. If you kept that money in a regular savings or brokerage account, you’d be taxed on the growth. Tax-free growth? Love it!

But here’s a kicker: If you live in California or New Jersey your HSA earnings are considered taxable income. And for those of you in Tennessee and New Hampshire, you’ll get taxed on your HSA earnings, like dividends and interest, but not on your contributions.

Catch-Up Contributions

There’s another little HSA bonus if you’re 55 or older by the end of the tax year. It’s called a catch-up contribution and it means you can add an additional $1,000 to your HSA. That $1,000 is standard across single or family coverage. (But here’s something to remember: You can’t be enrolled in Medicare and contribute to an HSA.)

Guys, I’ve been helping people to make the most out of their money for years—take it from me: Whether you’re healthy and rarely go to the doctor (like me!) or you’re really sick and you blow through your deductible all the time, an HSA is a really good idea.

Ashleigh B. is putting all the benefits of an HSA to good use for her unique situation. “We max ours out every year,” she said on the Ramsey Baby Steps Facebook Community page. “We know that in the future, I will need a kidney transplant. While we have really good insurance and Medicaid will automatically kick in as secondary when I get to that point, we know that anti-rejection meds are crazy expensive and are saving as much of the HSA as possible for that.”

HSA Tax Penalties

We’ve talked a lot about tax benefits with HSAs but what about tax penalties? Are there any?

The answer is yes, there are a few—but only if you don’t follow the rules (which we’ll go over in a minute).

HSA tax penalties:

• 6% excise tax for over-contributing
• Income taxes for spending HSA money on nonqualified expenses
• 20% penalty on top of income taxes

You’ll get penalized if you try to put too much money in your HSA. The limits are real, and you’re not supposed to go over them. If you do, you’ll get slapped with a 6% excise tax on whatever extra money you put in.¹⁰

And if you try to spend your HSA money on something that doesn’t count as a qualifying medical expense (like a nose job or a Birkin bag), the penalty is even worse. You’ll get hit with a 20% early withdrawal penalty plus income taxes on the money (because you got away with not paying them when you put the money in your HSA).¹¹

HSA Rules for 2023 and 2024

Since there’s no such thing as a free lunch, you’re going to have to follow some rules in order to get all the great benefits of an HSA. Other than the few qualifications you need to meet for eligibility, the majority of the rules for HSAs are around withdrawals and investments. Let’s take a look.

Excess Contributions

Like we mentioned above, you can contribute too much to your HSA—and if you do, expect to pay a 6% tax on that money. (Don’t forget that your employer’s contributions count toward your total contribution limit!)

HSA Withdrawals

Don’t think you can pull out your HSA funds and go on a shopping spree—unless it’s a Band-Aid and medicine bonanza. HSA funds have to be spent on qualifying medical expenses.

HSA Investments

If you understand an HSA’s triple tax-free advantages (contributions aren’t taxed going in or out and they grow tax-free) but stop there, you’re leaving money on the table! HSAs also come fully loaded with some great investment options.

Once you’ve hit your minimum HSA balance to invest ($1,000 for many HSA providers), you can start investing your contributions above that into good growth stock mutual funds—earning 10–12%—like you would any other investment.

You can also think of an HSA like a “health IRA” because at age 65, your HSA will act just like a traditional IRA. At that point you can withdraw those funds for whatever you’d like. But like a traditional IRA, you’ll pay taxes on it if you do.If you enroll in Medicare at age 65, you won’t be able to contribute to your HSA anymore. You’ll still have access to whatever’s left though, and anything you don’t spend will continue to grow tax-free and roll over each year. That means your HSA is still a good place to stash funds and earn a little extra for those future medical expenses.

HSA Contribution Deadline

Obviously, you don’t want to miss out on this awesome opportunity to save. So when is the deadline? You have until Tax Day to contribute to your HSA. That’s typically April 15. So this means you can put money into your HSA for 2023 up until April 15, 2024.

HSA Eligibility Requirements

Before you can put money into an HSA, you need to figure out if you’re even eligible for one. To be eligible for one of these supercharged money-saving machines, you have to have a high-deductible health plan (HDHP).

In 2024, that’s a plan with a minimum annual deductible of $1,600 for individuals and $3,200 for families. It also has to have a maximum annual out-of-pocket limit of $8,050 for individuals and $16,100 for families.¹² (An out-of-pocket maximum means the most you’ll pay for covered costs before your health insurance covers 100% of the remaining balance.)¹³ If you meet those qualifications, you’re in!

If you’re enrolled in Medicare or someone else can claim you as a dependent, no dice. The federal government says you’re not eligible for an HSA.

How Can You Get a High-Deductible Health Plan (HDHP)?

So you’re sold on the idea of an HSA, but now you need an HDHP. How do you get one, and how do you know you’re getting the right one?

Getting an HDHP is pretty easy: Sign up during open enrollment either through the federally or state run marketplace or your employer. Knowing you’re picking the right one? That can be a little daunting. But the good news is, there are experts who can help you for free.

Get connected with an insurance professional through our friends at Health Trust Financial—they’re RamseyTrusted and will walk you through everything you need to know, including whether an HDHP with an HSA is truly the right call for you. They’re also a group of independent agents, which means they work for you—not some insurance company. So you can be sure you’re getting a health plan that fits your needs.