Setting Up a Health Savings Account for Your Small Business
Given the escalating cost of employee health care benefits, your business may be interested in providing some of these benefits through an employer-sponsored Health Savings Account (HSA). For eligible individuals, HSAs offer a tax-advantaged way to set aside funds (or have their employers do so) to meet future medical needs. Here are the key tax benefits:
- Contributions that participants make to an HSA are deductible, within limits.
- Contributions that employers make aren’t taxed to participants.
- Earnings on the funds within an HSA aren’t taxed, so the money can accumulate year after year tax free.
- HSA distributions to cover qualified medical expenses aren’t taxed.
- Employers don’t have to pay payroll taxes on HSA contributions made by employees through payroll deductions.
Who is eligible?
To be eligible for an HSA, an individual must be covered by a “high deductible health plan.” For 2019, a “high deductible health plan” is one with an annual deductible of at least $1,350 for self-only coverage, or at least $2,700 for family coverage. For self-only coverage, the 2019 limit on deductible contributions is $3,500. For family coverage, the 2019 limit on deductible contributions is $7,000. Additionally, annual out-of-pocket expenses required to […]