✨ September Sale! ✨

All money courses are $30 off! Sale ends Sunday 9/22!

How does an HSA work? (The Ultimate HSA Guide)

HSA Guide 2

An HSA might be the best tax-advantaged retirement account available, but very few people are fully utilizing them. It works almost exactly like a Traditional IRA, except you can also do tax-free withdrawals for qualified medical expenses at any age, making it more flexible and reducing your medical costs and taxes.⁣‎‎
⁣‎‎
A lot of people don’t know that you can actually invest inside of one too. I use mine partially to pay for medical expenses, but most of the money is invested in a target date index fund to grow for decades to come!⁣‎‎
⁣‎‎
Note that you can only open one if you have an “HSA Compatible” health insurance plan. You would need to check with your health insurance provider to see if you qualify. Often times opening an HSA compatible plan is the cheapest option and comes with the bonus of an option to contribute to this cool tax-advantaged account!⁣ However, I wouldn’t recommend changing your health insurance just for access to this account. In the big scheme of things, getting your health insurance needs correctly taken care of is more important than the tax break offered by this account.‎‎

Another note: If you need new insurance or want to change your insurance we’re currently in the “open enrollment” period for the Affordable Care Act. You can go sign up or change your plan at healthcare.gov.
‎‎
For 2025 the max contribution is $4,300 for an individual or $8,550 for a family. Amazon has a cool ] feature that tells you if an item you’re buying is “HSA eligible”. The other day I bought sunscreen and Amazon let me know that according to IRS rules you can spend your HSA money on sunscreen. That means money goes tax free into your HSA, then you buy sunscreen tax free and never pay penny of income tax! You can’t get a better deal than that on taxes!‎‎

Final note: Don’t confuse an HSA with an FSA! FSA stands for “Flexible savings account” and differs in a HUGE way. Money you contribute to an FSA is “use it or lose it” each year, so you can’t use it for an actual wealth building account.

As always, reminding you to build wealth by following the two PFC rules: 1.) Live below your means and 2.) Invest early and often.‎

-Jeremy‎

MORE POSTS

Jeremy Circle

Hi, I’m Jeremy! I retired at 36 and currently have a net worth of over $4 million. 

Personal Finance Club is here to give simple, unbiased information on how to win with money and become a multi-millionaire!