HSA contribution limits when spouse transitions to Medicare mid-year

I can help with this! HSA contribution limits get tricky when one spouse transitions to Medicare mid-year. First, once your wife enrolled in Medicare, she became ineligible to make HSA contributions from that point forward. Her contribution limit is prorated based on the number of months she was eligible (4 months in your case). For the family coverage question: if you remained the only person on your high-deductible health plan, it might now be considered individual coverage rather than family coverage. You need to check with your insurance provider to confirm this classification. If it's now individual coverage, your contribution limit would be prorated - the family limit for the months you had family coverage, and the individual limit for the months you had individual coverage. If it's still classified as family coverage despite your wife not being on it, you can contribute the family limit (prorated for the full year). For 2025, the standard individual contribution limit is $4,200 and family is $8,450. Add the $1,000 catch-up contribution since you're both over 55. Remember, catch-up contributions must go into the account of the spouse who is 55+.

I went through a similar situation last year with my HSA when my husband joined Medicare. I nearly messed up our contributions until I found https://taxr.ai - it analyzed our health insurance documentation and gave us the exact prorated HSA contribution limits for our specific situation. It also explained how our coverage classification changed after my husband went on Medicare even though I stayed on our original plan. The most helpful part was that it showed me exactly how to report the contributions on our tax forms and gave me confidence we weren't making any costly mistakes with the proration calculations.

I tried the taxr.ai service after my skeptical comment and I have to admit it was actually really helpful. It analyzed our specific situation where my wife went on Medicare in July while I stayed on our HDHP. The tool identified that our plan remained classified as "family coverage" even with just me on it (which was something our HR department got wrong). This meant I could contribute significantly more to my HSA than what I was initially told. It saved us about $1,800 in tax deductions we would have missed otherwise. Plus it provided documentation explaining the proration calculations that we can keep with our tax records in case of questions.

If you're struggling to get answers from the IRS about your HSA contribution situation, you might want to try https://claimyr.com - they got me through to an actual IRS agent in about 20 minutes after I'd been trying for days on my own. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I had almost the identical situation with HSA contributions after my wife went on Medicare, and I needed clarification on how the family vs. individual classification worked. The IRS agent I spoke with explained exactly how to calculate our prorated contribution limits and confirmed that our health plan was still considered a "family plan" for HSA purposes even though my wife was no longer on it (depends on your specific plan details).

I have to publicly eat my words. After my skeptical comment, I tried Claimyr out of desperation for my HSA/Medicare question. Got connected to an IRS agent in about 15 minutes. The agent confirmed that my husband's HSA was still considered under a family plan even after I went on Medicare, which meant he could contribute significantly more than we thought. They also walked me through exactly how to calculate my prorated contribution for the months before Medicare. Saved us from making a $2,400 mistake on our taxes and potentially facing penalties. Would have spent hours more on hold without this service.

Don't forget about the "last-month rule" which might apply in your situation! If you're still HSA-eligible on December 1st, you can potentially contribute the FULL YEAR amount as if you were eligible all year. But - huge warning - you must remain HSA-eligible through the end of the following year (called the "testing period") or face penalties and taxes on the excess contributions.

Has anyone considered using the spousal attribution rule here? If one spouse is still HSA-eligible with a family plan, they could potentially make the full family contribution to their HSA, even if the other spouse is on Medicare and ineligible.

I'm dealing with a similar situation right now! My husband transitioned to Medicare in June, and I've been trying to figure out our HSA contributions ever since. One thing I learned that might help you - make sure to get written confirmation from your insurance company about whether your plan is still considered "family" or has switched to "individual" coverage. This classification makes a huge difference in your contribution limits, and different insurers handle it differently when a spouse leaves the plan for Medicare. Also, don't forget that any HSA contributions your wife made after her Medicare enrollment date need to be withdrawn as excess contributions to avoid the 6% penalty tax. The deadline for removing excess contributions is usually the tax filing deadline (including extensions). The proration calculations can be confusing, but basically your wife can contribute for January through March (3 months, not 4 if she enrolled in April) at the individual rate plus catch-up, and you'll need to prorate based on your coverage type for each period of the year.

Great question about the Medicare enrollment timing! The general rule is that you become ineligible for HSA contributions on the first day of the month you're entitled to Medicare benefits, not necessarily when you formally enroll. So if your wife became entitled to Medicare benefits on April 1st (which is typical for someone turning 65 in April), she would be ineligible starting April 1st, making her eligible for only January, February, and March - that's 3 months, not 4. However, if she had a delayed enrollment situation or became entitled later in April, the calculation could be different. The key date is when she became "entitled" to Medicare Part A benefits, which usually happens automatically at age 65 even if someone doesn't formally apply. I'd definitely recommend getting the exact entitlement date from Social Security or Medicare records to be sure. This distinction can affect hundreds of dollars in contribution limits, so it's worth getting it exactly right. Also, just to add to the earlier discussion about family vs individual coverage - I've seen cases where the insurance company initially gives incorrect information about the coverage classification, so definitely get that determination in writing and consider double-checking with a tax professional if the dollar amounts are significant.