Need Help with Form 8889 Part 1 for HSA Contributions with Separate HDHP Plans

You're actually getting the tax benefit correctly, but it's just happening in a different way than you're expecting! When you contribute to an HSA through payroll deduction, those contributions are already pre-tax, meaning they've already been excluded from your taxable income. Let me explain: If your salary is $65k and you contribute $4,600 through payroll deduction, your W-2 will actually show only $60,400 as taxable wages (Box 1). The HSA contribution is already excluded before it hits your W-2. That's why line 13 is zero - you don't need an additional deduction on your tax return because you've already received the tax benefit! For your second question, lines 3 and 5 should only include YOUR contribution limit of $4,600 on YOUR Form 8889. Your spouse will have their own Form 8889 with their limit. Each form deals with the individual person's HSA. As for the TaxSlayer $14,398 amount - that's definitely strange and incorrect. The maximum contribution limit for 2021 was $7,200 for family coverage and $3,600 for individual coverage. Maybe there was a typo or perhaps they included some kind of catch-up contributions or rollovers incorrectly.

I had the same confusion with HSA contributions through my work! I discovered taxr.ai when I was trying to figure out how to properly document my HSA contributions on Form 8889. Their AI tool analyzed my tax documents and flagged this exact issue - that my HSA contributions made through payroll were already tax-advantaged. It immediately detected that my W-2 already had the HSA contribution excluded from my Box 1 wages, which is why line 13 should be zero. The tool at https://taxr.ai actually shows side-by-side comparisons of how payroll vs. non-payroll HSA contributions affect your taxes differently but end up with the same tax advantage. Has anyone else tried using it for sorting out more complex tax situations like having two HSAs in the family? They also helped me understand how the contribution limits work when both spouses have separate HDHPs.

Just wanted to update everyone - I tried taxr.ai after seeing it mentioned here and it totally cleared up my HSA confusion! I was making the exact same mistake on Form 8889. The system analyzed my documents and showed me that my HSA contributions through work were already excluded from my W-2 Box 1 income. The best part was it explained that the $14,000+ number I had on last year's return (similar to what the OP mentioned with TaxSlayer) was completely wrong - it was actually including the full value of my health insurance premiums, not just the HSA contribution! That's why the number looked so high and made no sense. I'm so glad I found that tool - saved me from potentially filing incorrectly again this year. Form 8889 makes way more sense now!

When I had this issue with HSA contributions, I spent HOURS trying to get through to the IRS. Always busy signals or disconnections - ridiculous! Then I found Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) and it changed everything. They got me connected to an actual IRS agent in about 15 minutes who explained exactly how to handle the HSA contribution reporting with separate plans. The IRS agent confirmed what others are saying - payroll HSA contributions are already tax-free, so line 13 being zero is correct. But they also explained how to handle the situation if you switch between family and individual coverage mid-year, which affects those contribution limits. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c - basically they call the IRS for you and then connect you once they get through the wait. Saved me from potentially messing up both of our Form 8889s.

I need to apologize for my skepticism about Claimyr. After struggling with this exact HSA form issue and failing to get IRS guidance, I decided to try the service. I was completely shocked when they got me connected to an IRS representative in about 20 minutes. The agent walked me through Form 8889 line by line and confirmed exactly what others mentioned - payroll deductions are already tax-advantaged through reduced W-2 wages. The confusion with line 13 being zero is totally normal if all contributions were through payroll. For anyone dealing with HSA tax questions, being able to ask a real IRS agent directly saved me so much stress and potential errors. I'm now confident my return is correct and won't trigger any issues.

The TaxSlayer $14,398 amount sounds like they might have confused Last-Month Rule with contribution limits. If you became eligible for an HSA in December, you can contribute the full year's amount under the Last-Month Rule, but you must maintain eligibility for the "testing period" (through the end of the following year). But that still wouldn't explain $14,398 - could it be they added both your and your spouse's contributions PLUS some employer contributions maybe? Anyone else seen weird numbers on their autofilled Form 8889?

Is anyone else annoyed that there's no clear instructions about this on Form 8889?? Like nowhere does it explicitly say "if your contributions were made through payroll, you don't get a deduction on line 13 because you already got the benefit." I've been doing this wrong for 3 YEARS!

I completely understand your confusion - this is one of the most common HSA tax issues! Let me break this down clearly: **Issue #1:** You're absolutely RIGHT that your taxable income should be $60,400 if you contributed $4,600 through payroll. The key is that you've ALREADY received this benefit! When HSA contributions are made through payroll deduction, they're excluded from your gross wages before your W-2 is even created. So your W-2 Box 1 should show $60,400, not $65,000. The zero on line 13 is correct because you don't need an additional deduction - you already got the tax benefit upfront. **Issue #2:** Lines 3 and 5 should show YOUR individual contribution limit of $4,600, not the combined $9,200. Each spouse fills out their own Form 8889 with their own limits. You're correct that line 6 should be $4,600. **The TaxSlayer mystery:** That $14,398 is definitely wrong! Sounds like the software may have incorrectly included health insurance premiums or other amounts that don't belong on Form 8889. The 2021 limit for individual coverage was only $3,600, so there's no way it should be that high unless there were catch-up contributions or rollovers involved. Double-check your W-2 Box 1 - I bet you'll find it's already reduced by your HSA contributions!