2026–2027 HSA Contribution Limits, HDHP Deductibles, and How to Make the Most of Your Health Savings Account

The 2027 Health Savings Account (HSA) limit is $4,500 for self-only coverage and $9,000 for family coverage, up from $4,400 and $8,750 in 2026. If you’re 55 or older, add $1,000.

If I had to pick one tax-advantaged account most people underuse, it would be the HSA. It’s not close.

Money goes in pre-tax, grows tax-free, and comes out tax-free for medical bills. No other account in the tax code does all three. A traditional 401(k) taxes you on the way out, and a Roth gives you no deduction up front.

The catch: you need a High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) to contribute. And that just got a lot easier for anyone who buys their own insurance.

2026 and 2027 HSA and HDHP Limits (Official)

The 2026 figures come from Rev. Proc. 2025-19 and the 2027 figures from Rev. Proc. 2026-24. HSA limits come out each May, months before the 401(k) and FSA numbers. That gives you a head start for open enrollment.

The $1,000 catch-up is set by law and isn’t indexed. It hasn’t moved since 2009.

Married, and both of you have HDHP coverage? Your combined total can’t go over the family limit ($9,000 in 2027). Split it however you like, but each spouse’s catch-up has to go into that spouse’s own HSA.

New Since 2026: Bronze and Catastrophic Marketplace Plans Count

This is the change I get the most questions about. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) made every bronze and catastrophic plan available on an Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace count as an HDHP, starting with January 2026.

Before, a lot of bronze plans didn’t qualify. Their deductibles or out-of-pocket limits didn’t line up with the HDHP rules. Catastrophic plans never qualified at all.

Now they do, even if the plan misses the deductible and out-of-pocket tests in the table above. IRS Notice 2026-5 spells out the details:

• A bronze or catastrophic plan bought off the marketplace still counts if the same plan is sold on it.
• A plan paid for through your employer’s individual coverage HRA (ICHRA) still counts.
• Small-business SHOP bronze plans don’t get this automatic pass. They still have to meet the normal HDHP tests.

For anyone buying their own coverage, this opens the door. A 58-year-old who retired early, or someone between jobs, can pick a bronze plan during open enrollment and fund an HSA on top of it.

Two other OBBBA changes

• Telehealth: an HDHP can cover telehealth visits before you meet the deductible, permanently, for plan years starting after December 31, 2024.
• Direct primary care: a flat-fee primary care membership no longer blocks HSA contributions if the fees stay at or under $150 a month for one person or $300 for more than one. Rev. Proc. 2026-24 keeps those caps the same for 2027. Your HDHP can’t pay those fees before the deductible, though.

Buying Your Own Plan? How the HSA Works Without Payroll

Most HSA guides assume an employer. If you’re self-employed, retired early or on a marketplace plan, it works a little differently.

You open the account yourself with an HSA provider and contribute directly. Then you claim the deduction on Form 8889 when you file. It’s an above-the-line deduction, so you get it whether or not you itemize.

You lose the payroll perk: contributions made outside payroll don’t skip the 7.65% Social Security and Medicare tax. You still save income tax, though.

There’s a bonus for marketplace shoppers.

The deduction lowers your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI), which is the number that sets your ACA premium credit. If your income sits near the subsidy cutoff, an HSA contribution can keep you under it. I explain that cutoff in my ACA subsidy guide.

Denise, 60, retired from a county job and bought a bronze marketplace plan for 2027.

She puts $5,500 into her HSA ($4,500 plus the $1,000 catch-up). That knocks $5,500 off her MAGI, which can raise her premium credit as well as cut her income tax. Two wins from one deposit.

Is a Bronze HSA Plan Cheaper Than Silver or Gold?

Often, yes, but only if you compare total cost. Add the yearly premium to the out-of-pocket maximum and compare that worst-case number, not just the monthly premium.

Richer plans charge more every month. They cover you sooner, but if you can handle the deductible, the extra premium often outweighs what you’d save. The HSA tax break tilts it further toward bronze.

There are two exceptions. If your income is under 250% of the poverty line, a silver plan’s cost-sharing reductions can beat bronze. And if you have big medical bills every year, a lower deductible can come out ahead.

Check the network before you pick the cheapest plan. Many marketplace plans use narrow networks, and your doctors may not be in them. My 10 tips for choosing a health plan walks through that comparison.

Why I Don’t Touch My HSA

I’ve contributed to an HSA for years, and my strategy is simple: I don’t spend it. I pay medical bills out of pocket and leave the HSA invested in broad index funds.

Each piece of the tax break works like this:

• Going in: payroll contributions skip federal income tax, the 7.65% payroll tax and usually state tax. A $4,400 contribution in the 22% bracket saves about $968 in federal income tax, plus $337 in payroll tax.
• Growing: once your balance passes the provider’s minimum (often $1,000 to $2,000), you can invest it. Dividends and gains aren’t taxed along the way.
• Coming out: withdrawals for qualified medical costs are tax-free at any age. That includes dental, vision and prescriptions.

The trick: there’s no deadline to reimburse yourself. Pay a bill today, keep the receipt, and you can pull that money out tax-free 20 years from now, as long as the expense came after you opened the HSA.

Example: invest it for 20 years

Sarah, 45, puts $4,400 a year into her HSA and earns 7% a year. She pays her medical bills from checking.

After 20 years she has about $180,000, all of it tax-free for medical costs. The same money in a taxable account, taxed at 22% along the way, would be about $145,000.

Example: the 2027 family limit

Marcus and Priya have family HDHP coverage and will max out at $9,000 in 2027, $250 more than in 2026. In the 24% bracket, that extra $250 saves about $60 in federal tax and $19 in payroll tax.

Small? Sure. But it repeats every year they max out.

HSA Rules After 65 and on Medicare

At 65, the HSA starts to look like a second traditional IRA:

• Medical expenses: still tax-free.
• Anything else: taxed as ordinary income, with no 20% penalty.

You can also use it tax-free for Medicare Part B, Part D and Medicare Advantage premiums. That’s handy, because those premiums climb with income. The 2027 standard Part B premium and the income-based surcharges are on my Medicare premiums page.

Contributions have to stop once Medicare starts, even if you’re still working. And if you sign up for Medicare after 65, Part A usually backdates your coverage up to six months. Stop contributing six months before you apply, or you’ll owe a 6% excise tax on the excess.

HSA Mistakes That Cost People Money

Leaving it in cash. Many HSAs default to a savings account paying almost nothing. Once you’re past the minimum, invest the rest.

Spending it on non-medical costs before 65. That’s income tax plus a 20% penalty, twice the IRA penalty.

Losing receipts. You need proof to reimburse yourself later. I keep a scanned folder by year.

Switching off an HDHP mid-year. Your limit is prorated by month. Over-contribute and you owe 6% a year until you take the excess out. The “last-month rule” lets you contribute the full year if you’re covered on December 1, but only if you stay covered through the next 13 months.

Assuming your old bronze plan didn’t qualify. If you skipped HSA contributions in early 2026 because you thought your marketplace bronze plan wasn’t eligible, it was, from January. You can still make your 2026 contribution up until the April 2027 filing deadline.

Moving Your HSA to a Cheaper Provider

You can move your HSA anytime. A direct transfer between providers is cleanest and has no limit. If you take the money yourself, you get one 60-day rollover per 12 months.

I’ve moved mine to a lower-fee provider before. It took a week or two and I had to pick my investments again, but it was worth it.

HSA vs. FSA

The big difference is carryover. A Flexible Spending Account (FSA) is mostly use-it-or-lose-it each year. An HSA rolls over forever and goes with you when you leave a job.

If you can get an HDHP and handle the deductible, I’d take the HSA almost every time.

2028 HSA Limits: What I Expect Next May

The IRS will publish the 2028 numbers in May 2027. Based on recent increases, here’s my rough guess:

Those are estimates, not official. The catch-up stays at $1,000 unless Congress changes it.

I’m also watching Washington. Some Republicans have pitched putting money into HSAs in place of ACA premium credits, while Democrats, who take control of Congress in January, want the bigger credits back. Any change still needs President Trump’s signature, so I’ll update this page if a deal comes together.

One more thing on 2027: your HSA deduction lowers your AGI, which matters for credits that phase out with income. The Saver’s Credit is one of them, and so is the Saver’s Match that replaces it starting in 2027. For every other 2027 retirement limit, see my 401(k) and IRA limits page.