Tax News

CCH (cch.taxgroup.com) reports:

The Treasury Department and IRS have issued a notice providing employers and employees with a new set of formal questions and answers on Health Savings Accounts (HSAs). An HSA is a tax-exempt trust or custodial account established under Code Sec. 223 exclusively for the purpose of paying qualified medical expenses of the account beneficiary who, for the months for which contributions are made to an HSA, is covered under a high-deductible health plan (HDHP).
The new guidance includes over 40 frequently asked questions and answers, grouped into the following categories: eligible individual, HDHPs, HSA contributions, HSA distributions, prohibited transactions, and establishing an HSA.
Who is an eligible individual. Guidance topics regarding eligibility mostly center around the effect of other insurance or benefits. Some of these issues examined include the payment of HDHP premiums by a Health Reimbursement Account, disqualifying benefits paid or reimbursed before the HDHP minimum deductible is satisfied, Medicare benefits, Department of Veterans Affairs benefits, access to employer-provided free or low-cost health care, and family HDHP coverage for dependents with disqualifying coverage.
High-Deductible Health Plans (HDHPs). The HDHP issues relate mostly to permitted deductibles and required coverage. The guidance examines the transition from family HDHP coverage to self-only HDHP coverage, and it discusses plans with higher deductibles for specific benefits, plans that restrict benefits to hospitalization or in-patient care, and expenses that apply toward meeting the deductible.
Contributions to HSAs. The guidance discusses a wide variety of contribution issues including limits for individuals with family coverage and dependents with nonpermitted coverage, as well as limits for married couples with different types of HDHP coverage. It also examines rollovers, catch-up contributions for spouses, excess contributions due to errors, employer contributions to an HSA of the employee's spouse.
Distributions from HSAs. Guidance topics for HSA distributions include debit cards, third-party authorization, payment of Medicare Part D premiums, Medicare premiums for a spouse, continuation coverage premiums, premiums for a dependent receiving unemployment benefits, and expenses for a child claimed as a dependent by another.
Prohibited transactions. Prohibited transaction issues include borrowing from an HSA, loans from a trustee to an HSA, pledging HSA assets as security for a loan, and the consequences for entering into a prohibited transaction.
Establishing an HSA. Topics related to establishing an HSA include determining when an HSA is established, and the establishment date for rollovers and for successive HSAs.
Notices 2004-2, 2004-1 CB 269, 2004-50, 2004-2 CB 196, and 2007-22, 2007-10 I.R.B. 670, are amplified.
Treasury Department News Release, TDNR HP-1056, 2008FED ¶46,487
Notice 2008-59, 2008FED ¶46,488
Other References:
Code Sec. 105
CCH Reference - 2008FED ¶6702.73
Code Sec. 106
CCH Reference - 2008FED ¶6803.0255
CCH Reference - 2008FED ¶6803.32
Code Sec. 223
CCH Reference - 2008FED ¶12,785.025
CCH Reference - 2008FED ¶12,785.029
CCH Reference - 2008FED ¶12,785.033
CCH Reference - 2008FED ¶12,785.037
CCH Reference - 2008FED ¶12,785.041
CCH Reference - 2008FED ¶12,785.075
CCH Reference - 2008FED ¶12,785.25
Code Sec. 4980B
CCH Reference - 2008FED ¶34,601.20
Tax Research Consultant
CCH Reference - TRC INDIV: 42,450
CCH Reference - TRC COMPEN: 45,064