How HSA Contributions can be Split Between Family Members
A financial organization monitors a client’s health savings account (HSA) contributions at a broad level and not specific to each client’s eligibility or coverage. This does not prevent clients from asking for help understanding their annual maximum contribution amount and how they might be permitted to split the family level contribution between spouses. In some uncommon circumstances, a child whose parents have family coverage may also be eligible to make a contribution.
2026 HSA Limits Released
On May 1, 2025, the IRS issued Revenue Procedure 2025-19, providing cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) for HSAs for the 2026 calendar year. Maximum annual HSA contributions will rise from $4,300 to $4,400 for those with self-only insurance coverage, and from $8,550 to $8,750 for those with family coverage. Catch-up contributions for those age 55 and older are not subject to COLAs, and will remain at $1,000.
Minimum deductible amounts for qualifying high deductible health plans (HDHPs) will increase from $1,650 for self-only coverage to $1,700, and from $3,300 to $3,400 for a family plan. Maximum annual out-of-pocket amounts under self-only coverage will rise from $8,300 to $8,500, and from $16,600 to $17,000 for family coverage.
Understanding Eligibility Requirements
Before understanding how a family can split the HSA maximum between members, the client must know who is eligible for an HSA. If a family member is not eligible for an HSA, that member cannot make HSA contributions into his own HSA. This prevents dependent minor children and individuals who are covered by another nonHDHP (including those enrolled in Medicare) from making contributions to their own HSA.
An eligible individual is an individual who
is covered under an HDHP,
generally does not have coverage under another nonHDHP,
is not enrolled in Medicare, and
is not eligible to be claimed as a dependent on another individual’s tax return.
Splitting the Annual Limits Correctly
Individuals with family HDHP coverage cannot contribute more than the annual limit for the year (plus catch-up contributions, if eligible) to their individual accounts.
If both spouses have self-only HDHP coverage, they can each contribute up to the limit for single coverage: $4,300 for 2025 and $4,400 for 2026 (plus catch-up contributions, if eligible) to their individual accounts.
If one spouse has family coverage, and the other spouse is ineligible to contribute to an HSA, the ineligible spouse cannot make HSA contributions to his own HSA.
NOTE: A catch-up contribution must be deposited into an HSA for each individual that the catch-up applies to. A married couple cannot deposit two catch-up contributions into one HSA.
Family HDHP Coverage – Both Spouses are Eligible
If one or both spouses have family HDHP coverage, the spouses may divide one maximum annual contribution amount for family coverage ($8,550 for 2025 and $8,750 for 2026) between their HSAs however they choose. Spouses who attain age 55 or older before the end of the tax year may also contribute up to $1,000 as a catch-up contribution to their own HSA.
Self-Only HDHP Coverage – Both Spouses are Eligible
If each spouse has self-only HDHP coverage, each is eligible to contribute to his or her own HSA up to the annual statutory limit for self-only coverage ($4,300 for 2025 and $4,400 for 2026), plus catch-up contributions, if eligible.
Family HDHP Coverage – One Spouse is Eligible
The contribution limit for an eligible individual with family HDHP coverage does not change if other family members covered by the HDHP are not HSA-eligible. The eligible individual may contribute up to the family contribution limit ($8,550 for 2025 and $8,750 for 2026, plus catch-up contributions, if eligible). The ineligible individual, however, cannot contribute to an HSA.
Family HDHP Coverage – One or Both Spouses and Nondependent Child are Eligible
As previously discussed, an individual who is eligible to be claimed as a dependent on another individual’s tax return is not eligible to make an HSA contribution. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 requires health plans that provide dependent coverage to make such coverage available to children until they reach age 26, even if the adult child is not eligible to be claimed as a dependent on the parent’s income tax return.
Nondependent children, therefore, may be covered on their parents’ family HDHP, and if the parents are not eligible to claim them as dependents, such children could meet the eligibility requirements to open and contribute to their own HSA.
There is no official guidance indicating what the contribution limit is for these individuals. But an IRS official commented to Ascensus that, assuming the nondependent child is otherwise HSA eligible, a separate family contribution limit ($8,550 for 2025 and $8,750 for 2026) would apply to the child. This would allow the married parents to share the annual family limit, as described above, and the adult child to contribute to her own HSA up to a separate family contribution limit ($8,550 for 2025 and $8,750 for 2026).
Family HDHP Coverage and Single HDHP Coverage – Both Spouses are Eligible
If one spouse has family HDHP coverage and the other spouse has self-only HDHP coverage, the spouse with the self-only HDHP may contribute up to the single annual limit, plus catch-up contributions if eligible. The spouse with family HDHP coverage must reduce her contribution amount by any contributions made by her spouse to his own HSA, so as not to exceed the family HDHP coverage limit, plus catch-up contribution, if eligible.
While they can still split the limit (including allowing the spouse with family coverage to contribute the entire maximum amount for family coverage), generally, the spouse with single coverage cannot exceed the single contribution limit, and the spouse with family coverage cannot exceed the family limit, less any contributions made by the spouse with single coverage.
Monitoring Contributions
When receiving HSA contributions, financial organizations must monitor the annual contribution amount made by or on behalf of an HSA owner to meet compliance requirements set forth by the law and IRS guidance.
Financial organizations are not responsible for knowing what type of coverage an individual has. But they must monitor the annual contributions made by or on behalf of an HSA owner to ensure they don’t exceed the maximum contribution amount in effect for the year for family coverage ($8,550 for 2025 and $8,750 for 2026).
Financial organizations must track the HSA owner’s age for purposes of accepting catch-up contributions.
