If I have money taken from a paycheck, it comes out pre-tax. Not just state/federal, but pre-FICA too.
I am closing on a home and won't have a house payment until February. For this reason I am considering NOT contributing any HSA money through my paycheck and instead writing a check for the MAX HSA contribution in early January into my account. This contribution is simply out of a bank account hence it is post tax. So my question is: When I file taxes for this year will the amount I owe/get be offset by the same amount or is there an inherent benefit to having the payroll deduction?
The reason I want to do this is:
- I have pre-spent medical for the entire year and can immediately withdraw this money back into my account, so there's no out of pocket expense here other than missing the money for a week or two.
- I will get a higher paycheck for the rest of the year since I am not contributing per check. This will be more helpful after starting a house payment.
- Although I'll pay slightly more in taxes per check (higher brackets all year), this would again work itself out at tax time.
