I have a medical bill that for a procedure that occurred in December 2017. At the time I paid the entire amount to the provider using a credit card. I then reimbursed myself half the bill amount from my HSA. In 2018, can I reimburse myself for the remaining amount I paid?
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2 Answers
The US government limits when you or your company can make contributions to a Heath Savings Account. One of the strengths of the program is that if you use it for allowable medical expenses, and the date of the service/purchase is after the HSA is established the money is tax free.
The expense can take place years after you are no longer able to contribute money to the HSA. I had a HSA because my employer had a High Deductible plan from 2013 until early 2015. When I switched companies that option went away. now almost 3 years later I still have money in the HSA, and I am still using it for new medical expenses such as prescriptions and co-pays.
This means that you can pay a 2017 bill, from money contributed in 2018. As long as the HSA already existed when the visit occurred in 2017.
You should make it clear to the HSA administrator that you have split the bill between two reimbursements. My experience has been that the "pay my provider" option doesn't require me to send any additional paperwork to the company that runs the HSA. The "pay me back" option requires that I submit the EOB (Explanation of benefits) in order to show the expense and to prove that it wasn't reimbursed by the insurance company.
answered Dec 27, 2017 at 13:36
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1That is certainly provider specific; mine (Optum) doesn’t care the least, I can ‘pay me back’ anytime any amount (only the IRS cares).– AganjuDec 27, 2017 at 13:59
Yes. There is no limit to how long you can wait to reimburse yourself from the HSA, as long as you keep sufficient records to document your medical expenses.
See also: Withdrawing qualified HSA expenses many years later, to earn interest?
