DalsnaFinance › Topics › HSA & FSA
For 2026 the HSA contribution limit is $4,400 with self-only high-deductible coverage and $8,750 with family coverage, plus $1,000 more from age 55. A health flexible spending arrangement caps salary reductions at $3,400. The two accounts look similar and behave completely differently: HSA money is yours permanently, FSA money is generally use-it-or-lose-it.
Reviewed by Dylan, finance analyst. Figures last checked against the source publications on 2026-09-28.
| HSA contribution limit — self-only coverage | $4,400 | Combined employee and employer contributions |
|---|---|---|
| HSA contribution limit — family coverage | $8,750 | |
| HSA catch-up contribution, age 55+ | $1,000 | Not inflation-indexed — fixed by statute |
| Health FSA salary reduction limit | $3,400 | Per employee, per plan year |
| Health FSA carryover, where the plan allows it | $680 | Maximum unused amount carried into the next year |
| HDHP minimum annual deductible | $1,700 / $3,400 | Self-only / family. Below this, the plan is not HSA-eligible |
| HDHP maximum out-of-pocket | $8,500 / $17,000 | Self-only / family. Excludes premiums |
| Excepted benefit HRA, newly available amount | $2,200 | For plan years beginning in 2026 |
You cannot open an HSA because you want one. It requires coverage under a high-deductible health plan, and for 2026 that means an annual deductible of at least $1,700 for self-only coverage or $3,400 for family coverage, with out-of-pocket exposure capped at $8,500 and $17,000.
Both ends matter. A plan with a deductible below the minimum is not HSA-eligible however high its other costs are, and a plan whose out-of-pocket maximum exceeds the ceiling is disqualified even if its deductible is large. The limits are checked against the plan, not against what you happen to spend.
The $4,400 and $8,750 are combined ceilings covering everything that goes in — your own contributions and your employer's. An employer putting in $1,000 leaves $3,400 of room on self-only coverage, not the full amount.
The family limit belongs to the family, not to each spouse. Two people with family coverage share $8,750 between them; they do not get $8,750 each. The age-55 catch-up, by contrast, is genuinely individual, so a couple who are both 55 or older can add $1,000 each — but only if each has their own HSA, since the catch-up cannot be doubled up in one account.
An HSA balance is yours without a deadline. It rolls over every year, it goes with you when you change employer or plan, it can be invested, and contributions, growth and qualified withdrawals are all untaxed — the only account in the code with all three.
A health FSA is a plan-year arrangement. Unused money is generally forfeited at the end of the year, softened only if the plan opts into a carryover of up to $680 or a grace period of up to two and a half months. Plans are not required to offer either, and a plan cannot offer both.
The FSA has one advantage worth knowing: the full annual election is available from the start of the plan year, so a January expense can be met from money not yet deducted. An HSA only holds what has actually been paid in.
A general-purpose health FSA disqualifies you from contributing to an HSA — including, in many cases, a spouse's FSA, because it can reimburse your expenses. The disqualification generally applies for the whole plan year, not the months of overlap.
Limited-purpose FSAs, restricted to dental and vision, are the exception and can be held alongside an HSA. Enrolling in Medicare also ends HSA eligibility, which is the point most people meet this rule.
These are the statutory limits published by the IRS. What your own plan permits is a separate question: employers set their own FSA limits below the federal cap, choose whether to offer a carryover, and may or may not contribute to an HSA at all.
This is general information rather than tax, financial or medical advice. The plan documents are the authority on what is available to you.
$4,400 with self-only high-deductible coverage and $8,750 with family coverage, counting employer contributions too. From age 55 you can add a further $1,000.
Health FSA salary reductions are capped at $3,400 per employee per plan year. Where the plan allows a carryover, up to $680 of unused money can move into the next year.
It must be a high-deductible health plan with an annual deductible of at least $1,700 for self-only or $3,400 for family coverage, and out-of-pocket costs capped at $8,500 and $17,000.
Not with a general-purpose health FSA, which stops you contributing to an HSA, generally for the whole plan year. A limited-purpose FSA that covers only dental and vision can be held alongside an HSA.
No recent coverage on this topic in the feed right now.
Figures sourced from IRS — Revenue Procedure 2025-19 (2026 HSA and HDHP amounts), IRS — Revenue Procedure 2025-32, section 4.15 (health FSA), IRS — Publication 969, HSAs and other tax-favored health plans.
Figures on this page apply to the years stated beside them and were last checked against the source publications on 2026-09-28 by Dylan, finance analyst. This page is general information, not financial, tax or legal advice.