Free Coronavirus Testing and Treatment Won't Affect HSA Deduction

The IRS announced that high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) can pay for coronavirus (COVID-19) testing and treatment without jeopardizing their status as an HDHP. This also means that anyone with an HDHP that covers these costs before plan deductibles have been met can still contribute to a health savings account (HSA) and deduct those contributions on next year's tax return.

One of the many advantages of HSAs is that you can deduct your contributions to the account—even if you don't itemize (although there are limits to how much you can contribute each year). However, in order to contribute to an HSA, you must also be covered under an HDHP.

A health plan must satisfy many requirements to be considered an HDHP. For instance, it must have a minimum annual deductible. An HDHP may, however, provide preventive care benefits without a deductible or with a deductible that is less than the minimum amount.

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Under normal conditions, providing non-preventive health benefits without a deductible, or with a deductible below the minimum, would nullify a health plan's status as an HDHP. However, the IRS is disregarding this rule to eliminate potential administrative and financial barriers to testing for and treatment of COVID-19. The IRS also noted that, as always, any vaccination costs count as preventive care and can be paid for by an HDHP.