HSA Contribution Question

[myrdale]

My employer started offering an HSA this past year around July. I was the first one in line to sign up. As an interesting piece of trivia I was told that out of about 120 people, only 7 including myself signed up.

After the first month of contributions, I adjusted my monthly contribution to about $550 per month so it would be maxed by the end of December at $4,300.

I had logged into the account back in October and began investing everything over our $2000 required minimum. I didn't catch it at the time, but for some reason (i don't know yet) my contribution was dropped from $550 to $250 per month in October, then November and December.

I figured this out in January. I was able to make a contribution through the website to max my account out at $4,300 for 2025 and I have had my contribution adjusted so I will max 2026 out at $4,400.

I did some more digging though and it appears to me the monthly contribution is coming out after taxes rather than before?!?

I've been told my contributions are pre-tax, but my paystub sure don't look like it.

Assuming I am correct, will it simply be a matter of deducting that $4,300 when I do my taxes and I should get the taxes I've paid on that money back?

[ua_guy]

You should talk to your employer's benefits person/department. Double check if you calculated your contributions based on the correct payroll schedule (bi-weekly, monthly, etc).

HSA contributions through payroll deductions should be pre-tax, excluded from your gross income. No federal tax, social security tax or Medicare tax.

Personal contributions outside of your payroll deductions are post-tax initially. You can deduct them on your federal taxes, but you will have paid FICA on that money.

[myrdale]

You should talk to your employer's benefits person/department. Double check if you calculated your contributions based on the correct payroll schedule (bi-weekly, monthly, etc).

HSA contributions through payroll deductions should be pre-tax, excluded from your gross income. No federal tax, social security tax or Medicare tax.

Personal contributions outside of your payroll deductions are post-tax initially. You can deduct them on your federal taxes, but you will have paid FICA on that money.

I did speak with her. What I'm being told and what I see on my pay stub don't seem to agree.

On another note, I've now worked myself into another tissy as there may be cases where you have to prorate your contribution if you did not have it for the entire year.

For my case, the HSA started on July 1st, so I only had it half the year. But I did have it on Dec 1, 2025 and Dec 31, 2025 which means I should be able to fully fund that year with out penalties so long as I maintain it through December 31, 2026. Is this correct? The contribution website showed the full limit of $4,300 as available before I maxed it out.

[ua_guy]

According to this IRS publication, your statement about eligibility and making a full contribution appears correct.

https://www.irs.gov/publications/p969

That publication appears to apply for tax year 2025; you may want to check for any updates for the current tax year (2025) as we begin filing here in 2026.