HSA Calculator
Project a health savings account to retirement using the IRS 2026 contribution limits, and price the triple tax advantage against a taxable account.
HSA Calculator: with the default inputs, hsa balance is $286,968.
IRS limits from the revenue procedure for that year.
Adds the statutory $1,000 catch-up contribution.
Employer money counts against the same IRS limit as yours.
Only the invested portion grows; many HSAs keep a cash minimum before you can invest.
Federal plus state. Contributions come out of income taxed at this rate.
Tax-free if spent on qualified medical expenses.
- Total contributed
- $140,000
- Investment growth
- $146,968
- Tax saved this year
- $2,216Income tax, plus FICA when the money goes in through payroll.
- Tax saved on all contributions
- $44,310
- Same money in a taxable account
- $181,075After income tax going in and capital gains tax coming out.
- HSA advantage
- $105,893How much more you end up with than the taxable alternative.
- IRS limit this year
- $8,750
- Room left under the limit
- $1,750
Assumptions
- Contributions arrive at the end of each year and earn the same return every year — real markets do not.
- Contribution plus employer money is capped at the IRS limit for the year selected.
- The FICA saving (7.65%) applies only when contributions run through an employer cafeteria plan and wages are under the Social Security wage base.
- The taxable comparison ignores annual dividend and rebalancing taxes, which understates the HSA's real advantage.
- State treatment follows federal; California and New Jersey do not, and tax HSA contributions and earnings.
| Figure | Self-only | Family |
|---|---|---|
| Maximum HSA contribution | $4,400 | $8,750 |
| Age-55 catch-up (statutory, not indexed) | $1,000 | $1,000 |
| Minimum HDHP deductible to qualify | $1,700 | $3,400 |
| Maximum HDHP out-of-pocket | $8,500 | $17,000 |
Source: IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-19. The catch-up amount is fixed at $1,000 by §223(b)(3)(B) and is not adjusted for inflation.
| Year | Contributed to date | HSA balance | Taxable account, after tax |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $7,000 | $7,000 | $4,785 |
| 2 | $14,000 | $14,490 | $9,854 |
| 3 | $21,000 | $22,504 | $15,227 |
| 4 | $28,000 | $31,080 | $20,927 |
| 5 | $35,000 | $40,255 | $26,976 |
| 6 | $42,000 | $50,073 | $33,397 |
| 7 | $49,000 | $60,578 | $40,218 |
| 8 | $56,000 | $71,819 | $47,466 |
| 9 | $63,000 | $83,846 | $55,171 |
| 10 | $70,000 | $96,715 | $63,366 |
How this is worked out
The formula
Annual contribution C = min(your contribution + employer contribution, IRS limit) HSA balance = C × ((1 + r)^n − 1) ÷ r (end-of-year contributions) Tax saved each year = C × (marginal income tax rate + 7.65% FICA if payroll-deducted) Taxable alternative: after-tax contribution = C × (1 − tax rate − FICA) ending value = after-tax contribution × ((1 + r)^n − 1) ÷ r after-tax value = ending value − (ending value − total contributed) × capital gains rate
Open How it’s calculated above to see this worked through with your own numbers.
What you enter
- Contribution year
- IRS limits from the revenue procedure for that year.2026 — $4,400 self-only / $8,750 family · 2025 — $4,300 self-only / $8,550 family
- HDHP coverage
- Choose one of 2 options.Self-only · Family
- Age 55 or older (catch-up)
- Adds the statutory $1,000 catch-up contribution.defaults to off
- Your annual contribution
- A number.in dollars · 0 or more · defaults to 6000
- Employer contribution
- Employer money counts against the same IRS limit as yours.in dollars · 0 or more · defaults to 1000
- Years until you spend it
- A number.from 0 to 60 · whole numbers only · defaults to 20
- Investment return
- Only the invested portion grows; many HSAs keep a cash minimum before you can invest.a percentage · from 0 to 30 · defaults to 7
- Marginal income tax rate
- Federal plus state. Contributions come out of income taxed at this rate.a percentage · from 0 to 60 · defaults to 24
- Contributed through payroll (saves FICA)(under More options)
- Cafeteria-plan contributions also escape the 7.65% Social Security and Medicare tax. Direct contributions do not.defaults to on
- Capital gains rate for the comparison(under More options)
- Used only to tax the gain in the taxable-account alternative.a percentage · from 0 to 40 · defaults to 15
What you get back
- HSA balancemain answer
- Tax-free if spent on qualified medical expenses.
- Total contributed
- Investment growth
- Tax saved this year
- Income tax, plus FICA when the money goes in through payroll.
- Tax saved on all contributions
- Same money in a taxable account
- After income tax going in and capital gains tax coming out.
- HSA advantage
- How much more you end up with than the taxable alternative.
- IRS limit this year
- Room left under the limit
What this assumes
- Contributions arrive at the end of each year and earn the same return every year — real markets do not.
- Contribution plus employer money is capped at the IRS limit for the year selected.
- The FICA saving (7.65%) applies only when contributions run through an employer cafeteria plan and wages are under the Social Security wage base.
- The taxable comparison ignores annual dividend and rebalancing taxes, which understates the HSA's real advantage.
- State treatment follows federal; California and New Jersey do not, and tax HSA contributions and earnings.
About this calculator
A health savings account is the only account in the US tax code that is untaxed three times over: contributions are deductible (and payroll-deducted ones skip Social Security and Medicare tax too), the balance grows tax-free, and withdrawals for qualified medical expenses are tax-free. A 401(k) taxes you on the way out; a Roth taxes you on the way in. An HSA does neither.
Who can contribute
Only people covered by a qualifying high-deductible health plan, with no other disqualifying coverage and not enrolled in Medicare. For 2026 that means a plan with a deductible of at least $1,700 (self-only) or $3,400 (family), and out-of-pocket maximums no higher than $8,500 and $17,000. The contribution ceiling is $4,400 self-only and $8,750 family, plus $1,000 if you are 55 or older. Employer contributions count against the same ceiling, which is the mistake that generates most excess-contribution penalties.
Using it as a retirement account
The projection here assumes the strategy that makes HSAs remarkable: pay today's medical bills out of pocket, invest the HSA, and let it compound. Qualified expenses have no deadline — a receipt from 2026 can be reimbursed tax-free in 2050, as long as the expense came after the account was opened and was never deducted elsewhere. Keep the receipts.
After 65 the account becomes flexible: non-medical withdrawals are taxed as ordinary income with no penalty, exactly like a traditional IRA, while medical withdrawals stay tax-free. Medicare premiums count as qualified expenses; Medigap premiums do not.
Reading the comparison
The taxable column takes the identical gross pay, taxes it at your marginal rate (plus FICA if the HSA route would have been payroll-deducted), invests the remainder at the same return, and taxes the gain at the end. That is deliberately generous to the taxable account — it ignores the annual drag of dividends and rebalancing — and the HSA still wins by a wide margin, because it never gives up a dollar to tax at either end.
Caveats worth knowing
Most HSA providers hold a cash minimum, often $1,000 to $2,000, before letting you invest, and some charge monthly fees that quietly eat small balances. Once you enrol in Medicare you must stop contributing, and Part A enrolment is retroactive up to six months, so plan the final year carefully. California and New Jersey do not follow the federal treatment for state income tax, so your state saving may be smaller than modelled. And an HSA is only worth having if the high-deductible plan itself is a reasonable fit for your family's actual medical use.
Frequently asked questions
▸What is the HSA contribution limit for 2026?
$4,400 for self-only coverage and $8,750 for family coverage, plus a $1,000 catch-up if you are 55 or older, per IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-19. Employer contributions count toward the same limit.
▸What is the triple tax advantage?
Contributions are deductible (and escape the 7.65% FICA tax when payroll-deducted), investment growth is untaxed, and withdrawals for qualified medical expenses are tax-free. No other US account does all three.
▸Can I use my HSA like a retirement account?
Yes. Pay current medical costs out of pocket, invest the balance, and reimburse yourself years later — qualified expenses have no reimbursement deadline. After 65, non-medical withdrawals are simply taxed as income, with no penalty.
▸What happens if I contribute too much?
The excess is taxable and carries a 6% excise tax for every year it stays in the account. You can withdraw the excess plus its earnings before your tax filing deadline to avoid the penalty.
▸Can I still contribute after enrolling in Medicare?
No. Contributions must stop when Medicare begins, and Part A enrolment can be backdated up to six months, so many people need to stop contributing before their 65th birthday to avoid an excess.
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The questions people ask next to a hsa.
Project your 401(k) at retirement from salary, contribution rate, employer match and growth within the 2026 IRS deferral limit, and see the employer's share.
Project a Roth IRA's tax-free balance and compare it, for the same take-home cost, with a traditional IRA taxed on withdrawal at your rates now and later.
Estimate 2026 or 2025 federal and state income tax from gross or taxable income and filing status — real brackets for all 50 states and DC, with sources.
Estimate your federal and state tax refund — or what you'll owe — by comparing the tax on your income with what was withheld from your paychecks.
Project savings at retirement, the inflation-adjusted income they can sustain, the shortfall vs. your spending goal, and the extra monthly saving to close it.