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#2128133 - 04/26/17 08:43 PM HSA - Date of closing
Monster Offline
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Joined: Sep 2015
Posts: 500
Health Savings Accounts are completely foreign to me and I was asked a question I have no idea how to answer. Are there any legal or operational reasons to provide/not provide a longer grace period for an HSA with a zero balance to close? I couldn't find anything in our state's code or IRS guidance, and I can't think of any regulations that would cover this sort of thing. All help appreciated!

Specifically, we have our accounts to auto-close when the balance is 0.00 after 10 days, we would like to make that longer.

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#2128135 - 04/26/17 08:50 PM Re: HSA - Date of closing Monster
rlcarey Online
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rlcarey
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 83,227
Galveston, TX
Considering these accounts are designed to receive an annual contribution and then be drawn down to a zero balance annually, I would suggest referring to your custodial agreement.

If you reserved the right to terminate the account under any conditions, it should be included in Article XI of your custodial agreement.

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-access/f5305c_accessible.pdf
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#2128143 - 04/26/17 09:25 PM Re: HSA - Date of closing Monster
New Day Offline
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Posts: 139
It's my understanding that closure of an HSA by the bank can be done once the account is inactive by your banks Inactive/Dormant process, but after April 15 of the following year as an HSA can be funded by April 15 for the previous year.

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#2128164 - 04/27/17 10:58 AM Re: HSA - Date of closing Monster
Monster Offline
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Sometimes I don't know what I would do without these forums. Thank you both so much!!

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#2128167 - 04/27/17 11:08 AM Re: HSA - Date of closing New Day
rlcarey Online
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rlcarey
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 83,227
Galveston, TX
Originally Posted By Timeline
It's my understanding that closure of an HSA by the bank can be done once the account is inactive by your banks Inactive/Dormant process, but after April 15 of the following year as an HSA can be funded by April 15 for the previous year.


I would again suggest reviewing your custodial agreement. Without reserving the right to terminate the account in the agreement, what allows you to terminate? These are not standard deposit accounts that the bank has free reign to close at their discretion. You have a fiduciary duty to the customer to abide by the custodial agreement. If you don't reserve the right to terminate in the contract, your first stop should be your legal counsel.
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#2128215 - 04/27/17 02:32 PM Re: HSA - Date of closing Monster
BuckDog Offline
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Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 123
Tennessee
We researched charging fees on HSAs and have found that there is no restriction for charging. We are going to enact a monthly fee for accounts below a certain amount. With that in mind, can the fee close the account? Example: The balance in the account is $1.48 and the monthly fee is $2.00, if we charge the fee (in this case only $1.48), can the account close or do we have to retain it at a zero balance for a period of time? I will look at our custodial agreement. Thank you.

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