Can an HSA have a convenience signer? Also, does anyone have a good resource (online) for common HSA questions? <Ok, I found a link in the Teasury Depts website for FAQ's - but no commentary on joint ownership/convenience signers- commone sense tells me that if an HSA is a hybrid IRA that there shouldn't be joint owners or convenience signers - anyone seen this addressed anywhere?> I'm trying to find a link for reference purposes.

Thanks

A good on-line resource for asking questions is HSAINFO@do.treas.gov. Also BISYS has a great HSA Compliance and Operations manual. To answer your question, HSA's cannot be joint accounts. However, a spouse may be an authorized signer on the account, they just cannot be an owner. Hope that helps.

"However, a spouse may be an authorized signer on the account, they just cannot be an owner."

While I know that many institutions allow this, do you have an offical citation from the IRS regarding this issue? I have never been able to locate one. Thanks.

See Question 28:

Q-28. May an HSA account beneficiary authorize someone else to withdraw funds from his or her HSA?

A-28. Yes. Although an HSA is an individual account, an HSA account beneficiary can designate other individuals to withdraw funds pursuant to the procedures of the trustee or custodian of the HSA. Distributions are subject to tax if they are not used to pay for qualified medical expenses for the HSA account beneficiary, the account beneficiary’s spouse, or dependents. See Notice 2004-2, Q&A-25.

Awesome - this should be a big help - MN banker....bsarookie, I couldn't get that web address to work for me..

TexTrainer, that is an e-mail address, not a web address. It should work for you, I've just recently e-mailed them and received a response. Good luck!

I would like to re visit this topic. I am still confused as to who can be a signer (if anyone) on an HSA account. I see that you can withdraw funds pursuant to the procedures of the trustee or custodian of the HSA. So, then that would mean that whatever OUR BANKS (custodian) procedures say as to who can be a signer is what we go with? HELP!

So, then that would mean that whatever OUR BANKS (custodian) procedures say as to who can be a signer is what we go with?


That is what it sounds like to me. If you want to allow authorized signers, then you get to make the rules (with the help of your attorney of course ).