HSA, back door Roth IRA, Roth 401K Maximum Contribution
I am single, over age 55, and for the year 2013 made the maximum contribution to an HSA account ($4,250) , non-deductible IRA which I immediately converted to a Roth IRA, ($6,500) and to my 401K at work ($23,000). According to the program used to compute my taxes, I am being charged a 6% penalty or $255 per year on the $4,250 that I used to fund the HSA, since that is apparently considered an excess contribution. Do you have to take into account the amount which you contribute to an HSA when determining the maximum amount that you can contribute to an IRA? I thought that the limit for each account was separate and apart of one another.
Permalink Submitted by Alan - IRA critic on Thu, 2014-10-16 02:28
Something wrong here. Are you positive that you did not enter the HSA contribution as an IRA contribution? If not, check the info you entered for Form 8889 to be sure it is correct.
Permalink Submitted by David Mertz on Thu, 2014-10-16 05:30
The contributions that you made are all treated independently of one another. Were you enrolled in Medicare? If you were enrolled in Medicare beginning in January 2013 or earlier, you were not eligible to make any HSA contribution for 2013. See IRS Pub 969 for the other requirements for being eligible to make an HSA contribution. As Alan said, review the answers to the questions used to prepare Form 8889 to be sure that they are correct.