Tax Form 5498-SA: Boxes, Form 8889, and Corrections

Form 5498-SA is an informational tax document your HSA custodian sends to you and the IRS each year, reporting how much was contributed to your Health Savings Account during the tax year and the account’s year-end value.¹ You do not file it with your return. You use the numbers on it to complete Form 8889, which is where your HSA deduction actually gets calculated.²

The form only reports contributions, rollovers, and account value. Distributions appear on a separate document, Form 1099-SA. The same form is used for Archer Medical Savings Accounts and Medicare Advantage MSAs, which Box 6 identifies, but for most readers the account is an HSA.

What Each Box Reports

Box 1: Tax Year

The calendar year the information applies to. A contribution made in early 2026 but designated for tax year 2025 appears on the 2025 form (in Box 3), not the 2026 form.

Box 2: Total Contributions Made in the Calendar Year

This is the headline number. It shows every dollar deposited into your account during the calendar year, regardless of source: your own paycheck deferrals, your employer’s contributions, and any third-party deposits are all lumped together.¹

One point trips people up. If your employer contributed to your HSA, those amounts were already excluded from your taxable wages on your W-2 (Box 12, code W). They still appear in Box 2 of your 5498-SA because the custodian reports every dollar in, but you do not get to deduct them again on Form 8889. The employer piece reduces your allowable personal deduction dollar for dollar.

Box 3: Prior-Year Contributions

Contributions you made during the current calendar year but earmarked for the prior tax year. You have until the April tax filing deadline to make contributions that count toward the preceding year.² A February 2026 deposit designated as a 2025 contribution lands in Box 3 of your 2025 Form 5498-SA.

Whether a contribution lands in Box 2 or Box 3 depends on what you told the custodian at the time of deposit. If you did not specify, the custodian usually defaults to the current year. Confirm the designation with your custodian before making early-year contributions, because getting it wrong throws off your limit calculations for both years.

Box 4: Rollover Contributions

Rollover contributions received during the year. A rollover is funds moving from one HSA to another (or from an Archer MSA to an HSA) through your hands, typically via a check you deposit within 60 days. Rollovers are not deductible and do not count toward your annual contribution limit.¹

Box 5: Fair Market Value

The total value of all assets in the account as of December 31.¹ For an invested HSA, this is the market price at year-end, not what you paid. The number does not affect your deduction calculation. It is a record-keeping snapshot.

Box 6: Account Type

A checkbox showing whether the account is an HSA, an Archer MSA, or a Medicare Advantage MSA.³ For most readers this simply confirms HSA.

Why the Form Arrives After Tax Day

Form 5498-SA arrives later than most tax documents. Custodians have until May 31 of the year following the tax year to send it.³ The late deadline exists because you have until mid-April to make prior-year contributions, and the custodian needs time to capture those final deposits. The practical effect is that most people file their return before the 5498-SA shows up.

Filing before you receive the form is fine. Use your own records (year-end HSA statement, pay stubs, W-2 Box 12 code W) to complete Form 8889, then check the 5498-SA against those numbers when it arrives. If they do not match, work out why. Sometimes it is a contribution you forgot. Sometimes it is a custodian error.

Checking Box 2 Against Your Contribution Limit

The Box 2 total only means something when you compare it to the annual limit. For 2026, the IRS caps HSA contributions at $4,400 for self-only HDHP coverage and $8,750 for family HDHP coverage.⁴ Anyone age 55 or older who is not yet enrolled in Medicare can add a $1,000 catch-up on top of either limit.⁵

If Box 2 exceeds your limit, you have an excess contribution. The IRS imposes a 6% excise tax on the excess for every year it stays in the account.⁶ You report that tax on Form 5329.⁷

You can avoid the penalty by withdrawing the excess, plus any earnings those funds generated, before the due date of your return, including extensions.⁸ The “including extensions” piece matters: filing for an extension gives you until October to fix it. The withdrawn earnings must be included in your gross income for the year the contribution was made. Leave the excess past the deadline, and the 6% tax hits every year until you fix it, either by withdrawing or by undercontributing in a future year to absorb it.

Using the Numbers on Form 8889

Form 8889 is the bridge between your 5498-SA and your return. Part I calculates the deduction. Part II handles distributions from Form 1099-SA.

The Box 2 total is your starting point for Form 8889, Line 2.² Because Box 2 includes employer contributions, Form 8889 separates them out on Line 9 so only your personal contributions generate the above-the-line deduction. That deduction flows to Schedule 1 of Form 1040 and reduces your adjusted gross income.

Box 3 amounts (prior-year contributions) do not go on your current year’s Form 8889. They belong on the prior year’s return. If you already filed the prior year without accounting for them, amend that return rather than reporting them on this year’s form. The common mistake is double-counting: including a Box 3 amount on both years.

Form 8889 compares what you contributed against your maximum allowable limit based on coverage type, months of eligibility, and whether you qualify for the catch-up. The deduction equals the lesser of the two. If you were eligible for only part of the year, the limit is prorated by month.

Rollovers Versus Direct Transfers

Box 4 captures rollovers, but not every HSA-to-HSA move is a rollover. The distinction matters because the IRS treats them differently.

A rollover is indirect: the old custodian sends you the funds and you deposit them into a new HSA within 60 days. This shows up in Box 4 of the receiving account’s 5498-SA, and the sending account reports a distribution on Form 1099-SA. You are limited to one rollover per 12-month period.⁸ Miss the 60-day window or do a second rollover within 12 months, and the IRS treats the money as a taxable distribution plus a potential 20% penalty if you are under 65.

A direct trustee-to-trustee transfer is when one custodian sends the money straight to another without the funds touching your hands. These transfers do not appear on Form 5498-SA at all, and there is no limit on how many you can do.³ If you are changing HSA custodians, a direct transfer is almost always the safer choice.

If the Form Is Wrong

If the custodian made a mistake, they must issue a corrected Form 5498-SA marked “Corrected” at the top. If you already filed using the wrong numbers and the correction changes your tax liability, file an amended return on Form 1040-X.⁹ Small discrepancies that do not affect your deduction or create an excess contribution generally do not require amendment, but anything that changes taxable income should be corrected promptly.

1
Internal Revenue Service. Form 5498-SA – HSA, Archer MSA, or Medicare Advantage MSA Information
2
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 8889
3
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Forms 1099-SA and 5498-SA
4
Internal Revenue Service. Revenue Procedure 2025-19
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 223 – Health Savings Accounts
6
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 4973 – Tax on Excess Contributions to Certain Tax-Favored Accounts
7
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 5329
8
Internal Revenue Service. Publication 969, Health Savings Accounts and Other Tax-Favored Health Plans
9
Internal Revenue Service. Form 1040-X – Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return