Qualifying expenses for HSA

[free4now]

I have had a Patelco HSA account for a year or so now and I'm finally getting around to making some withdrawls for medical expenses. I've been searching around for what the procedure is to submit receipts, and haven't found it. It's finally dawning on me that maybe there's no need to prove that my spending is for medical expenses... that because I'm enrolled in an HSA insurance plan, that's all the evidence the IRS needs.

Is this correct that there is no need with HSA plans to prove that spending is for medical? That I can take out any amount at any time irregardless of how much medical care I use?

 

[CybrMike]

NO. The money has to be used for medical expenses. Some HSA providers do not check your receipts, but if the IRS audits you, you better have those receipts handy or i'm sure you'll face penalties and other nasty stuff.

 

[work4beer]

Your HSA and Health Care provider don't care, but it's the IRS you need to worry about. Just keep the receipts with your tax return for that year, only qualified medical expenses from pub. 502 count. (i.e. you can pay for contact lens solution and bandaids, but not vitamins)

You might want to submit the expenses to your health care provider anyway, so you can show you've used up more of your deductible.

 

[kaneohe]

I started an HSA w/ Patelco this yr and although I haven't tried to use the funds yet either, I had the impression when investigating Patelco before signing up that they were a bit more fussy about what kind of expenses they would pay. ....E.g. Tech CU said they would allow you to pay yourself for expenses you had paid but Patelco said they would not. Probably might be good to ask Patelco directly and pls post what you find out. And I agree w/ the other replies that you should keep the evidence for IRS.

 

[free4now]

I used to have a "Health Care Reimbursement Account" with my old employer. I contributed money pretax and then whenever I made a medical payment I submitted a receipt, I was reimbursed with a check to myself from the HCRA. I was assuming the HSA would have some similar verification process to unburden the IRS from checking receipts, but apparently not.

Patelco doesn't seem to have any procedure for verifying payments... I have a HSA debit card and HSA checkbook both of which can be used at my will to pay at time of service without any receipt-submision process (as far as I can tell). Thanks for the replies here for clarifying that it's really between me and the IRS whether my saved receipts are valid.