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Contributions to an MSA: Health Accounts and Taxes (2025 IRS Guide)

This guide covers “Contributions to an MSA” within health accounts and taxes. The following material presents the IRS treatment of this topic, including the qualifications, exceptions, and examples in the source section. Read the rules alongside the facts of your own situation before deciding what to report, deduct, or document.

Adapted from Publication 969 (2025), Health Savings Accounts and Other Tax-Favored Health Plans, published by the Internal Revenue Service. This guide retains the source edition’s years, amounts, deadlines, and examples. It is guidance for that edition, not a statement that the same figures apply to every tax year.

Context for these rules

Archer MSAs were created to help self-employed individuals and employees of certain small employers meet the medical care costs of the account holder, the account holder’s spouse, or the account holder’s dependent(s).

A Medicare Advantage MSA is an Archer MSA designated by Medicare to be used solely to pay the qualified medical expenses of the account holder who is eligible for Medicare.

Contributions to an MSA

Contributions to an Archer MSA must be made in cash.

Who can contribute to my Archer MSA?

You can contribute except if:

  1. Your employer contributes; or

  2. Your spouse is covered by your HDHP and your spouse’s employer contributes to your spouse’s Archer MSA.

Limits

There are two limits on the amount you or your employer can contribute to your Archer MSA.

  • The annual deductible limit.

  • An income limit.

Annual deductible limit.

You or your employer can contribute up to 75% of the annual deductible of your HDHP (65% if you have a self-only plan) to your Archer MSA. You must have the HDHP all year to contribute the full amount. If you don’t qualify to contribute the full amount for the year, determine your annual deductible limit by using the Line 3 Limitation Chart and Worksheet in the Instructions for Form 8853, Archer MSAs and Long-Term Care Insurance Contracts. If you and your spouse each have a family plan, you are treated as having family coverage with the lower annual deductible of the two health plans. The contribution limit is split equally between the two of you unless you agree on a different division.

Income limit.

You can’t contribute more than you earned for the year from the employer through whom you have your HDHP.

If you are self-employed, you can’t contribute more than your net self-employment income. This is your income from self-employment minus expenses (including the deductible part of self-employment tax).

Individuals enrolled in Medicare.

Beginning with the first month you are enrolled in Medicare, you can’t contribute to an Archer MSA. However, you may be eligible for a Medicare Advantage MSA, discussed later.

When To Contribute

You can make contributions to your Archer MSA for 2025 through April 15, 2026.

Reporting Contributions on Your Return

Report all contributions to your Archer MSA on Form 8853 and file it with your Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR. You should include all contributions you or your employer made for 2025, including those made from January 1, 2026, through April 15, 2026, that are designated for 2025.

You should receive Form 5498-SA, HSA, Archer MSA, or Medicare Advantage MSA Information from the trustee showing the amount you or your employer contributed during the year. Your employer’s contributions should be shown on Form W-2, box 12, code R. Follow the Instructions for Form 8853 and complete the Line 3 Limitation Chart and Worksheet in the instructions. Report your Archer MSA deduction on Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR.

Excess contributions.

You will have excess contributions if the contributions to your Archer MSA for the year are greater than the limits discussed earlier. Excess contributions aren’t deductible. Excess contributions made by your employer are included in your gross income. If the excess contribution isn’t included in Form W-2, box 1, you must report the excess as “Other income” on your tax return.

Generally, you must pay a 6% excise tax on excess contributions. See Form 5329, Additional Taxes on Qualified Plans (Including IRAs) and Other Tax-Favored Accounts, to figure the excise tax. The excise tax applies to each tax year the excess contribution remains in the account.

You may withdraw some or all of the excess contributions and avoid paying the excise tax on the amount withdrawn if you meet the following conditions.

  • You withdraw the excess contributions by the due date, including extensions, of your tax return.

  • You withdraw any income earned on the withdrawn contributions and include the earnings in “Other income” on your tax return for the year you withdraw the contributions and earnings.

Deducting an excess contribution in a later year.

You may be able to deduct excess contributions for previous years that are still in your Archer MSA. The excess contribution you can deduct in the current year is the lesser of the following two amounts.

  • Your maximum Archer MSA contribution limit for the year minus any amounts contributed to your Archer MSA for the year.

  • The total excess contributions in your Archer MSA at the beginning of the year.

Any excess contributions remaining at the end of a tax year are subject to the excise tax. See Form 5329.

Using the guidance

Keep the documents that establish the dates, amounts, and circumstances described above. References to other chapters, forms, worksheets, or earlier and later sections refer to the linked IRS publication. Check the full publication and its updates before relying on a rule for a different tax year or a situation not addressed here.

Sources and further reading

The cited U.S. government text is in the public domain. Source accessed October 28, 2026. Fynoptic has organized this material for educational use and is independent of, and not endorsed by, the IRS.

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