The IRS set 2027 HSA limits in Rev. Proc. 2026-24 — $4,500 self-only and $9,000 family. Every figure, how it compares to 2026, and what to do at open enrollment.
The IRS published the 2027 Health Savings Account figures in Revenue Procedure 2026-24, and they matter sooner than the year on them suggests: open enrollment for 2027 coverage happens this autumn, which means you are choosing a 2027 plan using 2027 rules while most of the internet is still showing 2026 tables.
Before you choose a 2027 plan. Open enrollment is where the HSA decision is actually made, and the eligibility rules changed this year: all ACA bronze and catastrophic plans now qualify as HDHPs, direct primary care no longer disqualifies you, and pre-deductible telehealth is permanent. The 2026 HSA rule changes.
If you are weighing an HDHP against a traditional plan, the numbers below feed straight into that comparison: how to decide on an HDHP for 2027.
Here is the complete set, side by side with the year you are currently in.
| 2026 | 2027 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| HSA contribution — self-only | $4,400 | $4,500 | +$100 |
| HSA contribution — family | $8,750 | $9,000 | +$250 |
| Catch-up contribution (55+) | $1,000 | $1,000 | unchanged |
| HDHP minimum deductible — self-only | $1,700 | $1,750 | +$50 |
| HDHP minimum deductible — family | $3,400 | $3,500 | +$100 |
| HDHP maximum out-of-pocket — self-only | $8,500 | $8,700 | +$200 |
| HDHP maximum out-of-pocket — family | $17,000 | $17,400 | +$400 |
Every figure moved except the catch-up contribution, which is the one number in the HSA system that is not indexed to inflation. It has been $1,000 since 2009 and stays there for 2027.
Family coverage gained two and a half times what self-only gained. $250 versus $100. This is not a policy decision so much as a consequence of rounding rules applied to a larger base, but the practical effect compounds: the family limit is now exactly double the self-only limit, and the gap in absolute dollars keeps widening year over year.
The catch-up standing still is the quiet story. For someone 55 or over, the $1,000 has lost a great deal of purchasing power since 2009 and loses a little more every year. It is worth taking, but do not plan around it growing — it will not without an act of Congress.
Out-of-pocket maximums rose faster than deductibles. The family out-of-pocket ceiling went up $400 while the family minimum deductible went up $100. That widens the band your plan can occupy and still qualify as an HDHP, which mostly matters to plan designers rather than to you — but it does mean a plan can get somewhat more expensive at the top end and remain HSA-eligible.
The contribution limit is a combined ceiling. Employer contributions count against it.
If your employer puts $1,000 into your HSA in 2027 and you have self-only coverage, your own maximum is $3,500, not $4,500. Every year people set a payroll election at the full statutory limit, forget the employer seed, and end up with an excess contribution to unwind. If that has already happened to you, fixing excess HSA contributions walks through the correction.
Two related rules worth having straight before you elect:
Eligibility is measured monthly. You must be HSA-eligible on the first day of a month to accrue that month's share of the limit. Starting an HDHP mid-year does not give you the full annual amount by default — see who is eligible for an HSA.
The last-month rule has a testing period. If you use it to contribute a full year's limit after starting coverage late, you must stay HSA-eligible through the end of the following year or the excess becomes taxable and penalised. Thirteen months of commitment for a one-year benefit.
Contributions for the 2027 tax year are due by the 2028 tax filing deadline, not December 31, 2027. That gives you months after the year closes to top up once you know what your actual income and expenses looked like.
This is genuinely useful flexibility and it is underused. If cash is tight in December, you can decide in March.
An HSA is the only account in the US tax code that is deductible going in, tax-free while it grows, and tax-free coming out for qualified medical expenses. Every dollar of extra room the IRS grants is a dollar that gets that treatment — which is why the triple tax advantage makes the contribution limit worth maxing before most other accounts.
The catch is that the tax-free withdrawal depends entirely on your ability to prove the expense was qualified, potentially decades later. That proof is a receipt, and the shoebox strategy — paying out of pocket now and reimbursing yourself years later — only works if the paperwork survives the wait. How long you actually need to keep it is covered in how long to keep HSA receipts.
Figures are from IRS Rev. Proc. 2026-24. This is general information, not tax advice — for anything involving mid-year eligibility changes, the last-month rule, or an excess contribution already made, talk to a tax professional.