Self-Directed HSA
Self-directed HSA, yours for life.
An HSA pairs with a high-deductible health plan to give you a tax-advantaged way to pay for healthcare. The Accuplan HSA also lets you invest the balance in the same alternative assets as a self-directed IRA. Money you do not use rolls over, every year.
What a self-directed HSA is
A health account that invests like a self-directed IRA.
A Health Savings Account is a personal account you contribute to with pre-tax money, then use to pay for qualified medical expenses tax-free. You have to be on a high-deductible health plan (HDHP) to open or contribute to one. The HSA itself is yours, even if you change jobs or insurance.
What sets the Accuplan HSA apart from a Fidelity or HealthEquity HSA: you can self-direct the balance into the same alternative assets a self-directed IRA can hold. Real estate, private equity, trust deeds, tax liens, private lending, precious metals, and cryptocurrency. The same prohibited-transaction rules that govern a self-directed IRA apply.
Accuplan administers the HSA. A qualified HSA custodian holds the cash and any investments. You direct the account from a single dashboard, pay providers, and reimburse yourself when you have already paid out of pocket.
2026 at a glance
The numbers that gate your HSA.
An HSA only works if your insurance qualifies. Below are the 2026 dollar amounts for what you can contribute, what counts as a high-deductible plan, and the Accuplan twist that lets you invest the balance the way a self-directed IRA does. Numbers come from the latest IRS HSA guidelines.
What you'll come back to
Limits and thresholds for 2026.
$4,400
Self-only contribution limit
$8,750
Family contribution limit
+$1,000
Catch-up at age 55+
$1,700 / $3,400
HDHP min. deductible
$8,500 / $17,000
HDHP out-of-pocket max
Self-directed
Same alt menu as our SDIRA
The rules
How an HSA actually works.
What you need to know before opening one. Who qualifies, what plans count, how much you can put in, how the tax break works, what you can invest the balance in, how withdrawals work, and the receipt-banking strategy long-horizon savers use.
A few terms we'll use
- HDHP
- High-deductible health plan. The kind of health insurance you have to be on to open or contribute to an HSA.
- Qualified medical expense
- Costs the IRS lets you pay for tax-free from an HSA. Doctor visits, prescriptions, dental, vision, and many more. The full list is in IRS Publication 502.
- Catch-up contribution
- Extra room to contribute, available the year you turn 55 and every year after, while you stay HSA-eligible.
- Out-of-pocket maximum
- The most you can be asked to pay in a year for covered care under your HDHP, before insurance picks up everything.
Who is eligible
The IRS sets four tests. You have to meet all four on the first day of the month to contribute that month.
On an HDHP
You have to be covered by a high-deductible health plan that meets the IRS minimums.
No other coverage
You cannot also be covered by a non-HDHP health plan, including most general-purpose health FSAs and HRAs.
Not on Medicare
Once you enroll in any part of Medicare, you stop being HSA-eligible. The account itself stays. New contributions stop.
Not a dependent
You cannot be claimed as a dependent on someone else's tax return for that year.
Full rules are in IRS Publication 969. Eligibility is checked monthly, not annually.
Plans that qualify
For 2026, your health plan has to meet both a minimum deductible and a cap on out-of-pocket spending.
Self-only coverage
Annual deductible at least $1,700. Annual out-of-pocket maximum no higher than $8,500.
Family coverage
Annual deductible at least $3,400. Annual out-of-pocket maximum no higher than $17,000.
If your plan does not hit the minimum deductible, or if the out-of-pocket cap is too high, you cannot contribute to an HSA that year, even if your plan is called high-deductible.
Contribution limits
The most you can put in for 2026. The catch-up adds extra room starting the year you turn 55.
$4,400
Self-only
The most you can contribute for the year if you have self-only HDHP coverage.
$8,750
Family
The most a family can contribute for the year, split however you want between spouses with separate HSAs.
+$1,000
Catch-up (55+)
Extra room starting the year you turn 55, on top of the standard limit. Set by statute, not indexed for inflation.
You have until the federal tax filing deadline (April 15, 2027) to contribute for tax year 2026. No extensions. The IRS publishes new limits each fall, so check the current IRS HSA guidelines before the next contribution year.
Three tax advantages
HSAs get a tax break in three different places. No other account does this.
1
Deductible going in
You can deduct contributions on your federal tax return, even if you do not itemize.
2
Growth is tax-free
If you invest the balance, any earnings are not taxed while they stay in the account.
3
Qualified spending
Money used for qualified medical expenses comes out tax-free, at any age.
The third advantage is what makes HSAs different from a Traditional IRA, where withdrawals are taxed as income. With an HSA, qualified medical withdrawals are never taxed.
What you can invest in
The Accuplan HSA is self-directed. Once your balance grows past the cash you need on hand for current medical costs, you can move the rest into the same investment categories a self-directed IRA holds.
Real estate
Rental property, commercial, land. Title held by the HSA. Rent stays inside the account, tax-free.
Trust deeds
Secured real estate notes that pay interest to the HSA each month.
Private lending
Promissory notes payable to the account. The HSA is the lender on the note.
Tax liens and deeds
County-government-backed liens with statutory yield.
Private equity
Precious metals
IRS-approved gold, silver, platinum, palladium, held by an insured depository.
Cryptocurrency
Bitcoin and other digital assets, held in cold storage by the custodian.
Traditional securities
Mutual funds, ETFs, and individual stocks, if you want a mix.
The same prohibited-transaction and disqualified-person rules that govern a self-directed IRA apply to a self-directed HSA. Income generated inside the HSA is generally not taxed while it stays in the account. Borrowed-money and active-business income can trigger tax even inside the HSA, the same way they would in a self-directed IRA.
Taking money out
Withdrawals split into two buckets. The bucket and your age decide whether you pay tax or a penalty.
Qualified medical expense
Always tax-free, at any age. Doctor visits, prescriptions, dental, vision, and the full list in IRS Publication 502.
Anything else
Under 65, the withdrawal is taxed as income and hit with a 20% penalty. At 65 or older, the penalty goes away. The withdrawal is still taxed as income.
At age 65, the 20% penalty on non-qualified withdrawals disappears. The HSA effectively becomes a Traditional IRA for non-medical use. The qualified-medical bucket stays tax-free forever. There are no required minimum distributions on an HSA, even after 73.
Save receipts, reimburse later
The IRS does not require you to reimburse yourself in the same year you incur the expense. Pay out of pocket now. Save the receipt. Reimburse yourself any year you like, even decades later.
For long-horizon savers, this is what turns the HSA into one of the strongest retirement accounts in the tax code.
- Pay current medical bills from your checking account, not from the HSA debit card.
- File the receipts somewhere you will still have them in twenty years.
- Let the HSA balance compound tax-free across the alternative assets above. Rent, interest, and dividends grow inside the account untaxed.
- Reimburse yourself at any future date, from the now-much-larger HSA. The reimbursement is still tax-free because the underlying expense was qualified.
A $3,000 bill paid out of pocket at 35 can be reimbursed at 65 from a balance that compounded for thirty years. The reimbursement is still tax-free.
Two conditions, from long-standing IRS guidance. The expense has to be incurred after the HSA was established, and not reimbursed by insurance. Keep the receipts.
Why Accuplan
Built for the person opening the account.
Low, transparent fees
A simple fee schedule. No hidden charges. Individual accounts cost very little to run.
Self-reimburse anytime
Pay a bill or pay yourself back from your HSA in a few taps. Upload the receipt and move on.
Open one without your employer
You do not need a workplace plan. If you have an HDHP, you can open and contribute to your own HSA.
Talk it through
Not sure if an HSA fits your plan?
Spend 15 minutes with an HSA specialist before you open one. We will walk through your HDHP, your timing, and how the account would work for you.
Frequently asked
HSA FAQs.
What happens to my HSA funds at the end of the year?
HSA money is yours to keep. Unlike a flexible spending account (FSA), unused money in your HSA is not forfeited at the end of the year. It rolls over and any growth from investments is tax-free, not just tax-deferred.
Who can contribute to my HSA?
You can contribute. So can your employer, a family member, or anyone else on your behalf. The annual IRS limit applies no matter how many people contribute.
You get the above-the-line tax deduction for contributions you or another non-employer person makes, even if you do not itemize. Employer contributions are excluded from your wages instead. See IRS Publication 969 for the rules.
What are the annual HSA contribution limits?
The IRS sets HSA limits each year. For 2026, the limits are $4,400 for self-only HDHP coverage and $8,750 for family HDHP coverage. People age 55 or older can contribute an extra $1,000 as a catch-up.
The IRS publishes new amounts each fall, so review the latest IRS HSA guidelines before the next contribution year. You have until the federal tax filing deadline (April 15 of the following year) to make contributions for the prior tax year.
What is an HSA catch-up contribution?
If you are 55 or older during the tax year and HSA-eligible, you can contribute an extra $1,000 on top of the standard limit. The catch-up is set by statute and does not change with inflation.
How do I know if I am eligible for an HSA?
You qualify to open and contribute to an HSA if all four of these are true on the first day of the month.
- You are covered by an HSA-eligible HDHP.
- You are not covered by another non-HDHP health plan.
- You are not enrolled in Medicare.
- You are not claimed as a dependent on someone else's tax return.
What is an HSA-ineligible health plan?
Generally, any health plan that is not an HDHP. A few common examples that disqualify you from contributing.
- A spouse's non-HDHP coverage that also covers you.
- Medicare or Tricare.
- VA medical benefits received in the previous three months (with limited exceptions).
- A general-purpose health FSA or HRA.
What are the tax advantages of an HSA?
HSAs are tax-advantaged three ways.
- Contributions are deductible. The money you put in lowers your taxable income for the year.
- Growth is tax-free. If you invest part of your HSA balance, any earnings are not taxed while they stay in the account.
- Qualified withdrawals are tax-free. Money you spend on qualified medical expenses comes out tax-free, at any age.
Can I really invest my HSA in real estate or other alternative assets?
Yes. The Accuplan HSA is self-directed and supports the same alternative-asset menu as our self-directed IRA. Real estate, trust deeds, private lending, tax liens, private equity, precious metals, and cryptocurrency, plus traditional securities.
The same prohibited-transaction and disqualified-person rules that govern a self-directed IRA apply to a self-directed HSA. The same UBIT and UDFI rules apply too.
Do I have to reimburse myself in the same year as the expense?
No. The IRS does not set a deadline on when you reimburse yourself for a qualified medical expense, as long as the expense was incurred after the HSA was established and was not reimbursed by insurance. You can pay out of pocket today, save the receipt, and reimburse yourself decades later from a much larger HSA balance.
This is confirmed by long-standing IRS guidance. Keep your receipts.
Keep reading
Learn more about HSAs.
Can You Have Both an HSA and an FSA?
Read article→
What Is an HSA and How Does It Work?
Read article→
How to Use an HSA for Retirement
Read article→
4 Reasons to Open a Health Savings Account
Read article→
What Kinds of Precious Metals Can I Invest In?
Read article→
How a Health Savings Account Works
Read article→Looking for the platform side? See our HSA features for receipt tracking, transfers, and how the dashboard works.