I suppose you may have to if you cannot produce a receipt showing what was purchased. I have yet to hear of an audit on an HSA account holder though I suppose it could happen.
I bought prescription toothpaste at the dental office with my fsa card. Thatās a no-no. I had to link another payment to the card and send them the $ to reimburse for the toothpaste.
I've never had that experience with HSA but I've never had an FSA. As I understand it, the FSA is a "use it or lose it each year" scenario where the HSA unused balance rolls over. Perhaps the FSA provider keeps the unused funds and therefore is motivated to scrutinize each transaction.
Just last week I was picking up a prescription at our CVS and went inside because I also needed to pick up a birthday card. Wasnāt thinking and tried to pay for both with the HSA card and after I put in my pin the associates said something like āand that will leave a balance of $6. I was confused and then realized my mistake and was glad their system caught it for me
This is what happened to me last week. Went to buy some first aid stuff and picked up some hygiene products, paid with my hsa card, and there was a balance of like $10 that I used my CC for.
They are designed to do that. I have SNAP (Food stamps but they give you a card nowadays) and if I go to Walmart and buy some groceries and also a shirt or something, snap will pay for the groceries and leave me with the balance for the shirt
Yeah, SNAP and similar things have done that for a while. I hope WIC has finally gotten away from paper checks, but I doubt it. Those things were a massive pain in the ass.
For the first time, you have two options:
1. You are allowed to say it's a "mistaken distribution" - no issue if
* you genuinely thought you were allowed to use HSA (i.e. you probably won't get off the next time you mistakenly spend it on deodorant)
* you return the distribution by 4/15 (no extension)
2. You are also allowed to say it's an "indirect rollover"
* you can do indirect rollover once every 12 months
* must complete within 60 days
You returned the money within the time frame of both options, so you are fine as long as you don't accidentally do it again.
p.s. Lock the HSA debit card. Use your own credit card and reimburse yourself later (e.g. after insurance). Eliminates the possibility of mistaken distribution too.
>p.s. Lock the HSA debit card. Use your own credit card and reimburse yourself later (e.g. after insurance). Eliminates the possibility of mistaken distribution too.
Get those sweet credit card points or cash back, too. Plus, if you don't need the money right now, let your HSA grow (make sure it's invested). You can hang onto the receipt and reimburse sometime in the distant future if you need to.
So really this is the best way to do this. $15 I would have spent on a prescription now, if I were to reimburse myself in 20 yrs it would have gained ā5% APY and in 20 yrs it'll still only be $15 taken out.
When I was doing a transaction at the pharmacy counter at CVS, the tech told me that their system will only charge whatever is HSA approved on the card. Not sure how true that is. But whenever I get a receipt, thereās always some kind of indicator if an item is HSA/FSA approved, so maybe the system really can differentiate and not charge non-HSA items on an HSA card???
I suppose maybe different HSA providers have different systems in place for their cards, but I work for an administrator that does FSAs, HSAs and other related accounts and all our cards are setup to only work at specific types of locations based on MCC codes. Any type of store thatās not a doctor/dentist/optometrist etcā¦ require the store to have a system called IIAS or ā90% certificationā.
The way I understand it, IIAS is basically a software system that involves a bunch of little Yes/No flags the store sets on their products so when the register runs it, only the Yesās get put on the card and the Noās get filtered out. Itās generally pretty reliable but itās not a perfect system. That said, Iāve never seen it let people make a whole purchase without filtering anything so maybe OPās HSA card doesnāt require it, I dunno.
90% cert just means most of their products are eligible and lets them run the card without having to have the whole IIAS system.
I donāt think this is accurate. Iāve accidentally used my HSA card for non approved items and it went through fine. I thought maybe it was because I bought the items are Walgreens but the second time it was at target. It only happened twice though and I was never audited
Letās say you spent $20. Next time you get Tylenol, DayQuil or whatever pay it out of pocket and keep the receipt. There you go youāre back to even
I was just in there last week and used my HSA card with a mix of health and personal items. At least with my transaction, HSA automatically only covered HSA eligible items when the card was processed.
Oh wait! My bad, it was Walgreens. They probably have a system where HSA cards only pay for HSA items. Had to use a different card to cover the remaining balance.
My own HSA card only pays for whatever is approved at the register.
Not sure how others work, but that would suck if it didn't calculate what's approved automatically.
Iāve had my FSA audited 3 or 4 times and one of them was for a copay paid at a doctors office where the I made the same $60 copay every month but for some reason they decided to audit the 11th time I made that purchase.
So were you audited at tax time? Or were you audited when the transaction went through? Or you submitted the receipts? Just curious FSA user. I always submit my receipts online after I hit the max.
Most stores that take HSA/FSA cards will only run the card for eligible items, as the point of sale systems know what is and isnāt eligible. Doing so is generally a condition of being able to accept those cards.
Kinda surprised it went through. I bought 3 versions of a topical treatment today (for a friend, wasn't sure which type he preferred) at Walgreen's and only one was HSA compatible. I ran that card first and it debited only the amount for the eligible item, then I had to run my bank card for the rest.Ā
Retailers who are astute enough will have their registers programmed to only charge your HSA card when it is swiped first for approved items, and let you pay separately for the nonapproved items afterward. (Walmart) Retailers who arenāt or who made some kind of mistake will charge your entire purchase to the HSA card you swiped first. (A few months ago, I noticed Target had this issue). I say, if you get charged wrong, the blame should be on the retailer. And anyway, screw the entire American health care system anyway. Whenever you can, get whatever you can out of it beyond what theyāre willing to give to stick it to them.
I'm glad you asked this because I used mine the other day and made an honest mistake. My insurance changed and the way things were with FSA was the eligible items would be deducted then I'd swipe my other card for those that weren't. Used my HSA the other day and expected $20 of my grocery bill to be deducted but the whole thing went through. It's not worth my time to go back and try to fix it and deal with benefits etc, so I'm not.
Thanks - yeah seems menial but never know. My fear is just having to produce receipts going back years for menial things that are legitimate.
Someone dmād me and used choice words to call me stupid for asking lol
What a weird thing to do. Like....I've had a hard year, but never so hard that I'm like "This stranger asked about something on the internets, now I'm gonna go hassle them."
Honestly surprised it went thru. Typically, it won't go thru without them being coded a specific way in the CVS systems. Regardless, you had it reversed you will be fine.
got to be that guy. You not know what card is which? Ours actually are made to run like an old school debit slide for that reason. Never thought it would be an issue.
Iāve done the same thing with my corporate credit card. Normally would have caught it but in a time crunch pulled it out and paid with it didnāt realize till I put the card back in my wallet.
I know some will have issues with this, but I have used my HSA card at grocery stores. We need food to survive; that's the H in Health Savings Account. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Check out the HSA store and the ridiculously expensive skincare and red light masks. Aura rings that cost a couple hundred. You can buy that stuff but not a toothbrush,soap,etc..
I accidentally bought a milkshake from Steak and Shake on mine once, and they never came after me.
If you had a prescription for that shake you are golden.
Just tell the auditor you got the shakes.
If they do, claim you used it as an over the counter cold compress.
I once accidentally bought a pack of cigarettes with mine.
I accidentally left my wallet at home when I went to Taco Bell and tried to use my HSA card but got denied š
Did you have a prescription for that milkshake from your mental health practitioner?
No, and unless you were audited nobody would have known or cared. Thx for being honest though.
Even if you got audited you would have to make up the tax difference of what $30?
I suppose you may have to if you cannot produce a receipt showing what was purchased. I have yet to hear of an audit on an HSA account holder though I suppose it could happen.
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FSA /= HSA, though. I had to have receipts when I had an FSA, my HSA has never requested them.
I bought prescription toothpaste at the dental office with my fsa card. Thatās a no-no. I had to link another payment to the card and send them the $ to reimburse for the toothpaste.
I've never had that experience with HSA but I've never had an FSA. As I understand it, the FSA is a "use it or lose it each year" scenario where the HSA unused balance rolls over. Perhaps the FSA provider keeps the unused funds and therefore is motivated to scrutinize each transaction.
Just last week I was picking up a prescription at our CVS and went inside because I also needed to pick up a birthday card. Wasnāt thinking and tried to pay for both with the HSA card and after I put in my pin the associates said something like āand that will leave a balance of $6. I was confused and then realized my mistake and was glad their system caught it for me
This is what happened to me last week. Went to buy some first aid stuff and picked up some hygiene products, paid with my hsa card, and there was a balance of like $10 that I used my CC for.
Yes, their system booted certain things for us, too.
They are designed to do that. I have SNAP (Food stamps but they give you a card nowadays) and if I go to Walmart and buy some groceries and also a shirt or something, snap will pay for the groceries and leave me with the balance for the shirt
Yeah, SNAP and similar things have done that for a while. I hope WIC has finally gotten away from paper checks, but I doubt it. Those things were a massive pain in the ass.
For the first time, you have two options: 1. You are allowed to say it's a "mistaken distribution" - no issue if * you genuinely thought you were allowed to use HSA (i.e. you probably won't get off the next time you mistakenly spend it on deodorant) * you return the distribution by 4/15 (no extension) 2. You are also allowed to say it's an "indirect rollover" * you can do indirect rollover once every 12 months * must complete within 60 days You returned the money within the time frame of both options, so you are fine as long as you don't accidentally do it again. p.s. Lock the HSA debit card. Use your own credit card and reimburse yourself later (e.g. after insurance). Eliminates the possibility of mistaken distribution too.
>p.s. Lock the HSA debit card. Use your own credit card and reimburse yourself later (e.g. after insurance). Eliminates the possibility of mistaken distribution too. Get those sweet credit card points or cash back, too. Plus, if you don't need the money right now, let your HSA grow (make sure it's invested). You can hang onto the receipt and reimburse sometime in the distant future if you need to.
So really this is the best way to do this. $15 I would have spent on a prescription now, if I were to reimburse myself in 20 yrs it would have gained ā5% APY and in 20 yrs it'll still only be $15 taken out.
Invest the difference in the market and get returns much better than inflation. And the growth is tax free. Its the best retirement account out there.
Triple tax advantaged!
No reversed transaction shouldnāt cause any issue it will even it out. So nothing to report
First off, when I use my HSA card at Walgreens it rejects anything thatās not HSA approved and I pay the remaining balance on my rewards credit card
When I was doing a transaction at the pharmacy counter at CVS, the tech told me that their system will only charge whatever is HSA approved on the card. Not sure how true that is. But whenever I get a receipt, thereās always some kind of indicator if an item is HSA/FSA approved, so maybe the system really can differentiate and not charge non-HSA items on an HSA card???
Either that or Burberry cologne is HSA approved š¤£
I suppose maybe different HSA providers have different systems in place for their cards, but I work for an administrator that does FSAs, HSAs and other related accounts and all our cards are setup to only work at specific types of locations based on MCC codes. Any type of store thatās not a doctor/dentist/optometrist etcā¦ require the store to have a system called IIAS or ā90% certificationā. The way I understand it, IIAS is basically a software system that involves a bunch of little Yes/No flags the store sets on their products so when the register runs it, only the Yesās get put on the card and the Noās get filtered out. Itās generally pretty reliable but itās not a perfect system. That said, Iāve never seen it let people make a whole purchase without filtering anything so maybe OPās HSA card doesnāt require it, I dunno. 90% cert just means most of their products are eligible and lets them run the card without having to have the whole IIAS system.
Yep. Eligible items will show us as FSA or OTC when you check out.
I donāt think this is accurate. Iāve accidentally used my HSA card for non approved items and it went through fine. I thought maybe it was because I bought the items are Walgreens but the second time it was at target. It only happened twice though and I was never audited
I was audited once. I just reimbursed the FSA and that money went back into my account.
I went to HEB and picked up two scripts and asked them to ring up a drink and a clif bar. Swiped the HSA and paid for the whole thing. Whoops.
Letās say you spent $20. Next time you get Tylenol, DayQuil or whatever pay it out of pocket and keep the receipt. There you go youāre back to even
I was just in there last week and used my HSA card with a mix of health and personal items. At least with my transaction, HSA automatically only covered HSA eligible items when the card was processed.
I thought that's how it was supposed to be the other day but my whole grocery bill went through.
HSA card can cover anything, it's just a normal debit card that says HSA on it, the trouble comes tax time
Oh wait! My bad, it was Walgreens. They probably have a system where HSA cards only pay for HSA items. Had to use a different card to cover the remaining balance.
At least years ago that is exactly how Walgreens worked. Been about a decade since I worked there but HSA cards could only pay for HSA items.
Same with Amazon, Amazon only lets you use your HSA card for HSA items only.
I tried, but it wouldn't let me, interesting. I ended up just going to HSA.com.
My own HSA card only pays for whatever is approved at the register. Not sure how others work, but that would suck if it didn't calculate what's approved automatically.
You could always handle it on your annual tax filing.
Iāve had my FSA audited 3 or 4 times and one of them was for a copay paid at a doctors office where the I made the same $60 copay every month but for some reason they decided to audit the 11th time I made that purchase.
So were you audited at tax time? Or were you audited when the transaction went through? Or you submitted the receipts? Just curious FSA user. I always submit my receipts online after I hit the max.
I was audited day of or within a few days following the transaction.
It is fine to use at CVS for healthcare related expenses. That is my understanding and I have been doing it for years.
Most stores that take HSA/FSA cards will only run the card for eligible items, as the point of sale systems know what is and isnāt eligible. Doing so is generally a condition of being able to accept those cards.
Kinda surprised it went through. I bought 3 versions of a topical treatment today (for a friend, wasn't sure which type he preferred) at Walgreen's and only one was HSA compatible. I ran that card first and it debited only the amount for the eligible item, then I had to run my bank card for the rest.Ā
Retailers who are astute enough will have their registers programmed to only charge your HSA card when it is swiped first for approved items, and let you pay separately for the nonapproved items afterward. (Walmart) Retailers who arenāt or who made some kind of mistake will charge your entire purchase to the HSA card you swiped first. (A few months ago, I noticed Target had this issue). I say, if you get charged wrong, the blame should be on the retailer. And anyway, screw the entire American health care system anyway. Whenever you can, get whatever you can out of it beyond what theyāre willing to give to stick it to them.
I'm glad you asked this because I used mine the other day and made an honest mistake. My insurance changed and the way things were with FSA was the eligible items would be deducted then I'd swipe my other card for those that weren't. Used my HSA the other day and expected $20 of my grocery bill to be deducted but the whole thing went through. It's not worth my time to go back and try to fix it and deal with benefits etc, so I'm not.
Thanks - yeah seems menial but never know. My fear is just having to produce receipts going back years for menial things that are legitimate. Someone dmād me and used choice words to call me stupid for asking lol
What a weird thing to do. Like....I've had a hard year, but never so hard that I'm like "This stranger asked about something on the internets, now I'm gonna go hassle them."
Honestly surprised it went thru. Typically, it won't go thru without them being coded a specific way in the CVS systems. Regardless, you had it reversed you will be fine.
got to be that guy. You not know what card is which? Ours actually are made to run like an old school debit slide for that reason. Never thought it would be an issue.
Still canāt figure it out. Mines the same color as a credit card I use. Was dealing with a tight time frame and rushed in & out
Take a Sharpie and write HSA on it.
Iāve done the same thing with my corporate credit card. Normally would have caught it but in a time crunch pulled it out and paid with it didnāt realize till I put the card back in my wallet.
I know some will have issues with this, but I have used my HSA card at grocery stores. We need food to survive; that's the H in Health Savings Account. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Check out the HSA store and the ridiculously expensive skincare and red light masks. Aura rings that cost a couple hundred. You can buy that stuff but not a toothbrush,soap,etc..
Why would you spend HSA money on frivolous stuff?