The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently announced in Revenue Procedure 2022-24 that some of the annual limits affecting high deductible health plans (HDHPs) and health savings accounts (HSAs) will increase for calendar year 2023.

In order to maintain an HDHP's HSA-eligible status, an employer sponsoring an HSA-eligible HDHP in 2023 will need to ensure that the HDHP's annual deductible is at least $1,500 for self-only coverage and $3,000 for family coverage. For calendar year 2022, these amounts were $1,400 for self-only coverage and $2,800 for family coverage.

The maximum annual out-of-pocket expense that can be incurred by a participant in an HDHP has also increased for calendar year 2023 to $7,500 for self-only coverage (up from $7,050 for 2022) and $15,000 for family coverage (up from $14,100 for 2022). These limits apply to all deductibles, co-payments, coinsurance, and other out-of-pocket amounts on a combined basis, but they do not include premiums.

It is important for employers to keep in mind that maximum out-of-pocket expense limits also apply under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA) for all "non-grandfathered" employer-sponsored group health plans, even if the plans are not HDHPs. Thus, non-HDHPs may not have out-of-pocket maximums in 2022 that exceed $8,700 for self-only coverage and $17,400 for family coverage. The ACA maximums for 2023 are $9,100 for self-only coverage and $18,200 for family coverage.

The maximum contribution an individual may make to an HSA has also increased. For calendar year 2023, the maximum annual HSA contribution limits are $3,850 for an individual with self-only coverage under an HDHP and $7,750 for an individual with family coverage under an HDHP. The contribution limits for calendar year 2022 were $3,650 and $7,300, respectively. The additional amount that individuals who are age 55 or older may contribute is set by statute and remains at $1,000 for 2023.

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