Can I Roll My Spouse's IRA to My HSA?

People who have high-deductible health insurance coverage are eligible to use a health-care savings account, or HSA, to save money on health-care expenses and on taxes. If you qualify to open an HSA, you can use it to pay for health-care expenses that are not covered under your health plan or to contribute toward your yearly deductible. You may be able to fund part of your HSA with money from your IRA, but you cannot fund contributions to your spouse's HSA.

Individual Accounts

An HSA is similar to an IRA in that it is an individual account. You cannot open a joint HSA account with your spouse, even if your spouse is covered by a high-deductible health plan and eligible for an HSA. Your spouse must open an account in her own name if she chooses to have one. In this case, you must split your eligible yearly contribution from the IRA to the HSA between you and your spouse.

Rollover Funding

Under Internal Revenue Service provisions, you can make one rollover contribution in your lifetime to your HSA from your traditional or Roth IRA account. Given the individual nature of these accounts, the rollover must come from your own account, and your spouse may fund her own account with a similar rollover. The rollover must be handled directly between the trustee of your IRA account and your HSA. You request the transfer from your IRA trustee, who will write a check to your HSA trustee. This money is not taxable and is not deductible on your income tax.

Rollover Restrictions

You can only contribute through a rollover up to your maximum eligible HSA contribution for the year. In addition, a rollover from an IRA reduces your eligible contribution to your HSA for the year by the amount of the rollover. As of 2013, you are eligible to contribute $3,450 for an individual or $6,450 for family coverage in an HSA. If you are age 50 or older, you can add $1,000 to these amounts. If you have family coverage and roll $5,000 from your IRA to your HSA, you are only eligible to make regular contributions totaling $1,450 if you are under age 50. Your eligible amounts are also reduced by any amount your spouse contributes to her own account.

Expense Reimbursement

You can pay for the health-care expenses of your spouse from your own HSA account provided your spouse is covered under a high-deductible health plan. Likewise, your spouse can pay for your expenses with her account. Either account can also be used to pay for the qualifying health-care expenses of dependents or other eligible people.