HSA Limits for 2027 Are $4,500 and $9,000. Here Is the Open-Enrollment Math — and Where the High-Deductible Plan Stops Winning.
Open enrollment runs through October and November at most employers, and the benefits portal asks one question it never helps with: the cheap plan with the big deductible and the savings account, or the expensive plan with the small deductible? The 2027 figures that decide it are now published. This post puts them in one place and runs the two pieces of arithmetic — what the contribution does to a paycheck, and where the high-deductible plan stops being the better deal.
Quick answer
For 2027 the health savings account limit is $4,500 for self-only coverage and $9,000 for family, up $100 and $250 from 2026, plus $1,000 more from age 55. A plan qualifies if its deductible is at least $1,750 self-only or $3,500 family, with out-of-pocket maximums no higher than $8,700 and $17,400. A $4,500 contribution through payroll in the 22% bracket saves about $1,334 in tax, so it costs $3,166 of take-home — $122 per biweekly paycheck. A high-deductible plan with an $80-a-month premium gap and a $600 employer deposit beats the PPO until about $17,000 of billed care in a year.
The 2027 figures
The IRS set the health savings account and high-deductible plan figures in May (Rev. Proc. 2026-24). The health flexible spending account cap for 2027 comes later, with the October inflation adjustments; the 2026 cap is $3,400 with a $680 carryover.
| 2026 | 2027 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| HSA limit, self-only coverage | $4,400 | $4,500 | +$100 |
| HSA limit, family coverage | $8,750 | $9,000 | +$250 |
| Catch-up, age 55 and over | +$1,000 | +$1,000 | none (set by statute) |
| Minimum deductible, self-only | $1,700 | $1,750 | +$50 |
| Minimum deductible, family | $3,400 | $3,500 | +$100 |
| Out-of-pocket maximum, self-only | $8,500 | $8,700 | +$200 |
| Out-of-pocket maximum, family | $17,000 | $17,400 | +$400 |
Two rules behind the table matter at enrollment. The limit is a calendar-year figure that counts every dollar going into the account, including what your employer deposits — a $600 employer contribution leaves you $3,900 of room, not $4,500. And a plan has to meet both the deductible floor and the out-of-pocket ceiling to be HSA-eligible; a plan with a $1,500 deductible is not, however it is labelled.
What $4,500 does to a paycheck
A contribution through payroll comes out before federal income tax and before the 7.65% Social Security and Medicare tax. That second part is what no other retirement account offers: a 401(k) contribution skips income tax only.
| Contribution through payroll | 12% bracket | 22% bracket | 24% bracket |
|---|---|---|---|
| $4,500 self-only — tax saved | $884 | $1,334 | $1,424 |
| — real cost in take-home | $3,616 | $3,166 | $3,076 |
| — per biweekly paycheck (26) | $139 | $122 | $118 |
| $9,000 family — tax saved | $1,769 | $2,669 | $2,849 |
| — real cost in take-home | $7,231 | $6,331 | $6,151 |
| — per biweekly paycheck | $278 | $244 | $237 |
The same $4,500 in a traditional 401(k) saves $990 in the 22% bracket. The HSA dollar saves $1,334 — $344 more, every year, for the same reduction in take-home. That is the whole case for filling the HSA before the unmatched part of a 401(k), and the take-home pay calculator will show the paycheck effect of any pre-tax figure you enter. If you are not sure which bracket you are in, the tax bracket explainer takes gross pay and filing status and tells you.
Two exceptions. California and New Jersey do not recognise the deduction, so state income tax still applies to the contribution there. And the 7.65% saving only applies to money that goes through payroll; a contribution you make directly from your bank account gets the income-tax deduction on your return but not the payroll-tax saving.
Where the high-deductible plan stops winning
The premium gap between the two plans is the whole argument for the high-deductible one, and the deductible gap is the whole argument against it. Both are fixed numbers on the enrollment page; what is not fixed is how much care you will use. So the honest comparison is a table across the range, not a single answer.
Take a typical pair. The PPO costs $80 a month more in premiums, has a $750 deductible, 20% coinsurance after it, and a $3,500 out-of-pocket maximum. The high-deductible plan has a $2,000 deductible, the same 20% coinsurance, a $6,000 maximum, and the employer puts $600 into the HSA. Before anyone sees a doctor the high-deductible plan is $960 + $600 = $1,560 ahead.
| Care billed in the year | PPO pays | HDHP pays | HDHP ahead by |
|---|---|---|---|
| $0 | $0 | $0 | +$1,560 |
| $1,000 (a few visits, a scan) | $800 | $1,000 | +$1,360 |
| $3,000 (a minor procedure) | $1,200 | $2,200 | +$560 |
| $8,000 (an ER visit, a surgery) | $2,200 | $3,200 | +$560 |
| $15,000 | $3,500 (max) | $4,600 | +$460 |
| $17,300 — breakeven | $3,500 | $5,060 | $0 |
| $20,000 | $3,500 | $5,600 | −$540 |
| $40,000 or more | $3,500 (max) | $6,000 (max) | −$940 |
Three things fall out of that table. The high-deductible plan wins in every ordinary year, by $560 to $1,560. It only loses in a year with more than about $17,000 of billed care. And its worst case is bounded: −$940, the difference between the two maximums less the head start. Set that against the tax saving on the contribution — $1,334 for a self-only account in the 22% bracket — and even the bad year roughly breaks even. Your own pair will have different gaps; the comparison is the same four numbers (premium gap, employer deposit, deductible gap, maximum gap), and the benefits value calculator puts the package together with the rest of what the employer pays.
The case where the PPO wins outright is not in the table: a known, large expense next year — a planned surgery, a pregnancy, a chronic condition with monthly specialty drugs — combined with a small premium gap and a large deductible gap. Then the "ahead by" column starts negative and stays there. That is a reason to run your own numbers, not a reason to avoid the arithmetic.
The rules that trip people at enrollment
Mid-year starts. The limit is prorated by the months you are eligible on the first of the month — unless you are eligible on December 1, in which case the "last-month rule" lets you contribute the full year's amount, provided you stay eligible through the following December. Fail that test and the excess is taxed and penalised.
HSA and FSA together. A general-purpose health FSA — yours or your spouse's — makes you ineligible for HSA contributions. A limited-purpose FSA for dental and vision does not.
Age 55 and Medicare. The $1,000 catch-up starts at 55, per person, so a couple over 55 with family coverage needs two accounts to claim both. Contributions must stop once you are enrolled in Medicare; because Part A enrollment is backdated up to six months when you apply after 65, people planning to apply should stop contributing six months earlier.
The money is yours. Unlike an FSA, an HSA balance carries over without limit and goes with you when you leave. After 65, withdrawals for anything are taxed as ordinary income with no penalty; before 65, a non-medical withdrawal costs income tax plus 20%.
Frequently asked questions
Is the $600 my employer deposits on top of my $4,500? No. The $4,500 is the total that can enter the account in 2027 from all sources. An employer deposit of $600 leaves $3,900 for you — $150 per biweekly paycheck.
My plan year starts in July. Which limit applies? The calendar year's. Contributions made in January–June 2027 count against $4,500 regardless of the plan year, and the plan's deductible has to meet the 2027 floor from the plan-year start date.
Can I pay 2026 medical bills from an HSA I open in 2027? No. Only expenses incurred after the account was established qualify. Open the account the day you become eligible, even with a small deposit, so the clock starts.
Does the high-deductible plan make sense if I rarely use care? That is the case it was designed for: the premium gap and the employer deposit are pure gain, and the contribution grows untaxed. The risk is the bad year, and the table above shows its size.
What if I max the HSA and never spend it? Then it works like a retirement account with better tax treatment: contributions untaxed, growth untaxed, and withdrawals untaxed for medical costs at any age. Many people pay current medical bills from cash, keep receipts, and reimburse themselves decades later.
Is the 2027 FSA limit known yet? Not as of this writing. The IRS publishes it in late October or November with the other inflation adjustments. The 2026 figure is $3,400 with a $680 carryover; a modest increase is the normal pattern.
Sources and as-of dates. 2027 HSA and HDHP figures: IRS Rev. Proc. 2026-24 (May 2026). 2026 figures and the FSA cap: IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 (October 2025). Contribution rules, the last-month rule, Medicare interaction and withdrawal treatment: IRS Publication 969. Payroll-tax treatment: 26 U.S.C. §125 and §3121(a)(5). State treatment: California Franchise Tax Board and New Jersey Division of Taxation guidance, 2026. Bracket figures: Rev. Proc. 2025-32. The HDHP-vs-PPO example is a hypothetical pair chosen to show the shape of the comparison; your plan's figures are on your enrollment summary.
This article is educational, not tax or benefits advice. Figures are accurate as of October 11, 2026; the 2027 FSA cap and the 2027 tax brackets had not been published at the time of writing.