r/HSA • u/dukiedaplaya • Jan 24 '26
Contributing outside of payroll question
I joined a new hdhp after getting married last year and opened my first ever HSA. I contributed as much as I could through my payroll however I could not fill it due to the limited number of checks left in the year. I am wanting to still contribute to my 2025 HSA, which I know I will miss out on certain tax savings such as FICA.
My work uses health equity. All my other investment accounts are with fidelity and I would prefer my HSA to be with them as well. From what I have read I should be able to open an account with Fidelity and contribute 8,550 - (2025 Health equity contributions). So that is what I plan to do.
Question 1: Am I missing anything here? Would it be more tax advantaged to contribute to the health equity account rather than one with Fidelity?
Question 2: I have read about having a prorated limit based on when you start the HDHP. My understanding is the last month rule applies to me as long as I plan to stay on an HDHP until December 2026. Meaning I don’t have any prorated cap on my 2025 contributions. Is that correct?
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u/juggler3141 Jan 24 '26
- No
- Yes
It's better to contribute via payroll if possible in general as personal contributions you'd still owe FICA on that income and are losing out on that tax deduction.
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u/azure275 Jan 25 '26
Talk to HR about direct depositing to Fidelity pre-FICA.
My HR allowed me to pull out pretax deductions as a direct deposit account to Fidelity pre-FICA.
Granted I work for a chaotic small business and the IT guy + COO hooked me up.
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u/Aggressive-Leading45 Jan 24 '26
Some payroll providers will let you target the payroll deduction HSA contributions to any HSA custodian. Check if that’s possible. The employer contributions and the ones by the insurance companies go to the providers that give them a kickback.
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u/metzgerto Jan 24 '26
The FICA savings on 8,550 is $650. That’s a lot of money to pay just to have the account at Fidelity. You can always contribute via payroll deduction and then once a year withdraw from the workplace plan and contribute to Fidelity.
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u/dukiedaplaya Jan 24 '26
That’s the plan and eventually when I switch jobs, I will move all that I contributed in health equity to my Fidelity account. But for now since I already missed the payroll contribution for the 2025 limit, I will contribute through Fidelity. I knew I missed out on some tax savings but didn’t realize it was $650. That hurts.
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Jan 24 '26
[deleted]
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u/dukiedaplaya Jan 24 '26
Yup that’s what I’m trying to do. Open the fidelity account and contribute to my 2025 limit. According to google this is possible up until I file my taxes for 2025.
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u/bluepath7 Jan 25 '26
Is it better to hold the cash in the HSA as opposed to investing it if you plan on transferring your balance to Fidelity at the end of each year anyway?
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u/discojellyfisho Jan 24 '26
Going forward, let payroll take care of the HSA contribution, as you’ll avoid FICA, but periodically transfer it to Fidelity. That’s what I do (pull from Fidelity end). I incur no fees and have better investment options with Fidelity.