Taxes · Calculator

The HSA triple-tax advantage,
quantified.

Contributions are pre-tax; growth and qualified withdrawals are tax-free. Compare the savings over 10, 20, and 30 years with a taxable account.

The question it answersHow much does an HSA's triple tax advantage actually save me over 10, 20, or 30 years?

Rules: United States. Tax year: models 2026 figures; check the assumptions before using it for another year. Privacy: runs in your browser. What you enter stays on your device unless you copy a share link, which puts your inputs in the link.

California and New Jersey do not allow state HSA deduction ×DON'T TRUST, VERIFYClaim: CA and NJ do not conform to federal HSA tax treatment.Verify at: California FTB ↗ Source 2 in the list belowSet state rate to 0% if in CA or NJ..

What you pay without HSA reimbursement. Keep receipts; reimburse later tax-free.

ANNUAL TAX SAVINGS
$0
AFTER 10 YEARS
$0
vs taxable
AFTER 20 YEARS
$0
vs taxable
AFTER 30 YEARS
$0
vs taxable
REIMBURSEMENT POOL
$0

Pay medical expenses out of pocket now. Keep receipts. Reimburse yourself tax-free from the HSA any time in the future. This is a running pool of future tax-free withdrawals. Above is the total over the contribution window.

AFTER 65

After 65, HSA funds can be withdrawn for any purpose and taxed like a Traditional IRAIndividual Retirement Account (IRA)A retirement account with tax advantages and eligibility rules. Traditional IRA contributions may be deductible; taxable withdrawals generally enter income. Roth contributions use after-tax money, and qualified Roth withdrawals are tax-free.Full definition. The 20% non-qualified withdrawal penalty goes away. The HSA effectively becomes a bonus retirement account ×DON'T TRUST, VERIFYClaim: After 65, HSA non-qualified withdrawals are taxed as ordinary income without the 20% penalty.Verify at: IRS Publication 969 ↗ Source 1 in the list belowHSA withdrawals for qualified medical expenses remain tax-free at any age..

Estimate, not tax or legal advice. It applies the 2026 rules listed in the assumptions to the numbers you enter. Details this tool does not model can change the result.

What this tool assumes
  • Triple tax advantage: contributions are federal-deductible (and skip 7.65% FICAFederal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA)The federal payroll tax that funds Social Security and Medicare. Workers pay 6.2% for Social Security (on wages up to $184,500 in 2026) plus 1.45% for Medicare, and employers match both. Self-employed people pay both halves, 15.3%, as self-employment tax.Full definition only when made through payroll), growth is tax-free, qualified withdrawals are tax-free.
  • After age 65, non-medical withdrawals are taxed as ordinary income (no penalty).
  • State treatment of HSA varies; CA and NJ tax HSA growth at the state level.
  • Assumes you can pay medical costs from cash-on-hand and let the HSA grow.
  • Taxable comparison: the same contribution after federal and state tax, with 15% of each year's return lost to tax on dividends and gains and no tax on withdrawal.
Three tax breaks: HSA vs a taxable account
HSA
Taxable account
Money in
Break 1Pre-tax$1.00Each dollar goes in whole: no federal or state tax, and no FICA through payroll.
No breakAfter tax$0.73Left of each dollar after 22% federal + 5% state tax.
Growth
Break 2Tax-freeAll growth compounds with no tax taken.
No breakTaxedPart of the growth goes to tax.
Money out
Break 3Tax-freeQualified medical costs, even bills paid now and reimbursed later.
No breakLike any other billMedical costs are paid from dollars that were taxed going in.
CA and NJ give no state HSA deduction and tax HSA growth at the state level.
The HSA skips tax at all three stages: going in, while it grows, and coming out for qualified medical costs. A taxable account gets none of the three. At the default 22% federal and 5% state rates, each $1 goes into the HSA whole, but only $0.73 reaches the taxable account.

Not financial advice. Requires HDHPHigh-Deductible Health Plan (HDHP)A health-plan category with statutory deductible and out-of-pocket rules. HSA eligibility also depends on other conditions. Special 2026 rules cover qualifying bronze and catastrophic plans; verify the plan and your own eligibility rather than relying on its deductible alone.Full definition. US tax law.

HOW THIS IS CALCULATED

This tool runs entirely in your browser: no data is sent to any server. The assumptions and default values behind the result are listed under “What this tool assumes” on this page. Verify the methodology or inspect the source code in your browser's dev tools.

Where to go from here

Read next

HSA Basics

The only triple-tax-advantaged account in the US tax code. 2026 limits: $4,400 self-only, $8,750 family.

Explore further

Sources

Verify badges in the text link to these sources. Figures, rates and rules change: check each source’s date before acting on it.

  1. Internal Revenue Service, IRS Publication 969 ↩
  2. California Franchise Tax Board, California FTB ↩

Calculators are educational estimates, not financial advice. Disclosures · How pages are reviewed