The IRS has published the 2027 inflation-adjusted limits for health savings accounts (HSAs) and the high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) that go with them. The numbers are small increases, but they touch plan documents, enrollment guides and payroll settings that many employers are about to open up for the new plan year.
Last verified: October 5, 2026. General information, not legal advice.
The 2027 numbers
The figures come from IRS Revenue Procedure 2026-24. For comparison, the 2026 figures are in Revenue Procedure 2025-19.
- HSA contribution limit: $4,500 for self-only HDHP coverage (up from $4,400) and $9,000 for family coverage (up from $8,750).
- Minimum HDHP deductible: $1,750 self-only (up from $1,700) and $3,500 family (up from $3,400).
- Maximum HDHP out-of-pocket: $8,700 self-only (up from $8,500) and $17,400 family (up from $17,000).
- Excepted benefit HRA: the most that can be newly made available for plan years beginning in 2027 is $2,250 (up from $2,200).
The revenue procedure applies to HSAs for calendar year 2027, and to excepted benefit HRAs for plan years beginning in 2027.
Direct primary care arrangements
The revenue procedure also notes a change from the 2025 tax legislation (Public Law 119-21). Starting with months after December 31, 2025, a direct primary care service arrangement is not treated as a disqualifying health plan for HSA purposes as long as its aggregate fees stay at or below a monthly cap. For 2027 that cap is $150 per month for an individual, or $300 if the arrangement covers more than one individual. If your plans or vendors offer direct primary care, ask your benefits advisor or PEO how it interacts with your HSA-eligible plans.
Why the limit is not just an employee issue
The IRS explains in Publication 969 that the amounts counted toward an individual's HSA limit include contributions by the individual, the employer and any other person. Excess contributions generally carry a 6% excise tax for each year they stay in the account, so employer contributions and payroll deferrals need to be set with the right limit in mind.
Publication 969 also notes that people age 55 or older at the end of the year can contribute an additional $1,000. The 2025 edition of the publication is the version available as of this writing, so confirm current-year details with your plan administrator.
A plain-language way to explain it to employees
Many questions at open enrollment come down to the same few points. Publication 969 says an HSA can receive contributions from the eligible individual or from others, including an employer or a family member. Employer contributions are not included in the employee's income, and distributions used to pay qualified medical expenses are not taxed. The limit, though, is a combined ceiling: if an employee elects payroll contributions and the employer also contributes, both count toward the same annual number.
It helps to say that plainly in your enrollment materials, and to point employees to the plan administrator or a tax professional for their own situation rather than answering individual tax questions yourself.
Comparability, if you contribute
When an employer makes HSA contributions outside a cafeteria plan, Publication 969 says the contributions must be comparable for all comparable participating employees: either the same amount or the same percentage of the annual deductible limit. The comparability rules do not apply to contributions made through a cafeteria plan. If you are changing your contribution formula for 2027, this is the rule to check first, with your counsel or PEO.
What to do this week
- Confirm which of your 2027 medical plans your carrier or PEO treats as HSA-eligible HDHPs, and that their deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums meet the new thresholds.
- Update enrollment guides, benefit summaries and any payroll deduction calculators that show the 2026 HSA limits.
- Ask your payroll provider or HRIS administrator when the 2027 limits will be loaded, and test a few sample elections.
- If you contribute to employee HSAs, re-check that your contribution formula meets the comparability rule.
- Send employees a short note with the new limits well before open enrollment closes.
This post covers federal IRS limits only. State tax treatment and plan-specific rules vary, so check with your counsel, benefits advisor or PEO before making plan changes.
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