The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released the revised limits for high deductible health plans and health savings accounts on May 10.
After the back and forth changes in the health savings accounts family annual limit for 2018 – see our updated post on the finalized 2018 limits - employers can rely on this recent IRS revenue procedure while planning for their upcoming benefit plan year.
Along with the 2019 adjusted HSA contribution limits, the IRS provided adjusted minimum deductible and maximum out-of-pocket expenses for qualified high-deductible health plans that individuals must be covered under to be eligible to contribute to an HSA.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released revised limits under the ACA. The Affordability Percentage, the required contribution percentage used to determine whether employer-sponsored health coverage is deemed “affordable” for purposes of the employer shared responsibility, increased to 9.86% for 2019. Additionally, the percentage used to determine the amount of household income that individuals eligible for premium tax credits must contribute toward the cost of Exchange coverage increased, ranging from 2.08% to 9.86%.
Lastly, HHS also released the revised ACA out-of-pocket limits for in-network essential health benefits for non-grandfathered plans. These cost-sharing limits have steadily been rising to be higher than HDHP limits. For 2019, the limit will be higher than the HDHP out-of-pocket limit by $1,150 for self-only coverage and by $2,300 for family coverage.
Listed below are the new limits for 2019, along with historical perspective. The contribution limits for the other tax-advantage accounts are projected as an announcement of these limits generally comes out in October.
Account Limits |
2018 |
2019 |
Change |
Health Care Flexible Spending Account (FSA) |
$2,650 | $2,700 Projected | $50 |
Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account (FSA) |
$5,000 | $5,000 Projected |
$0 |
Health Spending Accounts (HSA) –
|
Self-only: $1,350 Family: $2,700 Self-only: $6,650 Family: $13,300 |
Self-only: $1,350 Family: $2,700 Self-only: $6,750 Family: $13,500 |
Self-only: $0 Family: $0 Self-only: $100 Family: $200 |
Health Spending Accounts (HSA) – |
Self-only: $3,450 Family: $6,900 $1,000 |
Self-only: $3,500 Family: $7,000 $1,000 |
Self-only: $50 Family: $100 $0 |
Transportation Fringe Benefits Parking |
$260/mo $260/mo Projected |
$265/mo $265/mo Projected |
$5/mo $5/mo |
ACA Maximum Out-of-Pocket |
Self-only: $7,350 Family: $14,700 |
Self-only: $7,900 Family: $15,800 |
Self-only: $550 Family: $1,100 |
ACA Affordability Percentage |
|||||
2014 |
2015 |
2016 |
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
9.5% | 9.56% | 9.66% | 9.69% | 9.56% | 9.86% |
DOWNLOAD THE INFOBRIEF: HDHP, HSA, and ACA Limits Increase for 2019
For more information about the ACA limits increase or if you have other compliance-related questions, reach out to your OneDigital representative today.