Short answer: Yes. You can reimburse yourself for qualified medical expenses from a prior year as long as the expense occurred after your HSA was opened and you kept proper documentation.
Health Savings Accounts allow you to reimburse yourself for qualified medical expenses at any time, even years after the expense was incurred. There is no IRS deadline for when the reimbursement must occur.
However, the expense must meet two key requirements. First, it must have been incurred after your HSA was established. Expenses that occurred before the HSA was opened are not eligible for reimbursement.
Second, the expense must be a qualified medical expense and must not have been reimbursed by insurance or another account. You must also retain records, such as receipts or explanation of benefits statements, to substantiate the expense if requested by the IRS.
For example, if you paid $300 out of pocket for a doctor visit last year, saved the receipt, and your HSA was already open at the time of the visit, you may reimburse yourself from your HSA today.
Some people intentionally allow their HSA balance to grow tax-free and reimburse themselves later, effectively using the HSA as a long-term savings tool for future tax-free withdrawals tied to past medical expenses.
Sources
- IRS, Publication 969 – Health Savings Accounts: https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-publication-969
- IRS, Publication 502 – Medical and Dental Expenses: https://www.irs.gov/publications/p502
Content history
Originally published: March 27, 2025
Last reviewed: January 26, 2026