Short answer: HSAs are individual accounts. You can use your HSA to pay for your spouse’s qualified medical expenses, but each eligible spouse must have their own HSA to make contributions.
A Health Savings Account is always owned by one individual, even if you have family health coverage. Spouses cannot jointly own or contribute to the same HSA.
If both spouses are HSA-eligible, each must open and maintain their own HSA in order to contribute. Contributions are tracked at the individual account level, not at the household level.
Even though HSAs are individual accounts, you may use your HSA funds to pay for your spouse’s qualified medical expenses, as well as expenses for your tax dependents, as long as they are not claimed as dependents by someone else.
When spouses are both eligible and covered under family HSA-qualified health plans, the combined total of their HSA contributions cannot exceed the annual family contribution limit. Each spouse may also make a separate catch-up contribution to their own HSA if they are age 55 or older.
Sources
- IRS, FAQs on Health Savings Accounts – Contributions and Family Coverage: https://www.irs.gov/faqs/health-savings-accounts-hsas
- IRS, Publication 969 – Health Savings Accounts: https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-publication-969
Content history
Originally published: March 27, 2025
Last reviewed: January 26, 2026