What’s New for HSAs in 2026: More Access, Higher Contribution Limits

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Key takeaways:

The federal government made several changes to HSAs in 2025 that take effect this year.
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act expanded HSA access for Bronze and Catastrophic ACA plans, opened access to Direct Primary Care Arrangements, and allowed people in certain HDHP plans to remain HSA eligible.
The IRS raised HSA contribution limits for individual and family HDHPs to $4,400 and $8,750, respectively.

Health savings accounts (HSAs) are one of the most powerful tools for managing healthcare costs. With a triple tax advantage and growing flexibility, they’ve become a staple in many families’ financial and healthcare planning.

The new year brings a new wave of changes to HSAs—most notably changes resulting from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The act includes several provisions aimed at expanding HSA access and modernizing the rules for who can use them. The IRS also raised contribution limits for HSAs.

For anyone with an HSA—or considering opening one—the year ahead looks different. Here’s what to expect in 2026.

Legislative Changes

Congress passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act on July 4, 2025. It contained some long-awaited changes to HSAs and high-deductible health plans (HDHPs). Most of these changes go into effect on January 1, 2026.

Three of the bill’s provisions focused on modernizing and broadening access to HSAs.

More ACA Plans Are HSA Eligible

Starting in 2026, Bronze and Catastrophic plans on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace will be reclassified as HSA-qualified HDHPs, regardless of whether the plan meets the minimum annual deductible or maximum out-of-pocket requirements for HDHPs. That means eligible enrollees will be able to open and contribute to an HSA.

This move is a win for the future of HSAs: Approximately 7.3 million more Americans will have access, according to a report the White House released earlier this year.

Direct Primary Care Arrangements Gain HSA Access

Also starting in 2026, Direct Primary Care Arrangement enrollees will no longer be disqualified from opening or contributing to an HSA. Direct Primary Care is a healthcare model where individuals purchase a membership that allows them unlimited access to most primary care services for a stated fee.

For enrollees to have HSA access, the arrangement’s monthly fees must stay at or below $150 for an individual and $300 for a family, and it must meet certain other requirements. Direct Primary Care Arrangement fees will also become HSA eligible expenses, regardless of the amount of the amount of the monthly fee and whether or not it allows an individual to continue to contribute to an HSA.

This provision is good for consumer-directed healthcare because it empowers individuals to use pre-tax dollars to pay for personalized care, enhancing access and promoting cost savings to consumers.

HDHP Telehealth Safe Harbor Made Permanent

Finally, HDHP members can now stay eligible for HSAs even if their plan covers telehealth before they meet their deductible. This provision is retroactive to plan years beginning after December 31, 2024. It covers the gap that would have existed when the previous safe harbor expired at the end of 2024 and encourages the use of affordable, convenient care.

Contribution Limit Changes

On May 1, 2025, the IRS released Revenue Procedure 2025-19, which lays out contribution limits for HSAs and out-of-pocket limits for HDHPs for calendar year 2026. HSA contribution limits for 2026 increased, which gives HSA users more opportunity to save tax-free dollars for qualified medical expenses.

Here are the new limits for HSAs and HDHPs:

Maximum annual HSA contribution (self-only coverage): $4,400 (up from $4,300 in 2025)
Maximum annual HSA contribution (family coverage): $8,750 (up from $8,550 in 2025)
Annual HSA catch-up contribution limits remain $1,000 for those 55 and older.
Minimum deductible for HDHP to be HSA qualified (self-only): $1,700 (up from $1,650 in 2025)
Minimum deductible for HDHP to be HSA qualified (family): $3,400 (up from $3,300 in 2025)
HDHP maximum out-of-pocket limit (self-only): $8,500 (up from $8,300 in 2025)
HDHP maximum out-of-pocket limit (family): $17,000 (up from $16,600 in 2025)

In Summary

The bill’s HSA changes are positive, but there’s still work to be done to expand these accounts. The final bill left out many other HSA modernization provisions, such as HSA eligibility for Medicare participants and larger contribution limit increases. However, other pieces of developing legislation contain expanded accessibility, flexibility, and modernization of HSAs.

HSA Store^® will keep you updated throughout the year on any HSA changes.

For more information, see IRS Notice 2026-05, which provides further guidance on the new 2026 tax benefits for HSAs discussed in this piece.