As discussed in the Financial Abundance Guide, if your marginal federal income tax rate is 25 percent or higher, on an after tax basis, you will save money with a High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP), when you fully fund your Health Savings Account (HSA). In 2007, if you are single and your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) is over $31,850 or filing jointly with an AGI over $63,700, an HDHP/HSA combination will save you money, as long as you fully fund your HSA.

For many people, the ability to fully fund their HSA may be a challenge. “Fully funding” requires that a single person deposit $2,850 or that a family deposit $5,650 into an HSA. To help solve this problem, the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006 allows you to do a one-time funding of your HSA by rolling over IRA funds into your HSA.

This rollover is similar to doing an IRA to Roth IRA conversion. However, with an HSA rollover, you are not required to pay taxes on the funds transferred to your HSA (as long as you maintain your HDHP for at least 12 months). Like a Roth IRA, all HSA funds grow on a tax free basis and can be withdrawn tax-free, as long as the funds are used to pay for health care related expenses.

Another one time funding source for your HSA is a rollover from an employer-sponsored flexible spending account (FSA) or health reimbursement account (HRA). Your rollover is limited to the account balance on the date of transfer or on September 21, 2006, whichever is less. The rollover must also be made before January 1, 2012. If your yearly FSA contributions will not be consumed, this approach may keep you from losing the remaining FSA funds.

If you have a High Deducible Health Plan (HDHP), fully fund your Health Savings Account (HSA). By doing this, your total after-tax health care costs are virtually guaranteed to be lower than they would be with a comparable “low deductible” health care plan.