Updated November 5, 2026. Quick answer: The Instructions for Form 8889 (2025) print two short worksheets. The Employer Contribution Worksheet (5 lines) corrects the amount on Form 8889 line 9 when your W-2, box 12, code W includes 2024 money or leaves out 2025 money paid in 2026. The Additional Contribution Amount Worksheet (2 lines) turns the $1,000 catch-up into a monthly figure for line 7 when you are 55 or older, married and family coverage applies for only part of the year.
What the two worksheets are for
Both worksheets feed a line on Form 8889 and neither is filed. The Employer Contribution Worksheet feeds line 9, and the Additional Contribution Amount Worksheet feeds line 7. The Line 3 Limitation Chart and Worksheet, the third worksheet in these instructions, is covered on its own page: Form 8889 line 3 limitation worksheet.
Employer Contribution Worksheet (line 9)
The instructions define the amount: “Employer contributions (including employee payroll contributions through a cafeteria plan) include any amount an employer contributes to any HSA for you for 2025.” They add “These contributions should be shown on Form W-2, box 12, code W.”
You complete the worksheet in two situations. “If either of the following apply, complete the Employer Contribution Worksheet.” The two are “Employer contributions for 2024 are included on your 2025 Form W-2, box 12, code W.” and “Employer contributions for 2025 are made in 2026.”
| Line | What it asks |
|---|---|
| 1 | “Enter the employer contributions reported on your 2025 Form W-2, box 12, code W” |
| 2 | “Enter employer contributions made in 2025 for tax year 2024” |
| 3 | “Subtract line 2 from line 1” |
| 4 | “Enter employer contributions made in 2026 for tax year 2025” |
| 5 | “Employer contributions for 2025. Add lines 3 and 4. Enter here and on your 2025 Form 8889, line 9” |
This page’s own computed illustration (the IRS prints no filled-in copy): the W-2 shows $4,200 in box 12, code W, of which $1,200 was paid in 2025 for tax year 2024, and the employer paid another $300 in 2026 for tax year 2025.
| Line | Entry | Illustration |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Employer contributions on the 2025 W-2, box 12, code W (assumed) | $4,200 |
| 2 | Employer contributions made in 2025 for tax year 2024 (assumed) | $1,200 |
| 3 | Line 1 minus line 2 | $3,000 |
| 4 | Employer contributions made in 2026 for tax year 2025 (assumed) | $300 |
| 5 | Line 3 plus line 4, to Form 8889 line 9 | $3,300 |
Line 3 is $4,200 minus $1,200, which is $3,000 (computed). Line 5 is $3,000 plus $300, which is $3,300 (computed), and that is the figure for Form 8889, line 9.
Additional Contribution Amount Worksheet (line 7)
“If, at the end of 2025, you were age 55 or older and married, use the Additional Contribution Amount Worksheet (in these instructions) if both of the following apply.” The two conditions: “You or your spouse had family coverage under an HDHP and were, or were considered to be, an eligible individual on the first day of the month.” and “You were not enrolled in Medicare for the month.”
The shortcut: “If items (1) and (2) apply to all months during 2025, enter $1,000 on line 7.” Otherwise you use the worksheet.
| Line | What it asks |
|---|---|
| 1 | “$1,000 × number of months eligible” |
| 2 | “Divide line 1 by 12. Enter here and on line 7” |
Illustration: the conditions hold for 6 months of 2025. Line 1 is $1,000 times 6, which is $6,000 (computed), and line 2 is $6,000 divided by 12, which is $500 (computed). For 9 months the same arithmetic gives $9,000 and $750 (computed). The worksheet prints no rounding rule, and these months divide evenly.
The instructions also place this amount: “Note. If you are married and had family coverage at any time during the year, the additional contribution amount is figured on line 7 and is not included on line 3.”
Where the results go and what happens next
The line 9 amount is the employer side of the HSA deduction calculation that ends on line 13, and the instructions warn that “Excess employer contributions are the excess, if any, of your employer’s contributions over your limitation on line 8.” The pages on Form 8889 lines 9 to 13 and lines 6, 7 and 8 walk those lines in the form itself.
Edition
This page reads Instructions for Form 8889 (2025), the file irs.gov served on 2026-11-05 (sha256 in the kit data). Line numbers and dollar amounts belong to that 2025 edition, so check the label printed on the worksheet in your own copy before you follow a line reference, and read the instructions for the year you are filing.
Common mistakes
- Entering the W-2 box 12, code W total on line 9 without checking whether the Employer Contribution Worksheet applies. Money paid in 2025 for 2024, or in 2026 for 2025, moves the answer.
- Subtracting line 2 from the wrong line. Line 3 is line 1 minus line 2, then line 4 is added back.
- Using the Additional Contribution Amount Worksheet when you are unmarried. The Line 3 chart adds an unmarried filer’s catch-up on line 3 instead.
- Putting the catch-up on both line 3 and line 7. For a married filer with family coverage it belongs on line 7 only.
- Dividing by the number of months eligible instead of by 12. Line 2 divides line 1 by 12.
Related: Form 8889, Form 8889 lines 9 to 13, Form 8889 lines 6, 7 and 8, and the Form 8889 line 3 worksheet.
Find the right next step for your situation
About how much do you have invested? Pick the range that fits; your next step appears immediately below.
Compare vetted advisors for your finances
For U.S. investors with $250,000 or more in investable assets. WiserAdvisor is an independent service matching you with 2 to 3 vetted advisers. Its form asks for your ZIP code and answers to a few questions; a match is not guaranteed.
Free to request, with no obligation to hire. By submitting, you consent to calls, texts and emails from WiserAdvisor and up to three advisers. Advisers pay for introductions.
Clear Money Guide may earn a referral payment for a qualifying completed form. An introduction is not a Clear Money Guide recommendation.
Opens on WiserAdvisor’s site in a new tab.
Explore optional adviser matching today
Considering financial advice? Request an adviser introduction with no obligation to hire.
The form is run by Kapitalwise, our advisor-matching partner. Requesting an introduction is free. Submitting the form shares your contact details with advisers, so expect calls and texts. Advisers pay for introductions. Clear Money Guide may earn a referral payment for a qualifying submitted form, whether or not you hire anyone. A match is not guaranteed.
The Kapitalwise form opens here; you stay on this page.
What happens when you press the button
It asks about nine questions: age, investable assets, location; then your name, email and phone number, and verifies the phone by text. Nothing loads and nothing reaches Kapitalwise until you press the button.
Prefer flat-fee or hourly pricing instead? Compare ranges here.
Answer againSources
- Instructions for Form 8889 (2025), Health Savings Accounts (HSAs): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i8889.pdf
- IRS, About Form 8889, Health Savings Accounts (HSAs): https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-8889
Read from the IRS documents linked above on November 5, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a preparer, the account provider or the IRS is the right place to confirm anything consequential.