Updated October 21, 2026. Quick answer: The Line 3 Limitation Chart and Worksheet in the Form 8889 instructions finds your HSA limit when you were not eligible all year. For each month you enter $4,300 for self-only coverage or $8,550 for family, zero for a month the chart screens out, then divide the total by 12. The last-month rule can skip the chart.
What this worksheet is for
Form 8889 line 3 is the annual limit, and it does not come from a simple copy. The instructions give you two paths: the full-year amounts, or this chart. The line is covered at Form 8889 lines 3, 4 and 5.
The rules and the chart
| Step | What the instructions say |
|---|---|
| Last-month rule | “You may consider yourself an “eligible individual” for the entire year if you are an eligible individual on the 1st day of the last month of the tax year (December 1, for most individuals).” |
| Testing period | “The testing period begins with the last month of your tax year and ends on the last day of the 12th month following that month” |
| If you fail it | “If you fail to remain an eligible individual during this period, other than because of death or becoming disabled, you will have to include in income the total contributions made that would not have been made except for the last-month rule.” |
| Whole-year, same coverage | “enter $4,300 for a self-only HDHP or $8,550 for a family HDHP on line 3.” |
| Age 55 or older | “you can increase the amount determined in (3) or (4) by $1,000” |
| Not eligible on December 1 | “If you were not an eligible individual on the first day of the last month of your tax year, use the Line 3 Limitation Chart and Worksheet” |
| The chart, each month | “Enter $4,300 on the line below for the month.” |
| The chart, family coverage | “Enter $8,550 on the line below for the month.” |
| The chart, a month that does not qualify | “Enter -0- on the line below for the month.” |
| Total | “Limitation. Divide the total by 12.” “Enter here and on line 3” |
A worked example
Illustration, not an IRS example. Every input is invented.
| Item | Illustration |
|---|---|
| Months you were an eligible individual on the 1st (invented): January to June | 6 months |
| Coverage on the 1st of each of those months | self-only HDHP, under 55, not on Medicare |
| Chart amount for each eligible month | $4,300 |
| Total for all months, computed: 6 x $4,300 | $25,800 (computed) |
| Limitation, computed: $25,800 divided by 12 | $2,150 (computed) |
This filer’s line 3 amount is $2,150. If the same filer had been eligible on December 1, the last-month rule would instead treat the whole year as eligible at the same coverage, and line 3 would be $4,300 and a 12-month testing period would follow.
What Form 8889 itself says
Line 3 of the form reads: “If you were under age 55 at the end of 2025 and, on the first day of every month during 2025, you were, or were considered, an eligible individual with the same coverage, enter $4,300 ($8,550 for family coverage).”
Why the testing period matters
Using the last-month rule gives a bigger limit, but the instructions attach a price if you stop being eligible within the period. Part III of the form handles it, at lines 18 to 21.
Edition and line numbers
This page reads Instructions for Form 8889 (2025), the current file irs.gov served on 2026-10-21 (sha256 in the kit data). The Line 3 Limitation Chart and Worksheet in it is for the tax year 2025 return, filed in 2026. Check the tax year printed on the worksheet in your own copy and use that year’s line numbers and dollar amounts, because a different year’s worksheet can word its lines differently.
Common mistakes
- Entering the annual limit for a part year. The chart works month by month, and the total is divided by 12.
- Entering a dollar amount for a month the chart sends to zero. The chart says “Enter -0- on the line below for the month.”
- Using the last-month rule without tracking the testing period. “If you fail to remain an eligible individual during this period”
Related: Form 8889 lines 3, 4 and 5, HSA contribution limits, Form 8889 lines 18 to 21, and HSA Medicare six-month lookback.
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Answer againSources
- Instructions for Form 8889 (2025), Health Savings Accounts (HSAs): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i8889.pdf
- Form 8889 (2025), Health Savings Accounts (HSAs): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8889.pdf
Read from the IRS documents linked above on October 21, 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.