Updated October 18, 2026. Quick answer: Line 1 is a check box for your high deductible health plan coverage, self-only or family. Line 2 is the total you, or others on your behalf, contributed to your HSA for 2025. Employer contributions and rollovers stay off line 2.
What lines 1 and 2 ask for
Line 1 reads “Check the box to indicate your coverage under a highdeductible health plan (HDHP) during 2025.” Line 2 reads “HSA contributions you made for 2025 (or those made on your behalf)”. Together they start Part I, which the instructions say you use to figure “Your HSA deduction”. The next step, the contribution limit, is on the Form 8889 lines 3, 4 and 5 page.
Line 1: which box to check
The instructions give the rule for a year with a change of plan: “If you were covered, or considered covered, by a selfonly HDHP and a family HDHP at different times during the year, check the box for the plan that was in effect for a longer period.” They also say “If you were covered by both a selfonly HDHP and a family HDHP at the same time, you are treated as having family coverage during that period.”
Two more sentences settle edge cases. For spouses: “If you and your spouse are considered covered by a family HDHP , you are considered covered by a family HDHP regardless of whether you file jointly or separately.” And for the end of the year: “If, on the first day of the last month of your tax year (December 1 for most taxpayers), you had family coverage, check the “family” box.”
Where the number comes from (line 2)
The instructions say “Include on line 2 only those amounts you, or others on your behalf, contributed to your HSA for 2025.” That includes money added after year end: “Also, include amounts contributed for 2025 made in 2026 by the unextended deadline for filing your 2025 federal income tax return, April 15, 2026.” The timing is covered on the HSA contribution deadline page.
Some money is left off: “Do not include employer contributions (see line 9) or amounts rolled over from another HSA or Archer MSA.” The instructions add “Also, do not include any qualified HSA funding distributions (see line 10).” Employer money is reported on line 9, covered on the Form 8889 lines 9 to 13 page.
Where it goes next
Line 1 is not added to anything. It tells you which coverage type to use when you work out the limit on line 3 (see Form 8889 lines 3, 4 and 5). Line 2 is compared with the limit later in Part I. On line 13 the instructions say “Generally, enter the smaller of line 2 or line 12 on line 13 and on Schedule 1 (Form 1040), Part II, line 13.” That deduction is shown on Form 1040 through Schedule 1, which the Schedule 1 lines 12 to 14 page covers.
Edition and line numbers
This page reads the 2025 Form 8889 and its 2025 instructions, the current files irs.gov served on 2026-10-18. They are the files for the tax year 2025 return, filed in 2026. The form says “Attach to Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR.” Check the tax year printed on the form you are filling in and use the line numbers on that year’s form, because a different year’s form can number or word its lines differently. The form itself is walked through on the Form 8889 page.
Common mistakes
- Checking the self-only box after a year with family coverage on December 1. The instructions say “If, on the first day of the last month of your tax year (December 1 for most taxpayers), you had family coverage, check the “family” box.”
- Putting payroll contributions on line 2. The instructions say “Payroll contributions through a salary reduction agreement elected by an employee (a cafeteria plan) are treated as employer contributions and are not included on line 2.”
- Counting a rollover as a contribution. Line 2 excludes “amounts rolled over from another HSA or Archer MSA.”
Related: Form 8889, HSA contribution deadline, HSA contribution limits, and Schedule 1 lines 12 to 14.
Sources
- Instructions for Form 8889, Health Savings Accounts (2025): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i8889.pdf
- Form 8889, Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) (2025): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8889.pdf
Read from the IRS documents linked above on October 18, 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.