Every benefits season starts with the same scramble for numbers: what the HSA limit is, what a plan needs to stay HSA-eligible, what counts as affordable under the ACA. The figures are scattered across several IRS revenue procedures and one CMS memo, and the search results for them are mostly news posts and projections. This page puts the published 2027 figures in two tables, next to 2026, with each row linked to the document it comes from.
Four figures are still missing: the 2027 health FSA limit, the FSA carryover, the commuter limit and the QSEHRA limits. The IRS usually publishes them in its fourth-quarter inflation update, and this page will carry them when it does. Until then, those rows show the 2026 figure and say “Not published yet” for 2027.
2027 limits for employees
| Limit | 2026 | 2027 | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| HSA contribution, self-only | $4,400 | $4,500 | Rev. Proc. 2026-24 |
| HSA contribution, family | $8,750 | $9,000 | Rev. Proc. 2026-24 |
| HSA catch-up, age 55 and older | $1,000 | $1,000 | 26 U.S.C. 223(b)(3) |
| HDHP minimum deductible, self-only | $1,700 | $1,750 | Rev. Proc. 2026-24 |
| HDHP minimum deductible, family | $3,400 | $3,500 | Rev. Proc. 2026-24 |
| HDHP out-of-pocket maximum, self-only | $8,500 | $8,700 | Rev. Proc. 2026-24 |
| HDHP out-of-pocket maximum, family | $17,000 | $17,400 | Rev. Proc. 2026-24 |
| Health FSA contribution | $3,400 | Not published yet | Rev. Proc. 2025-32 (2026 figures) |
| Health FSA carryover, if the plan allows it | $680 | Not published yet | Rev. Proc. 2025-32 (2026 figures) |
| Dependent care FSA, per household | $7,500 | $7,500 | 26 U.S.C. 129(a)(2) |
| Transit or parking, per month | $340 | Not published yet | Rev. Proc. 2025-32 (2026 figures) |
2027 limits for employers
| Limit | 2026 | 2027 | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| ACA affordability percentage | 9.96% | 10.22% | Rev. Proc. 2026-26 |
| Employer mandate penalty, 4980H(a), per full-time employee | $3,340 | $3,780 | Rev. Proc. 2026-22 |
| Employer mandate penalty, 4980H(b), per employee with a premium tax credit | $5,010 | $5,670 | Rev. Proc. 2026-22 |
| ACA out-of-pocket maximum, self-only | $10,600 | $12,000 | CMS 2027 parameters |
| ACA out-of-pocket maximum, family | $21,200 | $24,000 | CMS 2027 parameters |
| Excepted benefit HRA | $2,200 | $2,250 | Rev. Proc. 2026-24 |
| QSEHRA, self-only and family | $6,450 and $13,100 | Not published yet | Rev. Proc. 2025-32 (2026 figures) |
The 2026 figures come from Revenue Procedures 2025-19, 2025-25, 2025-26 and 2025-32, Publication 15-B, and the 2026 out-of-pocket maximum CMS quotes in its 2027 guidance. The penalty amounts are annual.
What changed for 2027, and what it means
HSAs went up by $100 and $250. The self-only limit rises to $4,500 and the family limit to $9,000. Employer contributions count toward the same limit, so if you seed accounts, the room left for employees is the limit minus your contribution. The $1,000 catch-up for people 55 and older is written into the law and does not change.
HDHP floors moved too. A plan is only HSA-eligible if its deductible is at least $1,750 for self-only coverage or $3,500 for family coverage, and its out-of-pocket maximum stays at or under $8,700 or $17,400. A plan designed at exactly the 2026 minimum of $1,700 has to change by its first plan year that starts in 2027, or the people on it lose the ability to contribute.
The ACA out-of-pocket ceiling jumped. The most a non-grandfathered plan can make someone pay in-network rises about 13% to $12,000 for self-only coverage and $24,000 for family coverage. An HDHP still has to meet its own, lower ceiling to stay HSA-eligible.
Affordability loosened slightly. At 10.22%, an employee earning $40,000 in W-2 wages can be charged up to about $340 a month for the cheapest self-only plan under the W-2 safe harbor ($40,000 × 10.22% = $4,088 a year). At 2026’s 9.96% the same employee’s ceiling was about $332 a month. Run the numbers for your lowest-paid full-time employees, not the average.
The penalties grew about 13%. An applicable large employer that does not offer coverage to at least 95% of its full-time employees and their dependents owes the 4980H(a) amount, $3,780 for 2027 per full-time employee after the first 30, once at least one full-time employee gets a premium tax credit for Marketplace coverage. An employer that does offer coverage, but coverage that is unaffordable or below minimum value, owes $5,670 for each full-time employee who gets a premium tax credit instead.
Dependent care stays at $7,500. The 2025 tax law raised the dependent care FSA limit from $5,000 to $7,500 per household ($3,750 for married people filing separately) starting in 2026, and wrote it as a fixed amount, so 2027 is the same.
How to tell employees
Most people do not need the table. They need the one or two numbers that change what they elect, in the message they read during open enrollment: the new HSA limit if they are on an HDHP, the dependent care limit if they pay for childcare, and the FSA limit once the IRS publishes it. Put those in the launch email and in your plan comparison, next to what the employer contributes, and link one place that stays current. Our open enrollment email templates leave a slot for exactly this.
For what an HSA and an FSA are and how to choose between them, see HSA vs FSA, in plain English.
Common questions
What is the HSA contribution limit for 2027?
For 2027, you can contribute up to $4,500 to an HSA with self-only HDHP coverage and up to $9,000 with family coverage, including any employer contributions. If you are 55 or older, you can add $1,000 more. The IRS set the figures in Revenue Procedure 2026-24.
What is the 2027 FSA limit?
The IRS has not published it yet. It usually announces the health FSA limit and carryover in the fourth quarter. For 2026 the limit is $3,400, with up to $680 carried over if the plan allows it. The dependent care FSA limit is set in law at $7,500 per household and stays the same for 2027.
What is the minimum deductible for an HSA-eligible plan in 2027?
A high-deductible health plan needs a deductible of at least $1,750 for self-only coverage or $3,500 for family coverage in 2027, and its out-of-pocket maximum cannot exceed $8,700 or $17,400. A plan that sat exactly at the 2026 minimum of $1,700 has to rise to stay HSA-eligible.
What is the ACA affordability percentage for 2027?
For plan years beginning in 2027 it is 10.22%, up from 9.96% in 2026. Employer coverage counts as affordable when the employee’s share of the cheapest self-only plan is no more than that percentage of household income, or of the measure a safe harbor uses.
Can my spouse and I both max out an HSA?
If you are both HSA-eligible and either of you has family HDHP coverage, you share the family limit, $9,000 for 2027, and split it between your accounts however you agree. If only one of you is eligible, that spouse can contribute up to the full family limit. Each eligible spouse who is 55 or older can add a $1,000 catch-up to their own HSA. If you each have self-only coverage, you each have your own $4,500 limit.
This page summarizes published figures and is not tax or legal advice; confirm plan-specific questions with your broker or benefits counsel. Tobie turns the benefits guide you already have into a branded, year-round employee experience, so numbers like these reach people in plain English. To see it on your own documents, talk with us.