form 8889 required

[JenMO]

Is 8889 always required when there is a "W" and amount on a taxpayer's W-2?

[DaveinTexas]

Depends

Is 8889 always required when there is a "W" and amount on a taxpayer's W-2?

If the taxpayer made contributions to their HSA outside of their employer's sponsored plan, then yes, you will need to file the 8889. Meaning if the taxpayer funded their HSA with after tax dollars (not deducted pre-tax from their wages), you will need to file the 8889.

Also, if the taxpayer took distributions for medical expenses from the HSA plan, then yes, the 8889 will need to be filed.

[JenMO]

The 8889 says employer contributions need to be put in on line of 8889, but it seems like an extra step and form if employee hasn't added any and there were no distributions

[DaveinTexas]

My software

automatically lists the employer contributions (amount from W2). In my experience, if someone has an HSA through their employer, then they also have distributions reported on form 1099-SA. If the client hasn't given you this information it could be that he/she hasn't received it yet.

I would ask them for the 1099 prior to filing, otherwise the client may receive a CP2000 in the future.