Location: Pennsylvania, USA
I just got a job at the beginning of the year and now support one of my adult relatives enough for them to be considered a dependent for 2026. According to IRS rules, I could not have claimed them for 2025, but I can for 2026 (not a qualifying child, member of my household/qualifying relation, gross [taxable] income under the limit, and I pay for more than half their expenses) and I was already planning to before all this. They have a medical procedure coming up that they cannot afford the copay for; if the procedure is postponed, they will end up having to redo tests, so it will cost more, not to mention it's a procedure they need to get ASAP. Under the rules for my HSA, I could use my HSA funds to pay this copay if the person is my dependent, even if they are not actually on my insurance.
My question is, do they have to be claimed as a dependent on my taxes (or on my HSA) *before* I use the funds for this? I wouldn't have been able to claim them already - this is a new development in the last couple of months as I've taken over more and more of their expenses. And the rules for HSA dependents are less restrictive than for taxes, so hypothetically I wouldn't even have to claim them on my taxes at all to be able to use my funds for their care, no? Can I add dependents to my HSA without actually putting them on my insurance? Can i do that outside of open enrollment, i.e. does it count as a change in household composition for a qualifying life event? Do I even have to do that to use the funds?
Ultimately I just need to know if I can use my HSA account now and officially claim her as a dependent later. And if I do have to claim her first, I need to know if I can do that before next tax/open enrollment season and how lol. Any help is appreciated!