The IRS set the 2027 HSA and HDHP figures in Revenue Procedure 2026-24, issued May 29, 2026. Most of the attention goes to the contribution caps, but for anyone running a plan or advising one, the number that matters most is the minimum deductible, because a plan that stops meeting it stops being HSA-qualified. With open enrollment underway, this post covers what changed, what it requires on the plan side, and what to communicate before employees set their 2027 elections.

What moved for 2027

The contribution caps rose to $4,500 for self-only coverage and $9,000 for family coverage, and the age-55 catch-up stays at $1,000. The full set of 2027 figures, including the year-over-year comparison, is in Lively's HSA contribution guide.

The figures this post is concerned with are the ones that touch plan design: the HDHP minimum deductible, now $1,750 self-only and $3,500 family, and the out-of-pocket maximum, now $8,700 self-only and $17,400 family. All amounts are from Rev. Proc. 2026-24 and apply to calendar year 2027.

The deductible floor is the plan-design issue

A health plan qualifies as an HDHP for 2027 only if its annual deductible is at least $1,750 for self-only coverage and $3,500 for family coverage. A plan designed at the 2026 floor of $1,700 and $3,400 falls below that line on January 1 and is no longer HSA-qualified. Employees enrolled in it can keep their existing HSA balances, but they cannot make new contributions, and employer contributions made into those accounts become excess contributions.

For brokers, this is a renewal check on every client with an HDHP priced at or near the 2026 minimum. The fix is a deductible adjustment before the plan year starts, and the window to make it is now. For HR teams, it is worth confirming with the carrier in writing that the 2027 plan meets the new floor rather than assuming the renewal handled it.

The out-of-pocket maximum moved as well, to $8,700 self-only and $17,400 family. A plan can sit anywhere below those ceilings, so this one is a compliance check rather than a redesign, but it belongs on the same review.

Employer contribution budgets

If the employer contributes to employee HSAs, the new caps change the arithmetic. Employer and employee contributions count together against the annual limit, so a seed or match that was calibrated to leave room under $4,400 and $8,750 now has an extra $100 and $250 to work with. That is not a reason to change the contribution, but it is a reason to recheck any formula that was set as a percentage of the limit or designed to land just under it.

Payroll and benefits administration systems that cap contributions at the annual limit need the 2027 figures loaded before the first January deduction. A system still running the 2026 cap will stop employee contributions $100 or $250 short of the new maximum, and employees who planned to contribute the full amount will have to catch up outside payroll or lose the room.

Communicating the change at open enrollment

Employees making 2027 elections right now need the new limits in front of them, and most enrollment materials prepared earlier in the year carry the 2026 figures. The pieces to update:

• Enrollment guides, benefit summaries, and any one-pager that states the contribution maximum

• The contribution election screen in the benefits administration platform, if it displays a cap

• Any employer-contribution example that shows how much room is left for the employee

• Catch-up messaging for employees who will be 55 or older at any point in 2027, since eligibility is determined by age at year end rather than birthday month

Employees who want to contribute the maximum should set their per-paycheck election against the 2027 figure now rather than adjusting in January. Those who change coverage tier mid-year will have a prorated limit, and the mid-year rules have not changed.

Direct primary care arrangements

One item carried forward from 2026 is worth noting for plans that offer or allow direct primary care. Under the 2025 legislation, a direct primary care arrangement with monthly fees of $150 or less for an individual, or $300 or less if it covers more than one person, does not disqualify someone from HSA eligibility. Rev. Proc. 2026-24 confirms those thresholds stay at $150 and $300 for 2027. Plans that added direct primary care in 2026 do not need to change anything, and plans considering it for 2027 have a confirmed ceiling to design against.

Before January 1

The 2027 figures have been public since May, so there is no surprise here, only a checklist. Confirm the deductible on every HDHP meets $1,750 and $3,500. Confirm out-of-pocket maximums are under $8,700 and $17,400. Load the new contribution caps into payroll and the benefits platform. Update enrollment materials before employees finalize elections. Lively loads the annual limits into the employer dashboard and applies them to contribution monitoring automatically, so the payroll and communication pieces are the ones that stay on the employer's side.