Can you use your HSA to pay COBRA premiums?
Yes. COBRA is one of the few kinds of health insurance an HSA can pay for, for you, your spouse or a dependent.
The rule
An HSA generally can’t pay insurance premiums. Health care continuation coverage, such as COBRA after leaving a job, is an exception in Publication 969, and the coverage can be for your spouse or a dependent.
So is health coverage you pay for while receiving unemployment compensation under federal or state law, COBRA or not.
- What to keep
- The COBRA election notice and each premium payment.
- Watch for
- Your own HSA money is yours after you leave the job. What you can put in depends on having qualifying coverage, month by month.
Checked on October 2, 2026 against Publication 969, Health Savings Accounts. An estimate for your records, not tax advice.
Keep the receipt. Take the money out later.
Pay a medical bill yourself and Reimburse keeps the receipt, with who it was for, until you take the money out of your HSA tax-free.