I think the second transaction does not reflect the actual cash transfers. I would do it either this way:
2023-11-29 * "Dr. Hu" "pain killers" receipt: "http://example.com/2023-11-29_Dr.Hu_meds.pdf" Assets:Cash -100.00 USD Expenses:Health 100.00 USD 2035-06-22 * "HSA withdrawal using eligible expenses" Assets:HSA -100.00 USD Assets:Cash 100.00 USD But that doesn't track the amount you can withdraw. Another option is to use the tracking accounts; I would do it like this: 2023-11-29 * "Dr. Hu" "pain killers" receipt: "http://example.com/2023-11-29_Dr.Hu_meds.pdf" Assets:Cash -100.00 USD Expenses:Health 100.00 USD Income:HSA-Eligible -100.00 USD Assets:HSA-Eligible 100.00 USD 2035-06-22 * "HSA withdrawal using eligible expenses" Assets:HSA -100.00 USD Assets:Cash 100.00 USD Assets:HSA-Eligible -100.00 USD Expenses:HSA-Eligible 100.00 USD Note that it's not super obvious that you can deduct the amounts you pay. I have an example out-of-network case whereby the amounts I pay get reimbursed by insurance and it's only the portion that isn't reimbursed that I end up able to claim from the HSA. Here, I turned it into a doc for you: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1NyATal9CRrBDsII6sLdwCNNv0qcJmcPxYpNrlnjCjp8/edit On Wed, Nov 29, 2023 at 2:24 PM Matt Carter <matthew.p.carter...@gmail.com> wrote: > I've been managing my finances with spreadsheets for a few decades. A > couple weeks ago, a coworker introduced me to Beancount and double entry > accounting and I've been pleased with how well it handles my accounts. > > One type of accounting that I haven't yet figured out how to do with > Beancount (or double entry accounting in general) is tracking expenses that > are eligible for withdrawal from a special purpose account like a Health > Savings Account (HSA) or a 529 account. (These are USA tax advantaged > accounts which allow funds to be invested and withdrawals can only be made > tax- and penalty-free for a specific purpose, like health or higher > education. Since funds are invested free of capital gains tax, withdrawals > are often postponed till long after the eligible expense is incurred.) > > I can track my HSA in Beancount as an Assets:HSA account. As I incur > HSA-eligible expenses, what's the best way to track those so that I know I > can later withdraw them from the HSA? Suppose I pay $100 to a doctor for > an office visit. In Beancount, I'd add a transaction that decreases my > Assets:Cash account and increases my Expenses:Health account, each by > $100. But what that fails to capture is that $100 became eligible for > withdrawal from my Assets:HSA account. > > I suppose I could make it work by introducing 2 new accounts: > > 2023-11-29 * "Dr. Hu" "pain killers" > receipt: "http://example.com/2023-11-29_Dr.Hu_meds.pdf" > Assets:Cash -100.00 USD > Expenses:Health 100.00 USD > Liabilities:HSA-Eligible -100.00 USD > Expenses:HSA-Eligible 100.00 USD > > Then, later, I could withdraw it from the HSA: > > 2035-06-22 * "HSA withdrawal using eligible expenses" > Liabilities:HSA-Eligible 100.00 USD > Assets:HSA -100.00 USD > > But the duplicate Expenses account makes me feel like the model doesn't > fit reality well. > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Beancount" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to beancount+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/beancount/cc24b99b-905d-476a-8a14-7c58cade7489n%40googlegroups.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/beancount/cc24b99b-905d-476a-8a14-7c58cade7489n%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Beancount" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to beancount+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/beancount/CAK21%2BhOconWWPCqpFJMKW8G4qtss83Lz-O6xYQjb76OP5bhbiQ%40mail.gmail.com.