Methodology
How the numbers get here
Investigator Finance is a plain-English fee guide for self-directed investors. It started with workplace Health Savings Account fees and now covers Roth and traditional IRAs, brokerage accounts and donor-advised funds, with Solo 401(k)s and 401(k) rollovers on the way. We dig into the fees so you don’t have to. It is not a bank, a brokerage, or an advisor. The details below describe the HSA provider directory; each account page lists its own sources.
Not tax or financial advice
Nothing on this site is a recommendation to open, close, transfer, or invest an account. Contribution rules, payroll taxes, and fund choices depend on your plan and your tax return. Use IRS Publication 969, your plan documents, and a tax professional for decisions that are actually yours.
What we record
Each provider row tries to capture six things people mix up:
- Monthly fee, in dollars.
- Invest-from balance: cash you must hold before more of the account can be invested.
- Transfer-out fee: the charge to send the HSA to another custodian.
- Cash rate: the published APY or yield on money that is not invested. The notes say which.
- A short summary of the investment menu.
- Whether individuals can open the account, or only a workplace plan can.
Where it comes from
The 11 rows were checked on October 15, 2026. Official fee pages come first. When a figure showed up only in a comparison article, a Morningstar note, or an employer PDF, the provider’s notes say so. If a page did not state the number, the field is null and the site says “Not confirmed.” We do not fill gaps with a typical fee, a blog average, or last year’s memory.
A non-null number is still only as solid as its source. HealthEquity’s monthly fee is blank because plans differ. Fidelity’s 3.40% figure is a 7-day yield on the default money market, not a bank APY, and the notes say that. Further’s rate card is labeled with an old effective date. Read the note before you treat a cell as your fee.
What “Not confirmed” means
It means the source we used did not clearly state that figure. It does not mean the fee is $0. Sorts put those cells at the end so a blank transfer fee never looks cheaper than a $25 one. Your employer can also negotiate a waiver the public page does not mention. The fee schedule in your welcome letter wins.
How the calculator thinks
Break-even months are the transfer-out fee divided by the monthly gain. The gain is the difference in monthly fees, plus a planning value for cash that a move would let you invest. That planning value uses the yearly return you type (5% to start) and the current cash rate, when you provide one. If an invest-from balance or a needed cash rate is blank, that part is left out. It is never replaced with zero.
“How often” assumes you might keep the workplace HSA open for payroll contributions and sweep the balance on a schedule. The suggested gap is never shorter than the break-even, and it rounds up to every 6, 12, or 24 months so the paperwork stays human. A one-time move when you leave a job is a different decision.
The math ignores Social Security and Medicare tax on payroll contributions (often 7.65%), fund expense ratios, market swings, and the weeks a transfer can sit in cash. Those can matter more than a $2.50 monthly fee.
2026 contribution limits
IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-19 sets the 2026 HSA deduction limit at $4,400 for self-only coverage and $8,750 for family coverage. A high-deductible health plan for 2026 has a deductible of at least $1,700 (self-only) or $3,400 (family), and an out-of-pocket cap of $8,500 or $17,000. People 55 or older can usually add a $1,000 catch-up contribution. Confirm the current figures in IRS Publication 969 before you contribute.
The newsletter
The Investigator Finance fee note is a short email when providers change fees, rates or account rules. Signing up sends a confirmation link first (double opt-in), and every email has an unsubscribe link. Emails are stored with our newsletter service, Buttondown, and are never sold or shared.
Sources checked October 15, 2026
- Fidelity HSA
- Fidelity HSA investing options
- Lively provider comparison guide
- Morningstar 2026 HSA landscape
- HSA Trackr comparison (third-party)
- Inspira HSA fee schedule (Princeton HR PDF)
- Further individual HSA pricing
- Further HSA fact sheet
- Further HSA investment options
- Bank of America HSA schedule of fees
- IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-19 (2026 HSA limits)
- IRS Publication 969
Each provider page also links to the specific source used for that row. If a fee page disagrees with a cell, the fee page wins.