A Flexible Spending Account, or FSA, is a benefit program that allows you to pay for a variety of qualifying expenses. Your FSA is funded through your pre-tax dollars. Your election amount must be predetermined and any unused funds at the end of the plan year are forfeited to your plan sponsor. The University offers two types of Flexible Spending Accounts: Health Care FSA and Dependent Care FSA.
In order for an expense to be considered eligible, the medical care must incur within your period of coverage. You may not seek reimbursement for expenses that were incurred prior to your participation in the plan. You cannot seek advanced reimbursement. The service must be provided before an expense may be reimbursed. An expense is considered "incurred" when you are provided with the care that gives rise to the expense, not when you are formally billed or pay for the medical care.聽
2025 Maximum Contributions Allowed:
By taking advantage of the FSA, you can:
Use it or Lose it!
Plan your participation carefully. While the FSA is a benefit that will save you money, there are some risks. To minimize your risk, keep these key points in mind when determining your annual election amount:
The key to getting the most from your FSA is to maximize your contributions based on your anticipated eligible expenses. In order to plan your contributions, follow these steps:
Under your employer's FSA plan, you may elect to contribute to the Health FSA which will allow you to seek reimbursement for qualified medical expenses.聽Although you contribute to this account on a per payroll basis, your entire election amount is available on the first day of your coverage period. The Health FSA plan has a two-and-a-half month grace period, allowing you to use the current year's balance through March 15 of the following year.聽
Qualifying medical expenses include only those expenses incurred by:
Eligible medical expenses may include:
Qualifying dependent care expenses include only those expenses incurred by:
Qualified dependents under a DCFSA include children under the age of 13, dependents of any age who are physically or mentally incapable of self-care, and even adults in some cases if they are provided more than half of that person's maintenance costs in a given year. Most importantly, expenses for the care of these dependents is only eligible if these care services enable the account holders/spouses to work, look for work or go to school full-time. If an employee has a spouse that is a stay-at-home mother or father, he or she cannot participate in dependent care FSAs ().
Eligible dependent care expenses may include: