An employer-offered health flexible spending account (FSA) can provide you with a tax-favored way to pay for your qualified medical expenses. You can make contributions to the health FSA that reduce your federal taxable wages, and the health FSA can reimburse you tax free for qualified medical expenses.
Health FSA Basics
At the beginning of each plan year, you elect the amount (if any) of your wages that will be contributed to a health FSA during the year. The plan must specify a maximum dollar amount or maximum percentage of compensation that can be contributed to your health FSA. You might base your election on prior experience, as well as expectations for the upcoming year. Your employer will then withhold a proportionate part of those contributions from each paycheck. The salary reduction contributions reduce your federal taxable wages. (In some plans, your employer may also make nontaxable contributions on your behalf to the plan.)
When you incur qualified medical expenses during the year, you (or the service provider) submit those expenses to the health FSA. The expenses cannot be paid for or reimbursed under any other plan. Certain written documentation may be required. The health FSA reimburses you (or the service provider) for those expenses, up to the amount that you elected to contribute to the health FSA for the year. You receive the reimbursements tax free. You cannot claim an income tax itemized deduction for medical expenses that are reimbursed to you by the health FSA.
Special rules may apply to highly compensated participants and key employees.
Use-It-or-Lose-It Rule
Health FSAs are “use-it-or-lose-it” plans. Amounts in the account that remain at the end of the plan year cannot be carried over to the next year; they are paid to the employer and cannot be refunded to you. However, the health FSA can provide a grace period of up to 2½ months after the end of the plan year. For a plan using a calendar year, a grace period until March 15 of the following year might be used. Expenses incurred during the grace period can be paid from amounts remaining in the health FSA at the end of the previous plan year. Know when your plan year ends and whether you have a grace period. If you have money left in your health FSA at the end of your plan year and you have a grace period, look for ways to use up the money during the grace period (for example, by purchasing glasses or contacts, stocking up on prescription drugs, or having dental work done–whatever can be reimbursed by your health FSA).
One-Time HSA Distributions
If you were covered by a health FSA on September 21, 2006, you may have until the end of 2011 to take a onetime distribution from your health FSA that is transferred directly to your health savings account (HSA) as a qualified HSA distribution. A qualified HSA distribution is treated as a nontaxable rollover from the FSA to the HSA. Various conditions must be met to make a qualified HSA distribution. Consult a financial professional familiar with FSAs and HSAs.
Recent Changes
Coverage expanded for children under age 27. A health FSA can generally reimburse you for qualified medical expenses incurred by you, your spouse, and your dependents. Effective March 30, 2010, qualified medical expenses that can be reimbursed by a health FSA were expanded to include expenses incurred by any child of yours who is under age 27 at the end of your tax year. Prior to March 30, 2010, reimbursement by a health FSA for expenses of a child was generally limited to a child under age 19 (or under age 24 for a full-time student). Such expanded coverage is available only if your employer amends the plan documents to provide it to you.
Prescriptions needed for over-the-counter medicine reimbursement. As of 2011, you will generally need a prescription if you wish to be reimbursed by a health FSA for the cost of over-the-counter medicines. From about 2003 through 2010, a health FSA could reimburse you for over-the-counter medicines without the need for a prescription. The change makes the health FSA definition of medicine or drugs the same as the definition you would use if you were itemizing the deduction for medical expenses for federal income tax purposes: a prescribed drug or insulin.
New dollar limit for health FSAs in cafeteria plans. Starting in 2013, there will be a new annual $2,500 limit for salary reduction contributions that you can make to a health FSA that is part of a cafeteria plan. If your employer wishes, the cafeteria plan can impose a lower dollar limit. The $2,500 amount will be indexed for inflation starting in 2014. Prior to 2013, there is no statutory limit. The new $2,500 limit does not apply to a stand-alone health FSA.
Disclosures:
The following information is reprinted with permission from Forefield, a division of Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. All material presented is compiled from sources believed to be reliable and current, but accuracy cannot be guaranteed. The contents are intended for general information purposes only. Information provided should not be the sole basis in making any decisions and is not intended to replace the advice of a qualified professional, such as a tax consultant, insurance adviser or attorney. Although this material is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information with respect to the subject matter, it may not apply in all situations. Readers are urged to consult with their adviser concerning specific situations and questions. This is not to be construed as an offer to buy or sell any financial instruments. It is not our intention to state, indicate or imply in any manner that current or past results are indicative of future profitability or expectations. As with all investments, there are associated inherent risks. Please obtain and review all financial material carefully before investing.
