Nov 11, 2004 -- Have you tapped into your FSA?
It’s the time of year to decide whether you’re going to participate in your company’s Flexible Spending Account (FSA), and the time of year to get your paperwork in if you already participate. If you’re not familiar with an FSA, it’s a medical benefit that mid-size and large-size companies offer to people who want to set aside money for medical expenses. It’s pre-tax money, and you can have two accounts. There are FSAs for your children or elderly relatives, which are known as a “dependent care” accounts. Then there are individual FSAs for you and your own medical care. They cover non-reimbursed medical expenses, including contact lenses, laser eye surgery, hearing aids, prescriptions, over-the-counter medicines and some co-payments. You have to fund each account separately, and the individual account will hold up to $3,000. With dependent care, babysitter costs and day care costs are eligible. It’s important that you underestimate how much you think you’ll spend. The reason is that if you don’t use it, you lose it. Clark put too much money in one of his account and forfeited about $400 last year. So, if you have money left to spend, look at the bills for which you haven’t been reimbursed. If you do, buy medicines or have an eye exam, and use it up. Also, keep in mind that FSAs are completely different than HSAs or health savings accounts. With those, you can carry the money forward. But with an FSA you cannot. So use it!
