Spending & Savings Accounts
There are two types of voluntary FSAs that can help you save money by allowing you to set aside pretax dollars to be used to pay for services — the Health Care FSA and the Dependent Care FSA.
Flexible Spending Accounts
Choose the annual amount you want to contribute up to the annual IRS limit, which for 2026 is $3,400 for the Health Care Spending Account and $5,000 for the Dependent Care Spending Account. These amounts are deducted from your paycheck in equal installments before federal and Social Security taxes are withheld.
What You Should Know
- You can’t change your election during the year unless you have a qualified status change.
- These are “use-it or lose-it” accounts, so decide your contribution amount carefully.
- For the Health Care FSA, remaining balances up to $660 will carry over into 2026 (as long as you elected an FSA for 2026), but any amount above that will be forfeited. The carryover amount from 2026 to 2027 will be $680.
- There is no option to carry over funds for the Dependent Care FSA.
- For both accounts, claims must be incurred during the calendar year and submitted for reimbursement by March 31 of the following year.
Health Care FSA
You can enroll in the Health Care FSA if you enroll in the PPO Plan or if you decline medical coverage. This account allows you to pay for eligible expenses such as deductible, coinsurance, copays, orthodontics, and laser eye surgery that are not covered or fully reimbursed by your plan.
| Eligible Expenses |
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| Claims Deadline | Claims must be submitted by March 31 of the following year |
| Carryover | The carry over amount for 2025 to 2026 is $660. Any amount above that for which a 2025 claim is not submitted by March 31, 2026 will be forfeited. 2026 balances up to $680 will carry over into 2027. Any amount that exceeds $680 will be forfeited after March 31, 2027. |
Dependent Care FSA
This account allows you to pay for eligible childcare expenses for dependent children up to age 13 or care for an incapacitated dependent of any age with pretax dollars.
It is available when dependent care is necessary to allow both you and your spouse to work or attend school full time. You can contribute up to $5,000 to a Dependent Care Spending Account or up to $2,500 if married and filing separate tax returns.
Examples of eligible expenses include:
- Day care provided in your home or another person’s home
- Licensed day care expenses
- Elder care expenses for a parent or other relative that lives with you
