How To Make the Most of Your Flex Spending Account
Find out how to save money on taxes when paying for eligible medical, dental, and vision expenses using a flexible spending account.
Elizabeth Carlassare
Listen
How To Make the Most of Your Flex Spending Account
Today’s topic is how to make the most of your flex spending account.
Jody in Illinois e-mailed me with this question:
Is the flexible spending account offered through work really worth using? Are dental, prescription, and vision costs included or is that up to my employer?
Thanks for the question, Jody.
Flex Your Spending Muscle
Flex Your Spending MuscleA flexible spending account is a benefit many U.S. employers offer. The account allows you to pay for eligible medical, dental, and vision expenses with before-tax money.
If you expect to have medical, dental, and vision expenses in the year ahead that won’t be covered by your health insurance, it’s a smart idea to pay for them out of a flex spending account if your employer offers one.
What Expenses Are Eligible?
Medical, prescription, dental, and vision costs are all eligible for a flex spending account. Anything that the IRS considers a deductible medical expense is eligible if it’s not reimbursed by your health insurance. Some examples of eligible expenses include acupuncture treatments, crutches, braces, laser eye surgery, fertility treatments, deductibles, co-pays, and fees that are more than the amount covered by your insurance. Even some everyday over-the-counter things, such as contact lens solutions, are eligible.
If you’d like to see the complete list of eligible expenses, here’s a link to the IRS publication that gives the full list.
How It Saves You Money
A flex spending account saves you taxes because your taxable income is reduced by the amount you put into the account. It also gives you more spendable income for medical, dental, and vision expenses since it allows you to pay for them with pre-tax money.
Decide How Much You Want to Contribute
If your employer offers a flex spending account, you may enroll once per year during the open enrollment period. Before you sign up, you’ll need to decide how much you want to contribute to the account over the course of the year. It’s really important to be conservative when making your estimate because this is a “use it or lose it” account. If you haven’t used all the funds in the account by the end of the year, you don’t get the money back.
To estimate how much to contribute to the account, make a list of the out-of-pocket medical, dental, and vision expenses you expect for yourself and your dependents for the upcoming year. Again, make a conservative estimate so you don’t risk losing any of the money you put into the account.
How It Works
Throughout the year, contributions will be deducted from your paychecks and put into your flex spending account. The full amount that you’ll contribute in the year ahead is actually available to you for eligible expenses from the get-go. You don’t need to wait for money to accumulate in the account before you use it.
When you pay for out-of-pocket medical, dental, or vision expenses, you simply submit your receipts to the plan administrator with a claim form to get reimbursed. When the calendar year is over, you have up to three months to submit expenses for it.
So if you expect to have eligible out-of-pocket expenses next year, remember to sign up for a flex spending account if your employer offers one. You’ll save on taxes!
Administrative
Today, I’m giving away a copy of Alan Greenspan’s new book The Age of Turbulence. And the winner is Jennifer in Virginia. Congratulations and be sure to check your e-mail for instructions.
Cha-ching! That’s all for now, courtesy of Money Girl, your guide to a richer life.
Image courtesy of Shutterstock