Flexible Spending Accounts

The University offers two types of Flexible Spending Accounts: a Health Care account and a Dependent Daycare account. These Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) allow you to pay for related eligible expenses using pre-tax dollars.

Upon enrollment, you elect an amount to be withheld from your paycheck before federal, state, and Social Security taxes are withheld. This amount is deducted from your pay in equal installments throughout the calendar year if you enroll during the open enrollment period in the fall or throughout the remainder of the calendar year if you enroll mid year.

To continue your participation in the University's Flexible Spending Accounts, you must re-enroll each fall during the open enrollment period for the next calendar year.

Health Care FSA

The Health Care account allows you to pay for many health care expenses not covered by your medical and dental plans, such as payments you make for the diagnosis, cure, treatment or prevention of disease; vision care expenses for prescription eyeglasses and contact lenses; as well as medicines and drugs that require a prescription.

Effective January 1, 2011, Section 9003 of the Affordable Health Care Act establishes a uniform definition for medical expenses. As a result, reimbursement will be made only if the medicine or drug: 1) requires a prescription; 2) is available over the counter (OTC) and the individual obtains a medical provider's prescription - a written statement that the OTC item is being purchased for a specific, named medical condition; or 3) is insulin.

Dependent Daycare FSA

The Dependent Daycare account allows you to pay for charges that you incur for the care of your dependents so that you or, if married, you and your spouse/same-sex domestic partner may work. This includes expenses for eligible dependent children (up to age 13) and may apply to a spouse or parent who resides with you and is physically or mentally incapable of self care. Care for eligible dependents may be provided inside your home or at a daycare center or family daycare.

Submitting Expenses

When you incur an eligible expense for one of the Flexible Spending Accounts, you submit the appropriate claim form to Employee Benefits. You are then reimbursed with tax-free dollars from your account, typically within two weeks.

For a 2011 Flexible Spending Account, you may file claims for expenses incurred beginning January 1, 2011, or your effective date if you enroll mid year, and ending March 15, 2012. The final date to submit claims for Plan Year 2011 will be March 31, 2012.

Note: There is a difference between the IRS guidelines for submitting expenses (see IRS Publication 502) and the FSA reimbursement program. For example, according to Pub 502, you can submit dental, medical expenses and long-term care insurance premiums you paid this year, regardless of when the services were provided, as a deduction on Schedule A; however, none of these expenses are eligible through a flexible spending account. Flexible spending accounts are administered based on dates of service, not on dates payments are made for an expense.

The IRS requires that if you do not use your full balance for expenses incurred between your effective date and March 15 of the following year, you lose the unused portion.