Can someone tell me what a flex spending acc is

[gator75]

My husband is being offered one at work and i guess i'm not sure of the ins and outs of it all can s omeone tell me.

 

[mrudman]

My husband is being offered one at work and i guess i'm not sure of the ins and outs of it all can s omeone tell me.

Each one works a bit different, but in my case, I have money taken out each paycheck (to total $2000 per year, the maximum I'm allowed). Then I fax in anything that's eligible (doctor co-pays, prescriptions, etc) and get reimbursed from my account. This money is taken out pre-tax, so it's definitely worth it to me... save approx. 30% each year in everything that I submit to them.

 

[SC Minnie]

Each one works a bit different, but in my case, I have money taken out each paycheck (to total $2000 per year, the maximum I'm allowed). Then I fax in anything that's eligible (doctor co-pays, prescriptions, etc) and get reimbursed from my account. This money is taken out pre-tax, so it's definitely worth it to me... save approx. 30% each year in everything that I submit to them.

One thing to be very careful with is the amount you put in. With ours you do NOT get unused money back. We could use ours for dependent care or medical. When DD was in daycare I would only put in enough to cover 10 months just to be safe.

 

[mrudman]

Right. You definitely don't want to put in more than you'll use up each year. But in my case, with my maximum being pretty low (some companies let you put in $5000 or more), we always use it up.

DH had some dental work done this past year, so that was at least 1/2 of it right there. We had ours used by July... I was planning on getting new glasses if we hadn't used it up.. but think I'll wait till after the new year now to get them.

In my case, we also have a 3-month grace period, so it doesn't actually have to be used up till March 31st of the following year.

 

[kkandaj]

With my FSA, the money is put on a card (used like a debit/credit card) on January 1st, so we are able to use any amount we need, even though it hasn't been deducted from my paycheck yet. The laws have changed and the most you can put in is $2500, which is what we put in anyway. Then every week, it is taken out of my check.

When I want to purchase prescriptions, glasses, pay doc bills, buy bandaids, dental bills, I just swipe my card. There are a few times I have to send my receipts in--one of our docs doesn't have the computer program the card needs--but the rest of the time, I just swipe it like a credit card and never send anything to the company. We have lots of medical bills for DS and definitely use all our money quickly! We only have about $100 left on our card now and that won't even cover his meds for one month, let alone any doctors bills that come along in the next two months.

Really research how much money you would use, because most plans will not allow you to get any money back. (This might be the law...I can't remember.)

 

[Fire14]

DH put 1200 in his last year. WE have debit card system here:
New Glasses for DH
Eye exams for both of us
Contacts for me I had to cut back on order d/t lack of funds
DR. co pays
RX drug co pays

I've used to buy contact soln and bandaids in past.
Could have used for some dental stuff( crowns, root canls)

 

[kdog_1981]

http://www.flexiblespendingaccountsonline.com/flex-account.php

 

[Fjobe]

We use flex spending every year. We have $2500 taken out pre-tax (I get paid monthly, so a little over $200/month). We each have a debit card, and the $2500 goes on the card January 1. DH and I both wear contacts, and DS and older DD both wear glasses, so we use a big chunk of the money just on eye care. I don't really worry about not spending it all because we always end up paying stuff out of pocket around August, but it is true that you lose the money if you don't spend it.

 

[mm1971]

My husband is being offered one at work and i guess i'm not sure of the ins and outs of it all can s omeone tell me.

With a Flex plan, you basically put aside your medical expenses into an account tax free. The funds are taken directly out of your payroll pretax and deposited to an account. When you incur a covered medical expense, you submit for reimbursement. The plans benefits are it allows you to pay deductibles and expenses pretax and lowers your payroll taxes. Most plans allow you to use the funds for vision and dental as well.

Be careful to estimate as close as possible to your needs. If you have not used all of the monies in the account by the end of the year, usually 12/31, you lose whatever is in the account. That is the major drawback. Some plans also have restrictions on what the monies can be used for so make sure you read all of the documentation.

Good luck.

 

[mommyrosa2]

As many pp's have said, our money goes onto a debit card as well. We have done flex spending accounts for the last 5 years. Twice, I used my flex spending to pay my girls' braces. Buy paying the orthodontist upfront in full using my flex card, he gave me an additional 10% off the price- worked out great for us!

 

[nanalisa]

My flex account is the best thing that we've been offered at work. I have the max taken from my check each pay period - pre tax. It's on a visa card so I don't have to fill out any paperwork. Before Obamacare, we could buy medical products over the counter like cold medicine, aleve, bandaids, ect but no more and also we had to lower of pre tax contribution. But it's still a wonderful thing.

 

[EMAW_KSU]

We put $4992 this year. The administrator of the plan has a debit card and a app for reimbursements. My wife had Lasik in January. The Dr. gave a cash discount so I wrote a check. Then took a picture of the receipt and submitted it while I was waiting on my wife. Our plan has a three month grace period.

 

[nanalisa]

We were told by HR that as of Jun 30, 2012, we could only deduct a total of 2500.00 per year. In previous years I had 3200.00 deducted but couldn't anymore due to "Obamacare". Did any one else run into this? I see that some of you are deducting a lot more. I work at a university but that shouldn't make a difference, should it?

 

[mikehn]

We were told by HR that as of Jun 30, 2012, we could only deduct a total of 2500.00 per year. In previous years I had 3200.00 deducted but couldn't anymore due to "Obamacare". Did any one else run into this? I see that some of you are deducting a lot more. I work at a university but that shouldn't make a difference, should it?

Starting in 2013, the new healthcare law limits the deduction to $2500. Before that law, employers could set the limit as high as $5000. So in effect, that is a tax increase in disguise. But I will leave it at that.

 

[nanalisa]

Starting in 2013, the new healthcare law limits the deduction to $2500. Before that law, employers could set the limit as high as $5000. So in effect, that is a tax increase in disguise. But I will leave it at that.

Oh, I knew it was to keep us from earning more tax credit. That is a touchy subject at this time.

I like having that money on the card. The nice thing is that they put your whole deduction on right away, eventhoug it takes 12 months to put it in. I wish they could do the 2500.00 pre tax and still let us add more post tax.

 

[Dizisfun]

My husband is being offered one at work and i guess i'm not sure of the ins and outs of it all can s omeone tell me.

I had a part time job a while back and was offered this. I didn't take it bc it's only myself and my DH. At one time you could purchase aspirin, bandaids, etc with this account, but that wasn't so with what I was being offered. If a person has children it would probably be something that's worth it. You have to remember that you don't get money back that is not used. So you only want to put money in the account that you know you will absolutely use through out the year.

 

[dreamin_disney]

you can also claim mileage to your Dr. appts, dental appt, eye exam, lab work or if you have a procedure like surgery or outpatient procedures.

You can also use it for shoe inserts for arch support .

For this year I've used mine on
-Dr. appts copays
-mileage
-dd's glasses, contacts
-braces
-rx cost
- pregnancy test
-reflexology for plantar faciitis (need rx from Dr.)
-massage therapy for my back/shouldar pain/stiffiness(need rx from Dr.)

I've also heard you can use it for(without an rx from your Dr.)
first aid kits, high blood pressure machine

I love my flex acct. I send in my forms and get the $$ automatically deposited into my checking acct.

 

[WeCantWait]

We were told by HR that as of Jun 30, 2012, we could only deduct a total of 2500.00 per year. In previous years I had 3200.00 deducted but couldn't anymore due to "Obamacare". Did any one else run into this? I see that some of you are deducting a lot more. I work at a university but that shouldn't make a difference, should it?

We had the same experience, my husband works for an investment bank. Last year we deducted $2500. That was used up by October this year. We decided to deduct $3000 this year in hopes of it lasting the full year and were told that Obamacare had put a $2500 limit on Flex Accounts. Stinks

 

[QueenElinor]

We were able to put $5000 in our FLEX every year, and with my illness we used up all of it and then some. As others have mentioned, that's now been cut in half- to $2500.

For next year, my deductible has also gone up from $750 to $1000, and my out-of-pocket maximum from $2500 per person up to $3000. I will hit my OOP maximum every year for the rest of my life - not counting expenses for the rest of the family.

At the same time, the tax deduction on out-of-pocket medical expenses used to be 7.5% of AGI, now it kicks in at 10%.

I'm not too happy about these changes.

 

[WhitGB]

Does anyone know how this works if my husband and I are on different insurance? This is the first year that my part time status does not allow me to be on his family plan. He will take employee/child coverage thru his employer while I have single coverage with mine. Can we do just one flex care account for the family (including me) on his insurance or does mine need to be seperate? I did not think this thru before my insurance closed open enrollment last month since I was always with him.

Form what I have read online it seems like I can be on his, but I wanted to see if anyone has had experience.

TIA