Dependant care FSA

[aprilchem]

The same principles apply for a medical flexible spending account that you need to figure out how much you will definitely spend before committing to how much will be placed in the account. Any amount not spent is forfeited,

This isn't true anymore. You're now allowed to roll over a certain amount of it per year. I believe that's at your employer's discretion, and is only for the medical FSA. My employer allows us to roll over $500, I believe.

 

[HM]

No Everything was done at school, during the school year.

But did you pay for him to do any of the things at school that weren't class day related? Those would count, right?

 

[Iowajes]

You should be able to do a "Limited Healthcare FSA" -- it is limited to healthcare/vision/dental expenses that do not count towards your HSA plan's deductible. We use ours for glasses, dental, and co-insurance that kicks in after we meet the high deductible. But of course if you are putting enough into your HSA to cover all that stuff, it's probably a better option for you than a Limited FSA. Our OOP max is more than the HSA limit, so I use both.


OP - Is there anything your son did earlier in the year before turning 13 that could qualify? Maybe during school vacation weeks? Summer day camps aren't cheap so I feel your pain if you lose those funds.

If you company offers a limited FSA. The last 2 places I've worked do not, the place before that did and it was really nice. Apparently it is a hassle for HR.
What's even more annoying is that I don't even have an HSA- but because husband does I can't have an FSA. Because my FSA would make him ineligible for his HSA. The tax laws are kind of crazy and difficult to understand.


But a dependent FSA is entirely different, and having an HSA does not make you ineligible for that.

 

[GaryDis]

What's even more annoying is that I don't even have an HSA

If you're covered by a qualifying HDHP (and not covered by a non-qualifying plan or non-qualifying FSA), you're allowed to set up your own HSA. The catch is that the limit on family coverage has to be split, so instead of putting $6650 into his, you could put $3325 into each. Plus, if you do it on your own and not through an employer, you only get the income tax break, not the social security and medicare break.

But if you're in the situation where it makes sense for you to each have separate insurance through your own employers, it does get real frustrating.

 

[Iowajes]

If you're covered by a qualifying HDHP (and not covered by a non-qualifying plan or non-qualifying FSA), you're allowed to set up your own HSA. The catch is that the limit on family coverage has to be split, so instead of putting $6650 into his, you could put $3325 into each. Plus, if you do it on your own and not through an employer, you only get the income tax break, not the social security and medicare break.

But if you're in the situation where it makes sense for you to each have separate insurance through your own employers, it does get real frustrating.

I don't have a HDHP- I have more traditional insurance because it is vastly less expensive for us to have separate coverage. Which means I qualify for an FSA. But using my FSA would DISQUALIFY him from his HSA.

It was really frustrating at my last work where one of the benefits was a payment into an FSA account, and I had to fight every year to make sure they DID NOT give that to me. It always got screwed up.

 

[brooke789]

Wow. $800/month?!

 

[brooke789]

BTW, I'm not sure about the discussion of having a HDHP disqualifies you from a DCSA. I have a HDHP which includes a HSA for medical expenses. I also have a Medical Spending Account for DCSA which is completely separate from the HSA.