Question about Dependant Care FSA account

[ThisIsTheYear]

I’m pretty sure I know the answer but I’m second guessing myself.

Say I elect to have a total of $5k taken from my paycheck and as of now I spent over $5k on daycare. Am I only able to take out the amount that was deducted from my paycheck so far, or can I take out the full $5k? Does it depend on the benefits service, are they all different?

 

[schmass]

Not sure if they vary from plan to plan, but i know with mine I can only reimburse what has been taken out of my paycheck so far. A regular FSA (not Dependent Care), you can reimburse the whole amount that you have elected even prior to contributing the money from each paycheck.

 

[Jax1023]

For daycare only what has been withheld so far.

For healthcare your total election for the year is available on January 1st and you can spend before it is taken from your paycheck

 

[lynnzrae]

You can go ahead and submit the full 5k and you will get the money (I use direct deposit) after the money is taken out of the paycheck. So I have already submitted 5k and am getting 192ish direct deposited into my account every paycheck. Hope this helps.

 

[tvguy]

Check with your plan administrator.

 

[supersnoop]

With a health care FSA, all money is available up front. With a dependent care FSA, you can only spend what you’ve contributed.