Question about flexible spending accounts

[statik213]

Say I elect to contribute $100 a mo for the calendar year. On jan 1 I have contribute 0 dollars, but I incur medical expenses of $1000. If i wait till Oct, I would have contributed $1000 by then. Can I reimburse myself for the whole $1000 incurred on Jan 1 (same tax year)?

 

[IronWing]

Ask your employer. It varies from employer to employer.

 

[FoBoT]

that is how mine works, i can submit/get reimbursed at any time, up to the total amount i have committed to for the calendar year

 

[Viper GTS]

Yes you're reimbursed up to your yearly contribution when the expense occurs.

The best part is you could spend your $1000 and resign in February and you keep the money.

The converse is also true, if you leave a company & haven't spent your money yet they keep it.

Viper GTS

 

[RaiderJ]

My company periodically sends me a check reimbursing me for what I've spent, up to the amount I've already contributed.

 

[FoBoT]

we are switching to a debit card based system, no more checks
something like that, they haven't sent them to us yet

 

[cKGunslinger]

I get fronted my entire amount in January.. Or as the kids call it, Dentist/Doctor/Optometrist Month.

 

[Pepsei]

i can get my CPAP in January , and my flex will pay for it... i don't see why more people don't use flex spending... it's almost like free money.

 

[altonb1]

Originally posted by: Viper GTS
Yes you're reimbursed up to your yearly contribution when the expense occurs.

The best part is you could spend your $1000 and resign in February and you keep the money.

The converse is also true, if you leave a company & haven't spent your money yet they keep it.

Viper GTS

Not at my company, and I highly doubt that your company truly works that way.

My company has debit cards, and on Jan 1, my entire election amount is available on the card. (at least theoretically--it may take a few days or so for processing time since Jan 1 is a holiday)

When I have a qualifying medical expense, I can use the debit card, I can pay out of pocket and submit a claim for reimbursement, or I can request that they pay my provider directly. In any case, I can use as much of that balance as needed.

:Edit;
Assume an annual election of $1000
:/Edit;

If I leave the company in the middle of the year, I am required to pay the difference between what I actually contributed and what was used. Conversely, if I leave after 6 months and have therefore contributed $500 but only submitted claims for $125, I don't get a refund--but I still have the remainder of the year to submit the additional $375 in claims. The payroll deductions, of course, stop. At that point, my $1000 election ends up being $500.

 

[statik213]

Shweeet. I'm going to try throwing a $120 a mo for next year, see how it works out. I could've used it this year, had a ton of dental work; some of which is spilling over to next jan.

 

[altonb1]

The only downside for the FSA is that you just don't care about the costs in the beginning of the year. I do $1950/year for my family, which includes my wife and 5 kids. By July-Aug, we are usually starting to get low. As of now, I have about $2 available for 2007.

About a month ago, I dropped ~650 for 2 new dental crowns that I had to pay for out of pocket because we had basically exhausted the 200 election benefits.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: altonb1

Originally posted by: Viper GTS
Yes you're reimbursed up to your yearly contribution when the expense occurs.

The best part is you could spend your $1000 and resign in February and you keep the money.

The converse is also true, if you leave a company & haven't spent your money yet they keep it.

Viper GTS

Not at my company, and I highly doubt that your company truly works that way.

My company has debit cards, and on Jan 1, my entire election amount is available on the card. (at least theoretically--it may take a few days or so for processing time since Jan 1 is a holiday)

When I have a qualifying medical expense, I can use the debit card, I can pay out of pocket and submit a claim for reimbursement, or I can request that they pay my provider directly. In any case, I can use as much of that balance as needed.

:Edit;
Assume an annual election of $1000
:/Edit;

If I leave the company in the middle of the year, I am required to pay the difference between what I actually contributed and what was used. Conversely, if I leave after 6 months and have therefore contributed $500 but only submitted claims for $125, I don't get a refund--but I still have the remainder of the year to submit the additional $375 in claims. The payroll deductions, of course, stop. At that point, my $1000 election ends up being $500.

Correct. This is not an employer-created benefit. This is a case of the employer making a Federal program easily available to their employees. The entire balance is available at the beginning of the year, but if you separate from the company and have not yet contributed enough to cover your claims, you are liable for the remainder. Most likely the company will simply take that amount out of your final paycheque.

Also, if you do not use all of the money in the account, it's the Federal Government that keeps the money, not your employer.

EDIT: An FSA is a government-held account that you pay pre-tax dollars into and that you can use to buy certain, approved, medical products and services. It's a "use it or lose it" account though, and if you do not use all of your election, the government keeps the excess.

ZV

 

[Pepsei]

right, at the end of the year if i have money left over, I'd go to sam's club and get crates of otc

 

[cKGunslinger]

I wish my FSA covered supplements and vitamins.

 

[Viper GTS]

If you're going to contradict me at least have some clue what you're talking about.

http://www.allbusiness.com/pub...n-human/3916589-1.html

The answer is split across pages 1 & 2.

Also:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flexible_spending_account

You're welcome to go look up the exact IRS code but there are numerous references on the web to the fact that the employer keeps the money, and money in excess of your actual contributions is not taxable.

Viper GTS