Flexible Spending Account Expenses
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For anyone who is working and has the option to have a Flexible Spending Account, MyMoneyblog just made a post with a link to all of the eligible expenses: Link
Notable items are: Lodging of a companion (hmm can I write off boyrobot? ha), bandages, condoms, cold medicines, etc.
I had no idea you could pay all of those items with your FSA!
For people who don’t really know how the FSA works, here is a general definition:
Some employers offer flexible spending accounts, sometimes called cafeteria plans, as part of their employee benefits package. You contribute a percentage of your pretax salary, up to the limit your plan allows, which you can then use to pay for qualifying expenses, including medical costs that aren’t covered by your health insurance, child care, and care for your elderly or disabled dependents.
The amount you put into the plan is not reported to the IRS as income, which means your taxable income is less. However, you have to estimate the amount you’ll spend before the tax year begins. And if you don’t spend it all, you forfeit any amount that’s still in your account at the end of the year.
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I think FSA is a fairly new thing bc my mom said she didn’t have that when she was working.
It’s especially great for folks planning to get lasik! I think it covers OTC medicine too.
Comment by yangbot — December 6, 2006 @ 11:12 am
What’s OTC?
Comment by girlrobot — December 6, 2006 @ 11:21 am
sorry! over the counter
Comment by yangbot — December 6, 2006 @ 1:59 pm
NI is going to offer this to me. What’s a “normal” amount to put into one of these? Looking at the list, I’m not sure I’ll have much expenses towards those things. Do you just keep receipts of these things you buy over a year, and then turn them in, and you get refunded? I’m not sure how it actually works.
Comment by ChibiChn — December 6, 2006 @ 4:45 pm
Most people I know don’t even use this unless they are going to get braces, lasik, or some other big medical thing. I’m not sure what the normal amount is but it’s probably better to underestimate!
Comment by girlrobot — December 6, 2006 @ 5:06 pm
I have known medical expenses (contact lens and glasses) so I usually put 3-400 bucks and that isn’t enough for me. The plan I have they just give you an ATM/CHeck card that has the money you agreed to set aside. So you just run the card through with your medical expenses. It’s pretty easy to use :)
Comment by yangbot — December 8, 2006 @ 8:02 am
yea its something i should of used but didn’t
Comment by mouse — December 8, 2006 @ 3:48 pm