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Flexible Spending Accounts

Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) are available to employees who work at least a 50% FTE or 19 hours per week.  FSAs allow you to save on your medical and dependent care expenses on a pre-tax basis. Because you do not pay Federal and Social Security taxes on money that goes into your FSA, you decrease your taxable income and potentially increase your spendable income.

You may sign-up for an FSA account within the first 30 days of employment or during Open Enrollment which occurs October 15th – November 15th each year.  You must sign-up each year during Open Enrollment.  If you do not sign-up for an FSA each year during Open Enrollment, you will not have deductions taken from your paycheck the following calendar year and your expenses will not be eligible for reimbursement. 

Medical FSA

A medical FSA allows you to save for health care expenses such as: deductibles, copayments, coinsurance payments, certain dental expenses, vision care expenses (e.g. prescription eyeglasses or contacts), hearing care expenses (e.g. a hearing aid) and orthodontia*. Some over-the-counter medical products are also eligible for reimbursement.  With a medical FSA, you can be reimbursed for eligible expenses incurred by you, your spouse, or your dependents up to the total annual contribution you have elected.  You can begin claiming expenses for reimbursement as soon as the plan year begins. 

The maximum annual amount you can contribute to a Medical FSA for 2024 is $3,200.

Dependent care FSA

A dependent care FSA allows you to save for daycare expenses for your child, disabled parent or spouse.  Dependent care FSA's are not for medical expenses.  Generally, dependent care expenses are eligible if they are the result of care for:

  • Your children, under the age of 13, for whom you are entitled to a personal exemption on your federal income tax return.
  • Your spouse or other dependents, including parents, who are physically or mentally incapable of self-care and who reside with you for more than half the year.

With a dependent care FSA, you will be reimbursed up to the amount currently in your account.  If you submit a claim and you don’t yet have sufficient contributions to your account to cover the claim, reimbursement for your claim will occur as you contribute to your account through additional payroll deductions. 

The maximum annual amount you can deposit into a dependent care FSA for your family is $5,000 for single and married, filing jointly or $2,500 each for married, filing separately. 

Time Period for Submitting Claims

Both the medical and dependent care FSA plans have a grace period which allows you to incur expenses up to March 15 of the year following the year in which you made contributions to your FSA account.  You have until March 31st of the year following the year in which you made contribution to your account to submit those expenses for reimbursement.  You will not be reimbursed for any expenses that miss either of these deadlines and any funds left in your account past these deadlines will be forfeited.    

For an easy and convenient way to submit claims for reimbursement, consider downloading EBC’s mobile app.  For instructions on downloading the app, submitting claims and setting up direct deposit, see the Using Your FSA guide at the right or call EBC at 1-800-346-2126. 

Have Questions? Contact the Benefits Helpdesk at benefits@madison.k12.wi.us or at (608) 663-1692.