Publication 969
taxmap/pubs/p969-002.htm#en_us_publink1000204174A health flexible spending arrangement (FSA) allows employees to be reimbursed for medical expenses. FSAs are usually funded through voluntary salary reduction agreements with your employer. No employment or federal income taxes are deducted from your contribution. The employer may also
contribute.
Note.
Unlike HSAs or Archer MSAs which must be reported on Form 1040 or Form 1040NR, there are no reporting requirements for FSAs on your income tax
return.
For information on the interaction between a health FSA and an HSA, see
Other employee health plans under
Qualifying for an HSA,
earlier.
You may enjoy several benefits from having an FSA.
- Contributions made by your employer can be excluded from your gross
income.
- No employment or federal income taxes are deducted from the
contributions.
- Withdrawals may be tax free if you pay qualified medical expenses. See
Qualified medical expenses, later.
- You can withdraw funds from the account to pay qualified medical expenses even if you have not yet placed the funds in the
account.
Health FSAs are employer-established benefit plans. These may be offered in conjunction with other employer-provided benefits as part of a cafeteria plan. Employers have complete flexibility to offer various combinations of benefits in designing their plan. You do not have to be covered under any other health care plan to
participate.
Self-employed persons are not eligible for an FSA.
 | Certain limitations may apply if you are a highly compensated participant or a key employee.
|
taxmap/pubs/p969-002.htm#en_us_publink1000204180You contribute to your FSA by electing an amount to be voluntarily withheld from your pay by your employer. This is sometimes called a salary reduction agreement. The employer may also contribute to your FSA if specified in the
plan.
You do not pay federal income tax or employment taxes on the salary you contribute or the amounts your employer contributes to the FSA. However, contributions made by your employer to provide coverage for long-term care insurance must be included in
income.
taxmap/pubs/p969-002.htm#en_us_publink1000204181At the beginning of the plan year, you must designate how much you want to contribute. Then, your employer will deduct amounts periodically (generally, every payday) in accordance with your annual election. You can change or revoke your election only if there is a change in your employment or family status that is specified by the
plan.
taxmap/pubs/p969-002.htm#en_us_publink1000204182There is no limit on the amount of money you or your employer can contribute to the accounts; however, the plan must prescribe either a maximum dollar amount or maximum percentage of compensation that can be contributed to your health
FSA.
Generally, contributed amounts that are not spent by the end of the plan year are forfeited. See
Balance in an FSA, later. For this reason, it is important to base your contribution on an estimate of the qualifying expenses you will have during the year.
Note.For plan years beginning after December 31, 2012, a cafeteria plan may not allow an employee to request salary reduction contributions for a health FSA in excess of
$2,500.
A cafeteria plan offering a health FSA must be amended to specify the $2,500 limit (or any lower limit set by the employer). While cafeteria plans generally must be amended on a prospective basis, an amendment that is adopted on or before December 31, 2014, may be made effective retroactively, provided that in operation the cafeteria plan meets the limit for plan years beginning after December 31, 2012. A cafeteria plan that does not limit health FSA contributions to $2,500 is not a cafeteria plan and all benefits offered under the plan are includible in the employees' gross income. For more information, see Notice 2012-40, 2012-26 I.R.B. 1046, available at
www.irs.gov/irb/2012-26_IRB/ar09.html.
taxmap/pubs/p969-002.htm#en_us_publink1000204184Generally, distributions from a health FSA must be paid only to reimburse you for qualified medical expenses you incurred during the period of coverage. You must be able to receive the maximum amount of reimbursement (the amount you have elected to contribute for the year) at any time during the coverage period, regardless of the amount you have actually contributed. The maximum amount you can receive tax free is the total amount you elected to contribute to the health FSA for the year.
You must provide the health FSA with a written statement from an independent third party stating that the medical expense has been incurred and the amount of the expense. You must also provide a written statement that the expense has not been paid or reimbursed under any other health plan coverage. The FSA cannot make advance reimbursements of future or projected
expenses.
Debit cards, credit cards, and stored value cards given to you by your employer can be used to reimburse participants in a health FSA. If the use of these cards meets certain substantiation methods, you may not have to provide additional information to the health FSA. For information on these methods, see Revenue Ruling 2003-43 on page 935 of Internal Revenue Bulletin (IRB) 2003-21 at
www.irs.gov/pub/irs-irbs/irb03-21.pdf, Notice 2006-69, 2006-31 I.R.B.107 available at
www.irs.gov/irb/2006-31_IRB/ar10.html, and Notice 2007-2, 2007-2 I.R.B. 254 available at
www.irs.gov/irb/2007-2_IRB/ar09.html.
Qualified medical expenses are those specified in the plan that would generally qualify for the medical and dental expenses deduction. These are explained in Publication 502, Medical and Dental
Expenses.
Also, non-prescription medicines (other than insulin) are not considered qualified medical expenses for FSA purposes. A medicine or drug will be a qualified medical expense for FSA purposes only if the medicine or
drug:
- Requires a prescription,
- Is available without a prescription (an over-the-counter medicine or drug) and you get a prescription for it,
or
- Is insulin.
Qualified medical expenses are those incurred by the following
persons.
- You and your spouse.
- All dependents you claim on your tax return.
- Any person you could have claimed as a dependent on your return except
that:
- The person filed a joint return,
- The person had gross income of $3,800 or more, or
- You, or your spouse if filing jointly, could be claimed as a dependent on someone else's 2012
return.
- Your child under age 27 at the end of your tax year.
You cannot receive distributions from your FSA for the following
expenses.
- Amounts paid for health insurance premiums.
- Amounts paid for long-term care coverage or expenses.
- Amounts that are covered under another health plan.
If you are covered under both a health FSA and an HRA, see Notice 2002-45, Part V, which is on page 93 of IRB 2002-28 at
www.irs.gov/pub/irs-irbs/irb02-28.pdf.
| You cannot deduct qualified medical expenses as an itemized deduction on Schedule A (Form 1040) that are equal to the distribution you receive from the FSA.
|
taxmap/pubs/p969-002.htm#en_us_publink1000204187This is a distribution made before January 1, 2012, from your health FSA that is transferred to your HSA, discussed earlier.
If you do not remain an eligible individual for HSA purposes during the testing period, the distribution is included in your income and is subject to a 10% additional tax. See
Qualified HSA distribution under
Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), earlier.
A special rule allows amounts in a health FSA to be distributed to reservists ordered or called to active duty. This rule applies to distributions made after June 17, 2008, if the plan has been amended to allow these distributions. Your employer must report the distribution as wages on your Form W-2 for the year in which the distribution is made. The distribution is subject to employment taxes and is included in your gross
income.
A qualified reservist distribution is allowed if you were (because you were in the reserves) ordered or called to active duty for a period of more than 179 days or for an indefinite period, and the distribution is made during the period beginning on the date of the order or call and ending on the last date that reimbursements could otherwise be made for the plan year that includes the date of the order or
call.
taxmap/pubs/p969-002.htm#en_us_publink1000204190Flexible spending accounts are "use-it-or-lose-it" plans. This means that amounts in the account at the end of the plan year cannot be carried over to the next year. However, the plan can provide for a grace period of up to
2
1/
2
months after the end of the plan year. If there is a grace period, any qualified
medical expenses incurred in that period can be paid from any amounts left in
the account at the end of the previous year. Your employer is not permitted to
refund any part of the balance to you. See
Qualified HSA distribution and
Qualified reservist distribution, earlier.
For the health FSA to maintain tax-qualified status, employers must comply with certain requirements that apply to cafeteria plans. For example, there are restrictions for plans that cover highly compensated employees and key employees. The plans must also comply with rules applicable to other accident and health plans. Chapters 1 and 2 of Publication 15-B, Employer's Tax Guide to Fringe Benefits, explain these requirements.
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