FSA Information

Flexible Spending Account (FSA)

Health Equity

866.346.5800 or 877.291.1936
or MemberServices@HealthEquity.com

Take advantage of significant tax savings by participating in a flexible spending account (FSA). You can elect to have a portion of your paycheck contributed pre-tax to pay for qualified medical expenses such as deductibles, co-payments, dental and vision, or to pay for qualified dependent care.

Differences Between FSA and HSA

Although FSAs and HSAs both allow people to use pretax income for eligible medical expenses, there are considerable differences between the two account types. These incluse the qualifications, contributions limits, rules for rollovers and a changing contribution amounts, and withdrawal penalties.

	FSA	HSA
Qualifications	Must be set up by employer	Requires high-deductible health plan Cannot be eligible for Medicare Cannot be claimed as a dependant
Annual Contribution Limits	Up to $2,750 individual Up to $5,300 per household	Up to $3,600 individual Up to $7,200 per household
Account Ownership	Owned by employer and lose with job change, unless eligible for continuation with COBRA	Owned by individual and carries over with employment changes
Rollover Rules	Employer chooses whether funds expire at the end of year and whether there is a 2 1/2 month grace period to use fund Employees can roll over $500 into next year's FSA	Unused funds roll over every year
When contributions change	At open enrollment	Any time, as long as you don't go over contribution limits
Penalties for withdrawing	May have to submit expenses to be reimbursed by FSA Depending on employer, employees may not have access to funds for nonmedical expenses	Savings can be taken out of the account tax-free after age 65 If used before 65, for nonmedical expenses, it is subject to a 20% penalty and must be declared on income tax form