I was wondering how many of you all use flexible spending accounts for health benefits and dependent care. I am going to do it this year for health benefits because the wife has to get a bridge put in.

I'm debating the dependent care side because last year all we did was submit the receipts when we did our taxes.

Any advice for me?

Mods, I need a quick answer. Can you leave this here for today and then move it if you have too? Thanks.

We use the dependant care, because wifes employer make a complimentary contribution of upto $120 a month so that quite an amount of free money + some tax savings.

If you do not mind filling some receipts on time, I would use it. as it could give $1200 - $1800 of tax benefit for you.

i used the FSA to pay for my lasik. dunno about dependent care

My wife and I have both used FSAs, but don't have dependant care.

I really liked my FSA when I had health insurance through my work, too. Everything was done automatically as long as I used insurance. I didn't have to submit receipts I mainly used it for my LASIK surgery - which I did have to submit manually.

If you have steady dependant care, it is definitely worth while to look into using an FSA. This way you get the tax savings now, rather than taking the deduction later.

I don't know if they changed the rules, but before it was use it or lose it. Maybe they have some rollo-over allowance now.

Cliffs - use them if you can.

its still use it or lose it last time i checked

When you submit the receipts with your tax return, the deduction is only taken for federal and state income tax. Whey you use the fsa, the amounts are withheld from your paycheck pre-tax for all tax purposes, including SS & Medicare. So by using the fsa, you would save an extra 7.65% assuming you do not max out your SS contribution each year.

Yeah you lose what you don't use. I'm still contemplating it though since I have 2 young children. Not sure how much to contribute. Plus I'm going to get AFLAC.

I did the medical side. Decided against the dependent care side because our current payment form is seamless.

A mod can move this to M&I if they like. It will probably be more suited for there. Thanks.

Dependant care is use it or lose it. However the tax benefit are capped to a max contribution of $5000. Since our daycare cost run close to $2000/month we don't lose any. Not sure about the caps, if any, on the healthcare FSA.

our FSA gives us a debit card which is a pain in the ass with all the bullshit "card substantiation" emails. If any total is an odd amount, they want to know what doctor, what patient, what services performed, etc...

Fucking FSA people piss me off all the damn time.

However, we'll be signing back up for next year.

$2000 a month. How many kids do you have in daycare? Mine was a bit under $900 until my wife started working at the daycare....now it's more like $425.

We will call you "glutton" from now on.

Actually, considering how often you post...

I opted out of this for next year. I have no idea when I'll put my 2 year old in daycare and if I have to put my 6 month old in as well. I'm scared to exceed what I'll actually use. Why can't they just tax the money I end up not using instead of losing it outright.

I get worked up over the FSA stuff. Previous years weren't too bad, but this year was horrible for me dealing with them. My wife and I both had a ton of appointments. Her having a baby and me trying to find a doctor that is worth a damn for running labs and treating lyme disease.

I visit AZ multiple times a day and read some great topics and posts, but don't feel the need to post all the time.

So, I went ahead and enrolled in Payflex this year to the tune of $3500 so we can pay for some dental work the wife has to get done.

Now that I got laid off, I wanted to find out what happens with the money that I put in.

So I called the HR Manager and he said the entire $3500 is mine because it was already put into my account. He said that upon termination, the company will have to eat that money because I can no longer contribute. He said that this is offset by the people that contribute but do not use the entire contributed amount.

Does anyone know if this is true? I will call PayFlex on Monday.

Yes, it's true. Most companies will eat the cost.

Sounds logical. I guess being fired just after the new year had it's benefits.

Yep, that's the way it usually works... My brother got laser eye surgery and when he left the company, they ate some of the cost.

Well....my wife was getting her tooth pulled when I was being fired. Now she needs a bridge put in and I have to get another wisdom tooth pulled at the end of the month. between the 2 of us we have 5 visits to the dentist scheduled before the end of the month. She has a doctor's visit for her and my son. And I have to get contacts. We're trying to get as much of it in as we can.