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On Nov. 1, 2024, the IRS published its annual cost of living adjustments for various retirement plan limits. These increases are more modest than recent years, a reflection that inflation is slowing. The updated key retirement plan limits include the following items: 2025 Limit 2024 Limit Annual Compensation Limit $350,000 $345,000 Elective Deferral Limit $23,500 $23,000 Standard Age 50…

If you have a flexible spending account, you only have a finite amount of time to use the funds you contribute. While employers can provide grace periods and rollover options, these accounts are often "use it or lose it."

Fortunately, there are many ways to spend your FSA before that expiration date hits! But how do FSAs work, and what can you use your funds on?

How Do FSAs Work?

An FSA is an employer-sponsored benefit allowing employees to contribute pre-tax dollars with every paycheck for qualified medical expenses. There's an annual limit to how much money you can put into your account, and you can only use the funds to pay for costs outlined by the IRS.

Furthermore, those funds typically expire at the end of the year. If you don't spend them, they go back to your employer.

Spending Your FSA Funds

Spending your FSA is usually easy if you have doctor appointments, prescription medications, dental care and other services throughout the year. But if you rarely use it, you might scramble at the end of the year to avoid losing your contributions.

Here are a few ideas on what you can use leftover FSA funds for at the end of the year.

Stock Up on Essentials

Did you know you can use your FSA to buy over-the-counter products? Headache medicine, pain relievers, decongestants, antacids, menstrual products and more all count as qualified medical expenses.

Why not stock up? You can spend that last bit on products you'll likely use next year, ensuring you never run out.

Buy New Sunglasses

You can also use your FSA to pay for optometry services and products. If you have prescription lenses, consider buying a new pair of sunglasses. Pick up a new stylish pair you can use when summer rolls around!

Try a New Service

FSAs cover all your typical healthcare services like doctor's visits and specialist care. However, you can also use those funds on less traditional services like acupuncture or chiropractic services.

Try those services if you have aches and pains. It's a great way to use up your FSA funds while seeing if you like the experience.

If you have a health savings account (HSA), you might wonder what documents you need to provide when filing your taxes. HSAs are tax-advantaged accounts. They offer many benefits, but there are also several IRS reporting rules.

Understanding HSA Tax Benefits

HSAs have three tax advantages. First, you can contribute pre-tax dollars to fund your account up to annual limits. Secondly, withdrawals you make to cover qualified medical expenses are tax-free. That includes doctor visits, medical treatments, prescription drugs and even over-the-counter products.

You can also earn interest on HSA contributions and invest, generating substantial growth over time. Any gains you make are tax-deferred. Whether you pay taxes on it or not depends on how you use it. If you stick to qualified medical expenses, it's tax-free.

What Information Does the IRS Need?

There are a few bits of information to provide when filing your taxes. If you're using tax preparation software or working with a professional, you should have no problem getting the correct health savings account tax forms. But if you're filing taxes alone, you'll need to fill out Form 8889.

Form 8889 is for reporting HSA contributions. It's also used to figure out applicable deductions, report distributions and more.

In addition to Form 8889, you need a 1099-SA. You'll get this form from your HSA provider. It shows how much you received in distributions and whether they were for qualified medical expenses. You'll use the 1099-SA to fill out the health savings account tax forms.

Doing Your Taxes Correctly

HSAs are a valuable tool that you can use to prepare for the future. The tax advantages are plentiful, and you should consider opening one if you haven't already. There are a few limitations, and you must qualify for an HSA by having a high-deductible health plan. But if you meet those qualifications, it can be a fantastic way to diversify.

Once you have an HSA, work with your tax preparers to fulfill your reporting requirements. Accurate reporting is paramount. Otherwise, you may be subject to audits and penalties.

Handle Patients with High Deductible Plan . Do you want to save money on your monthly Health Insurance Premiums and have the opportunity to open a health savings account? If so, you’ll need to have a High-Deductible Health Plan (HDHP). Let’s discuss what these plans look like, their pros and cons and the times in your life when you might seek out or avoid an HDHP. .

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Many Americans are able to find relief through alternative medicine and health practices. If you enjoy alternative medical treatments and you use a flexible spending account (FSA), you might be wondering if you’d be able to cover those treatments with your FSA. In this blog, we’ll talk about which alternative medicines are FSA-eligible expenses.

Is Alternative Medicine an FSA Eligible Expense?

Many individuals with flexible spending accounts are surprised to find out that many alternative treatments actually are FSA-eligible expenses. As long as you have a letter of physical necessity from your doctor or therapist, these treatments are often covered. Sometimes, depending on the type of treatment, the letter might not even be needed.

Here are some of the alternative medical treatments you might be able to cover with your flexible spending account:

Massage: Massages can help relieve a variety of ailments. For these treatments, you’ll often need to obtain a letter from your doctor. Massages for rest and relaxation are not covered, however.

Acupuncture: Acupuncture is another alternative treatment that has been known to help relieve certain conditions. For acupuncture, you will likely need a letter from your doctor.

Chiropractic: You may want to get a note from your doctor for this treatment as well, but in some cases you may not need a letter if the treatments are related to a chronic condition or injury.

Therapy devices: You can even use your FSA to buy therapy devices to use at home. This way you can get the treatment that helps with your condition on a regular basis. For these devices, you will need a letter from your doctor.

As you can see, flexible spending accounts can be very versatile, as long as the treatments are deemed helpful or necessary by your doctor or physical therapist.

Choosing an FSA

Now that you know more about what an FSA can cover and what alternative treatments are FSA-eligible expenses, you may be wondering which FSA you should choose. Make sure to look at your options and find an FSA that works best for you, so you can get the most out of it.

A high-deductible, health-insurance plan is an insurance policy with higher deductibles and lower premiums than a standard health plan offered by a medical practice. It is designed to encourage consumer-driven health care. Having health coverage through an HDHP is typically a prerequisite for having an HSA. Because the high deductibles require more out-of-pocket money, a policyholder pays more on his or her health expenses.

An HSA is not the same as an HMO, which is an optional health-insurance plan. An HMO allows an individual to choose from an array of plans, such as preferred provider organizations, PPOs, and point-of-service plans. An HMO provider accepts your initial application but does not accept your coverage if you decide to change doctors.

High deductible health plans provide the coverage the individual needs when health care coverage is not available. The high deductible reduces the premium payment to the health care provider. The lower premium payment gives the policyholder more financial flexibility to pay for routine medical care and emergency medical services. In order to be able to meet the deductible amount, an individual must make monthly premium payments that are at least a percentage of the income of the policyholder.

To receive the most from an HSA, it is important that the individual enrolls in the lowest cost group plan available to them, such as a High Dental and Medical Health Maintenance Organization (HMO). Because these types of plans do not allow an individual to select specific doctors, they are less expensive for patients. The only exception is if the individual is under the age of twenty-one. Most group insurance plans will cover a child's family health care needs, including children's dental care.

Although group health insurance plans offer better benefits than the individual ones do, it is important to compare the plan to the type of plan the individual is opting for. Many insurance plans offer the same level of coverage for an HMO, PPO, and HDHP. One of the differences between the two is the level of the deductible. When selecting an HMO or PPO, the individual will be expected to pay more than the normal amount for health services, as compared to the deductible level of an HHP.

Another difference between health plans and group health plans is that the former requires the policyholder to pay his or her share of the cost for preventive and specialized medical care, and that too is charged to a specific health insurance company. Group health plans are generally paid by a single health insurance provider that provides the care for the employees. However, the costs for services are usually less than an individual health insurance provider would charge for the same services. When compared to a typical family health insurance policy, an HMO provides more financial flexibility for the insured than a PPO.

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