Use-it-or-lose-it clarity for busy teams
The Modern FSA Playbook: Make Tax-Free Dollars Feel Automatic
FSAs let you spend pre-tax money on everyday care, but the rules feel stuck in 2007. Here is the concise field guide to understanding the account, deciding what counts, and setting up a workflow that never leaves money behind.
Key takeaways
- FSAs are funded with pre-tax dollars, which means you keep roughly 30% more spending power when you use the account.
- Eligibility is broader than people assume—OTC meds, therapy devices, first aid, and even sunscreen often qualify.
- Administrators reimburse faster when every line item maps to a receipt, provider, amount, and medical purpose.
Signals
$3,200
2025 IRS contribution limit
You elect the amount during open enrollment and it is locked for the year.
$610
Avg. cash forfeited
Employee Benefit Research Institute estimates per household annually.
15 days
Typical grace period
Many plans allow brief extensions, but dozens do not—check yours.
Why it matters
Every unused dollar is taxed twice: once when you earned it and again when you repurchase the same items. This series turns FSAs into something that runs quietly in the background.
Research-grade content for people who care about FSAs
Deep dives, practical checklists, and teardown-style explainers built from the same workflows powering our product.
Receipts vs. Letters of Medical Necessity: Know Which One You Need
Receipts answer the “what” and “when.” Letters of Medical Necessity explain the “why.” Here is the plain-language checklist that keeps your claim from bouncing back.
Grace Period vs. Rollover vs. Run-Out: Decode Your FSA Clock
Most plans offer only one safety valve: a grace period, a small rollover, or a run-out window. Understand the difference so you know whether you should keep spending or just finish paperwork.
Built with operators in mind
Ship faster with the same patterns we bake into the product
We document every learning here first, then wire it into FSA Helper. That means the blog doubles as the changelog for our collective playbook.
Coming next
- Dependent care FSAs and tax stacking with HSAs.
- Template bank of Letters of Medical Necessity sorted by condition.
- Provider comparison guides featuring Navia, Discovery, and Fidelity.