A Healthcare Flexible Spending Account (FSA) is a reimbursement account available through many employers. It allows you to set aside money for healthcare costs from your paycheck before taxes are taken out.
The advantage is that you're spending pretax dollars, so you end up paying fewer taxes on your salary and having more to spend. And you can access your entire year's worth of contributions at the start of your company's plan year.
With an FSA, you can be reimbursed for dollars spent on eligible healthcare expenses that are not paid for by your health insurance plan.
If you don't use the money by the end of the benefit plan year, your employer can't refund it to you. But the amount of money you risk forfeiting from your FSA at the end of the benefit plan year is small compared to the substantial savings-especially now that you can spend FSA dollars on over-the-counter medicines that you use every day.
• Medical and dental deductibles and co-payments
• Eye exams, contact lenses, and glasses
• Prescription drug co-payments and co-insurance
• Over-the-counter (OTC) products
• Orthodontia or other dental care
• Physical therapy
• Chiropractic care
• Hearing aids
• Smoking cessation
Now you can spend your FSA dollars on over-the-counter medicines and products used for medical purposes, such as:
• Allergy prevention and treatment (e.g., Tylenol® Allergy)
• Antacids (e.g., Pepcid®, Mylanta®)
• Antiarthritics (e.g., Tylenol® Arthritis)
• Antidiarrheals (e.g., Imodium®)
• Asthma medicines
• Cold and flu remedies (e.g., Tylenol® Cold and Flu)
• Diabetic supplies
• Lactose intolerance supplies (e.g., Lactaid®)
• Pain relievers (e.g., Tylenol®, Motrin IB®)
• Sleep aids (e.g., Tylenol® PM)
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