How the Accounts Work

Save on Taxes

Federal tax laws allow employers to offer flexible spending accounts that help you save money by reducing the amount of your pay that is subject to federal (and most state) income taxes, Social Security and Medicare taxes.
The flexible spending accounts allow you to be reimbursed for eligible dependent and health care expenses using dollars deducted from your paycheck before taxes are taken out. These before-tax dollars are contributed to each account. Then, when you submit an eligible expense, you are reimbursed with dollars that are never subject to tax. This lowers your taxable income, so you pay less in tax.
Both the health care and dependent care flexible spending accounts are administered by TaxSaver Plan, an independent company, which establishes your accounts and processes your reimbursements.
You make contributions to your account through before-tax payroll deductions. When you incur an eligible health or dependent care expense, you submit a claim for reimbursement. The claims administrator then reimburses you from the appropriate account for the amount of the expense.

Process Overview

Decide if you want to participate. Your estimated expenses and tax savings may affect your decision. You may want to consult a tax advisor before enrolling in these accounts.
Visit www.taxsaverplan.com to use the tax benefit calculator.
If you choose to participate, decide how much you are going to contribute to each account based on your estimated expenses for the coming year. Your annual election is divided by the number of pay periods per year and deducted from each paycheck on a before-tax basis.
When you incur an eligible expense, obtain a receipt with a date, type of service and cost of services rendered.
Submit a claim form for reimbursement to the claims administrator and attach your receipt. You may be required to submit documentation for proof of eligibility if you use the Flex Debit Card (the debit card is available to Regular Health Care FSA participants only).
The claims administrator reimburses you by check or electronic fund transfer with before-tax dollars from the appropriate account.

No Transfers Between Accounts

Your Health Care FSA and Dependent Care FSA are separate accounts. You cannot transfer money between them. For example, you could not use money in your Dependent Care FSA to pay for an eligible health care charge and you cannot transfer unused dollars in your Dependent Care FSA to your Health Care FSA.

Use It or Lose It Rule

The law requires that the accounts operate on a use-it-or-lose-it basis, meaning you forfeit any money remaining in your flexible spending accounts after all eligible expenses have been reimbursed. Your expenses claimed for reimbursement must be for health care or dependent care services you or your dependents received during the plan year (January 1 through December 31) or during the grace period (ending March 15 of the following year) and will be paid only with amounts you contributed to the accounts (plus any matching amounts you receive from the company).
To receive reimbursement for health care expenses, you and your dependents must incur the eligible expenses during the time period you are making contributions to your Health Care FSA. All claims for reimbursement must be postmarked by April 30 of the following year to be eligible for payment.
You will receive a statement of your account activity each time you are reimbursed, so that you can track your reimbursements. You can also access your account information on the TaxSaver Web site at www.taxsaverplan.com.

Changing Your Contributions

Each fall during annual open enrollment, you can make a new decision on how much you want to contribute to your accounts for the coming year. Your decision remains in effect for the rest of the calendar year. You may not change the amount of your contributions unless you have a qualified change in status.