Dependent Care Account (DCA)

Maximize your income and get reimbursed for out-of-pocket child/aged adult day care expenses with tax-free dollars.

Use the below information to determine if a Dependent Care Account (DCA) is right for you and how to best take advantage of a DCA account.

How It Works

The Day Care/Aged Adult Care FSA allows you to pay for day care expenses for your qualified dependent with pre-tax dollars. Eligible Dependent Care expenses are those you must pay for the care of an eligible dependent so that you and your spouse can work.

Eligible dependents, as revised under Section 152 of the Code by the Working Families Tax Act of 2005, are defined as either dependent children or dependent relatives that you claim as dependents on your taxes. Refer to the Employee Guide for more details. Eligible dependents are further defined as:

– Under age 13

– Physically or mentally unable to care for themselves such as:

• Disabled spouse
• Children who became disabled prior to age 19.
• Elderly parents that live with you

Contribution Limits

The annual maximum contribution may not exceed the lesser of the following:

– $5,000 ($2,500 if married filing separately) per household
– Your wages for the year or your spouse’s if less than above.
– Maximum is reduced by spouse’s contribution to a Day Care/ Aged Adult Care FSA

Eligibile Expenses

– Au Pair
– Nannies
– Before and After Care
– Day Camps
– Babysitters
– Daycare for an Elderly Dependent
– Daycare for a Disabled Dependent
– Nursery School
– Private Pre School
– Sick Child Center
– Licensed Day Care Centers

For a full list of eligible expenses, go to www.flex-admin.com.

The “Use-or-Lose” Rule

If you contribute dollars to a reimbursement account and do not use all the money you deposit, you will lose any remaining balance in the account at the end of the eligible claims period. This rule, established by the IRS as a component of tax-advantaged plans, is referred to as the “use-or-lose” rule.

To avoid losing any of the funds you contribute to your FSA, it’s important to plan ahead as much as possible to estimate what your expenditures will be in a given plan year.

Online & Mobile Access

Flexible Benefit Administrators, Inc. provides online account access for all FSA participants with the following features:

– FSA Login – View account transactions, create account alerts and download participation forms.
– FSA Educational Tools – FSA calculator: estimate how much you can save by utilizing an FSA.

Register for the Flexible Benefit Administrators Portal at www.flex-admin.com. Download the FBA Mobile App on the App Store or Google Play Store.

Helpful Hints

– You can’t change your election amount during the plan year, unless you experience a change in status or qualifying event.

– Save your receipts when you spend your healthcare FSA dollars. You may need itemized invoices to verify the eligibility of expenses or for reimbursement requests.

– The easiest way to manage your account is online at www.flex-admin.com or through the FBA Mobile App.

– You can’t contribute to an FSA and an HSA within the same plan year. As a married couple, one spouse cannot be enrolled in an FSA at the same time the other is contributing to an HSA.