Participating in the Flexible Spending Account (FSA) through Pickens County allows employees to save money for qualified medical expenses as well as legal dependent care on a pre-tax basis.
We recommend prior to making an election, you consider and derive a conservative estimate of how much you spend on healthcare and/or dependent care expenses for you and your qualified dependents in one year. For example, you may want to consider your estimated cost for prescription drugs, medical and dental office visit co-pays and/or deductibles, as well as vision related needs including exams and prescription glasses/lenses.
Most FSA’s require you use the funds you contribute within the plan year or you lose them. Please review the plan documents for more details on the maximum contributions you can make toward the healthcare and/or dependent care Flexible Spending Account.
Unreimbursed Medical Expense (URM) Account: You may set aside up to $2,850 in pre-tax dollars to be used to pay for qualified medical expenses that may not be covered under your major medical plan. The services must be incurred during the FSA plan year and be qualified eligible expenses under the plan.
Dependent Care (DDC) Account: Reimbursements for child and dependent care cannot exceed $5,000 per year for single tax filers and if filing jointly, or married filing separate is $2,500, or the earned income of you and your spouse is less. Your dependent child must be 12 years of age and under and must reside with you. Your child or dependent over the age of 12 must be incapable if self-support and must spend 8 or more hours per day in your home. The individual caring for your child (age 12 and under) or other dependent must not be a tax dependent for you. The child (age 12 and under) or other dependent must require care so that you can work. To be deducted from your account, the caregiver expense must be incurred during the plan year. An adult dependent must be unable to care for him or herself without assistance. Generally, use for the DDC account eliminations your childcare deduction on your state and federal income tax. You are required to disclose who provided the care for you with your personal tax adviser.
The plan year runs from January 1, 2023 until December 31, 2023.
Once you enroll and elect your FSA amount, you cannot make changes unless there’s a family status change.