Flexible spending account

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A flexible spending account (FSA), also known as a flexible spending arrangement, is one of a number of tax-advantaged financial accounts that can be set up through a cafeteria plan of an employer in the United States. An FSA allows an employee to set aside a portion of earnings to pay for qualified expenses as established in the cafeteria plan, most commonly for medical expenses but often for dependent care or other expenses. Money deducted from an employee's pay into an FSA is not subject to payroll taxes, resulting in substantial payroll tax savings. One significant disadvantage to using an FSA is that funds not used by the end of the plan year are lost to the employee.

The most common type of flexible spending account, the medical expense FSA (also medical FSA or health FSA), is similar to a health savings account (HSA) or a health reimbursement account (HRA). However, while HSAs and HRAs are almost exclusively used as components of a consumer driven health care plan, medical FSAs are commonly offered with more traditional health plans as well. In addition, funds in a health savings account are not lost when the plan year is over, unlike funds in an FSA. Paper forms or an FSA debit card, also known as a Flexcard, may be used to access the account funds.

FSA란 간단히 말씀드리면, 정부에서 Section 125란 항목으로 세금을 면제해 주는 혜텍을 말합니다. 따라서 W-2를 받으시는 분이 한달에 $100씩 pay check에서 공제를 한다면, 1년에 $1200이라는 금액이 Taxable Wage에서 빠지기 때문에 Total taxable wage는 줄어드는 것입니다.

이 금액은 매 pay check 마다 공제되어 FSA account에 쌓이게 되는데, 해당 Calendar Year에 모두 사용해야 합니다. 정부에서 3월 15일까지 Grace Period를 주는데, 이 때 까지도 사용하지 않는 금액은 모두 사용할수 없게 되므로, 그 이전에 사용할 수 있도록 하여야 합니다. 따라서 세금 혜택을 많이 보시려고 무리하게 금액을 세우지 마시기를 권합니다.