If you set aside money in a flexible spending account this year, you're now on the clock.
Most employers require you to spend the balance by December 31, and whatever's left after that can vanish.
For a household that tucked away $2,000 or $3,000, that's not a rounding error.
Here's the part that trips people up: an FSA isn't a savings account.
You decide during open enrollment how much to withhold, the money comes out of each paycheck pretax, and you have to claim it back by submitting receipts for eligible expenses.
Miss the window and the funds typically go to your employer.
The IRS caps how much you can contribute each year, and that limit gets adjusted annually for inflation, but it doesn't protect you from the deadline itself.
Some plans offer a grace period of up to two and a half months into the new year, while others allow you to carry over a limited amount.
Both options are optional, not guaranteed, so the only reliable answer is the one in your plan's fine print.
A quick call to your benefits administrator or a look at your account dashboard will tell you which applies to you.
Eligible costs often include prescription glasses and contacts, dental work, therapy, bandages, pregnancy tests, breast pumps, and many over-the-counter medicines if you have a prescription.
So do some menstrual products and certain COVID-19 tests.
A quick search of your plan's eligible expense list can surface items you'd buy anyway.
Grocery prices are still running higher than a few years ago, rent keeps climbing in most metros, and credit card APRs remain painful for anyone carrying a balance.
That means fewer households have spare cash sitting around to stock up on eligible items just to beat a deadline.
If you're short on time, booking a dental cleaning, an eye exam, or a therapy session before year-end converts that money into something useful rather than letting it evaporate.
Buying things you don't need just to zero out the balance defeats the purpose, since you'd only recover part of it in tax savings.
Run the math on what you'd genuinely use in the next few weeks, then work down that list first.
If you're nowhere near spending it all, ask whether your plan allows a carryover or grace period.
If not, prioritize expenses you can schedule fast, like a vision appointment or a dental visit.
And if you're still confused, your HR department fields these questions every December.
The deadline is less a crisis than a reminder.
Money you set aside in January doesn't feel real until December, and by then life is busy.
Final Thoughts
Fifteen minutes with your account balance and a calendar can be the difference between using it and losing it.