If you have a flexible spending account through your job, there's a decent chance several hundred dollars sitting in it right now will vanish before you can spend it.
These accounts come with a use-it-or-lose-it rule, and the clock is running out on 2025 balances for millions of American workers.
You elect an amount during open enrollment, the money gets pulled from your paycheck pretax, and then you have to spend it on eligible expenses by a set deadline.
Miss it, and your employer keeps whatever is left.
The average worker forfeits somewhere between $100 and $500 a year this way, according to benefits industry estimates.
The good news is that many plans offer a grace period, typically until March 15, or a carryover of up to $660 into the next year.
But not all employers offer both, and some offer neither.
You need to check your own plan documents or call your benefits administrator to find out which rules apply to you.
Healthcare FSAs cover a wider range of purchases than most people realize.
Prescription glasses and contacts, dental work, therapy sessions, bandages, pregnancy tests, acne treatments, and even some over-the-counter medicines all qualify.
If you've been putting off new eyeglasses or a dental cleaning, this is the moment.
Dependent care FSAs work differently and generally have a separate deadline.
If you paid for daycare, after-school programs, or a summer camp so you could work, those expenses count.
Many parents forget this account exists until the money is already gone.
A few moves worth making before the deadline hits.
First, log into your FSA portal and check your exact balance and cutoff date.
Second, pull together receipts from the past year that you never submitted.
Third, if you still have a gap, stock up on eligible items you'll actually use rather than buying random stuff just to burn the balance.
One warning worth repeating: you generally can't use FSA funds for next year's expenses, and you can't cash out the balance.
Some employers allow a run-out period, usually 90 days after the plan year ends, to submit claims for expenses you already paid.
That's different from a grace period, so don't mix them up.
If your deadline is close and you're unsure what qualifies, the FSA Store website lets you search by category, and your plan administrator can confirm specifics.
A ten-minute phone call beats losing hundreds of dollars.
The bigger picture here is that these accounts reward people who plan and quietly punish everyone else.
If you consistently forfeit money, it may be worth lowering your election next year to an amount you know you'll spend.
Final Thoughts
Pretax savings only help if the money actually gets used.