If you have a flexible spending account through work, there's a decent chance you're sitting on a few hundred dollars that will evaporate at midnight on December 31.
Unlike a bank account, an FSA doesn't roll over indefinitely.
Use it or lose it is the actual rule, written into federal tax law, and your employer has no legal way to hand you the leftover cash.
Here's the part most people miss: the money was never really yours to keep.
You elected to defer part of your salary into the account specifically to dodge taxes on medical expenses.
Skip the spending, and you've effectively donated your own paycheck to your employer's benefits budget.
Roughly $400 to $500 per account goes unclaimed in a typical year, according to estimates that have circulated in benefits industry surveys for years.
Some employers offer a grace period, letting you spend last year's balance until March 15.
Others allow a carryover, capped at $640 for 2025 per IRS rules.
Your plan documents, not a coworker's guess, are the only source of truth here.
Bandages, sunscreen with SPF 15 or higher, prescription glasses, contact lens solution, blood pressure monitors, thermometers, and menstrual products all qualify.
So do copays, deductibles, dental cleanings, and therapy sessions.
You generally can't use FSA dollars on gym memberships, cosmetic procedures, or vitamins unless a doctor writes a letter of medical necessity.
The easiest move is the FSA store, the online retailer built specifically around this deadline.
Prices there run noticeably higher than Amazon or Walmart for identical items, which is the trade-off for guaranteed eligibility.
A $12 bottle of sunscreen that costs $7 elsewhere is still cheaper than forfeiting $12 of pretax money, but the math changes fast on bigger purchases.
If you wear glasses or contacts, book the exam now.
Optometrists fill up in late December, and prescription eyewear eats FSA dollars faster than anything else on the eligible list.
A single pair of progressives can absorb $300 to $600.
Just confirm the provider doesn't require a separate medical diagnosis for the frames themselves.
One warning worth repeating: don't buy eligible items you'll never use just to zero out the balance.
Spending $200 to rescue $150 is a loss, not a win.
The tax savings on FSA money is your marginal rate, typically 22 to 24 percent for middle-income households, plus payroll taxes in some cases.
Run the numbers before panic-buying gauze.
The IRS can ask for documentation, and your administrator can freeze the card if you swipe it somewhere ineligible.
Our take: the FSA deadline is less a consumer holiday than a quiet wealth transfer from disorganized workers to their employers.
The system rewards people who plan medical spending a year in advance, which is nearly impossible for anyone with irregular income or surprise health issues.
Final Thoughts
If you have a balance left, spend it on something you'll genuinely use, and next open enrollment, consider electing less.