If you have a flexible spending account through work, there's a decent chance a few hundred dollars sitting in it right now has an expiration date attached.
Use it or lose it is the rule, and the clock is ticking toward the end of the plan year for millions of Americans.
You elected to set aside pre-tax dollars, the money came out of your paycheck all year, and whatever you don't spend on eligible expenses typically reverts to your employer.
Here's where it gets murkier, because the rules aren't one-size-fits-all.
Some employers offer a grace period of up to two and a half months into the new year.
Others allow you to roll over a limited amount, which the IRS has capped around $640 for recent plan years.
That means the single most important thing you can do this week is read your own plan documents, not a headline.
Ask three questions: what's my deadline, do I have a grace period or rollover, and what's my exact remaining balance.
The spending part sounds easy until you actually try it.
FSA-eligible expenses generally include copays, prescriptions, dental work, vision care, and a long list of over-the-counter items if your plan permits them without a prescription.
Glasses, contacts, and even some sunscreens and first-aid supplies can qualify.
So can many menstrual products and breast pumps under federal rules.
The catch is that you can't just buy random stuff and hope it clears.
You need receipts, and you need to submit claims before the deadline, not after.
Reimbursement requests filed late often get rejected even if the purchase was legitimately eligible.
A few practical moves if you're scrambling.
Book that dental cleaning or eye exam you've been putting off.
Stock up on eligible over-the-counter items at a store that prints itemized receipts, since a vague total on a register tape won't fly.
And if you wear glasses or contacts, this is the moment to use that benefit rather than pay out of pocket in March.
The use-it-or-lose-it structure is great for employers, who get to keep unspent funds, and it's a quiet subsidy for the benefits administration industry.
Workers bear all the risk of guessing their medical spending a year in advance.
If you underestimate, you miss the tax break.
Consumer advocates have pushed for years to loosen the rules, and small changes have trickled through Congress.
But the fundamental gamble remains, and it resets every single year.
One more warning worth heeding: deadlines attract scammers.
Fake websites and phishing emails promising to "help you cash out" your FSA balance are a real thing.
Nobody legitimate will offer to convert your healthcare funds into gift cards or cash.
If an offer sounds like free money, it's aimed at taking yours.
Submit receipts before the cutoff, not the morning of.
The honest takeaway is that an FSA can still save you real money on taxes, but only if you treat the deadline like a bill you owe yourself.
Final Thoughts
Ignore it, and you're essentially donating your own paycheck back to your employer.