There's a jar of unspent cash sitting in tens of millions of American bank accounts right now, and unlike most money, this stash can legally vanish at midnight on December 31.
It's your flexible spending account, and if you don't use it, you lose it—no exceptions, no appeals, no customer service number that can get it back.
For 2025, workers who opted into a health care FSA could stash up to $3,300 pretax, while dependent care accounts allowed up to $7,500 per household.
That money comes out of your paycheck before taxes touch it, which is why the accounts are popular.
The catch is the use-it-or-lose-it rule baked into federal law, and it bites hardest in the final weeks of December when millions of people suddenly remember they have hundreds of dollars to burn.
Some employers offer a grace period—usually until March 15—or let you roll over a limited amount into the next year.
The rollover cap for 2025 is $660, and plenty of companies offer neither option.
If your plan falls into that category, anything left on the table after the deadline goes straight back to your employer.
You don't get a refund, and you can't donate it.
The good news is that spending it isn't hard if you plan ahead.
FSA dollars cover a wider range of items than most people realize: prescription glasses, contact lenses, bandages, sunscreen, menstrual products, pregnancy tests, first-aid kits, and even some over-the-counter medications thanks to a pandemic-era rule that Congress has repeatedly extended.
You can also stock up on eligible items through retailers like Amazon, Walmart, and CVS, many of which run dedicated FSA storefronts that flag exactly what qualifies.
Dental and vision appointments are the classic year-end move.
A December cleaning, a new pair of glasses, or a set of prescription sunglasses can absorb hundreds of dollars in one visit.
If you've been putting off a procedure, scheduling it before the deadline is one of the few ways to turn that money into something you actually needed.
Just confirm with your provider that the visit will be billed before the cutoff, since claims processing can lag.
If you paid out of pocket for eligible care earlier in the year, you can submit those receipts now—even if the purchase happened back in February.
Many FSA administrators let you file claims online in minutes, and some give you until March 31 to submit paperwork for expenses incurred in the prior year.
Check your plan's specific rules, because the claim deadline and the spending deadline aren't always the same thing.
One last thing worth checking: your dependent care FSA operates on different rules and covers things like daycare, after-school programs, and summer camp.
Those funds often have their own deadline, and parents who forget about this account leave some of the largest balances behind.
Log into your FSA portal this week, check your balance, and look at the calendar.
If there's money sitting there and no rollover, spending it on eligible essentials beats watching it disappear.
Final Thoughts
A little planning now is worth more than a New Year's resolution to do better next year.