Dec. 31 is almost here - is your flex spending account zero yet?

It's already the beginning of December.  Didn't we just come back from Labor Day vacation yesterday?  At any rate, with the end of the year comes deadlines that you don't want to miss.  One of those is the deadline to spend your Flex Spending Account and Dependent Spending Account money.  If your balance is still above zero, here are some steps you can take:

1. Double-check and make sure you paid for all of your medical or dependent care expenses with your spending account.  I have never heard of a provider who doesn't let you submit expenses you paid out of pocket for reimbursement later.
2. If you truly haven't spent the money you set aside on medical expenses, you probably have a grace period.  The IRS allows $500 from 2015 flex spending accounts to be used in 2016 for medical expenses.  However, check the fine print on your plan; your employer does not have to allow this since it is optional.
3. If you can't roll over the money or if your balance is more than $500, then spend that money!  See if you can squeeze in an appointment with your doctor or dentist if anything is bothering you.  Refill any maintenance prescriptions if your insurance lets you.  Order more glasses or contacts.   

One thing you might not want to do is to try to spend your flex spending money on over the counter medications.  Even though the IRS rules specifically state that over the counter medications that you have a prescription for are eligible expenses, I have had flex spending plans deny my claim when I presented that same evidence for my claim.  I was never able to convince the plan administrator to allow my claim, which really annoyed me.  (I had other medical expenses to spend my FSA money on anyway.)

Remember, the above does not apply to Health Spending Accounts (which are used with High Deductible Health Plans).  The money in H.S.A.s is completely yours and can be held indefinitely.

Don't let your money go to waste!