Flexible Spending Accounts

• May be used by Choice (closed to new enrollees starting 1/1/2026) and UVA PPO (formerly called Value) participants
• Helps offset out-of-pocket health care expenses, such as copayments, deductibles, coinsurance, and certain over-the-counter medications
• Full amount of annual contributions available after your first paycheck of 2024

For more information:

• Full Health Care FSA

• Available for Health Savings (formerly called Basic) participants
• Helps offset out-of-pocket dental and vision care expenses; may be used in combination with a Health Savings Account (HSA)
• Full amount of annual contributions available after your first paycheck of 2025

For more information:

• Limited Purpose FSA

• Funds available after they have been put into your account (meaning the amount increases as additional contributions come from your paychecks)
• May be more beneficial than the federal dependent care tax credit for most individuals whose adjusted gross income is greater than $25,000 (consult a tax professional for an assessment of your personal situation)

For more information:

• Dependent Care FSA FAQs

In general, to be eligible for FSAs (including Dependent Care Reimbursement Accounts), you must be a full- or part-time UVA employee, and regularly scheduled to work at least 20 hours/week. To be eligible for FSAs, you must be:

• Faculty
• Classified Staff
• Medical Center Team Member
• Postdoctoral Research Associate
• Senior Professional Research Staff
• University Staff
• Housestaff

Mandatory Direct Deposit: For all paper claims, direct deposit is required. If you are a new enrollee, you must provide direct information on your personal Fidelity account for reimbursement of all non-debit card transactions. 

UVA offers two types of FSA: Full and Limited. Your UVA Health Plan option determines which type of FSA you are eligible for.

• Choice Health (closed to new employees starting 1/1/2026) or UVA PPO (Value)  participants may enroll in the Full FSA, which can be used for eligible medical, dental, and vision expenses.
• Health Savings (Basic) participants may enroll in the Limited FSA (LMT), which can be used for eligible dental and vision expenses. They can also enroll in a Health Savings Account, which can be used for eligible medical, dental, and vision expenses.

To be eligible for a Dependent Care Reimbursement Account, your dependents must meet one of the following criteria:

• Are under age 13 at the time of service and are claimed as dependents on your taxes
• Are unable to care for themselves, such as adult children with disabilities or elders (these dependents are eligible regardless of age)

All dependents must live with you for more than half the year for you in order to use funds from a Dependent Care Reimbursement Account for their care.

Note: A Dependent Care Reimbursement Account may be more beneficial, in terms of a tax benefit, than the federal dependent care tax credit for most individuals with an adjusted gross income > $25,000. Consult a tax professional for an assessment of your personal situation.

For both Limited and Full FSAs, the following annual contribution information is the same:

Minimum: $120

Maximum: $2,500

The following are the annual contribution limits:

Minimum: $120

Maximum: $5,000 (household limit)

When choosing how much to contribute, try to anticipate dependent eligibility changes. For example, if your child will be turning 13 mid-year, plan your contributions accordingly so you don’t over-contribute for a full year of care.

The Full FSA contribution amount you choose for the year is available as soon as the account is open. Payroll deductions for the FSA would continue through the remainder of the year.

Dependent Care Reimbursement Account (DCA) funds are available after they have been deposited in your account by payroll deductions each paycheck. It takes a few bank days after payday for payroll-deducted funds to show in your account.

These funds must be used by the end of the calendar year. However, UVA has a grace period of 2 1/2 months. This allows you to spend FSA money through March 15 of the following year. After the grace period ends, you will lose any remaining money in your FSA account. 

Mandatory Direct Deposit: For all paper claims, direct deposit is required. If you are a new enrollee, you must provide direct deposit information to Fidelity for reimbursement of all non-debit transactions. You can enter your direct deposit information on your personal Fidelity account beginning Jan. 1, 2025.

Failing to coordinate your FSA contribution amount with that of your spouse is not a qualified life event. You will not be able to change your election if you discover that your combined Dependent Daycare contributions exceed the IRS maximum. The resulting overcontribution can be addressed when filing your tax return.

Be sure your spouse does not open a Full Healthcare FSA during the same calendar year in which you are enrolled in the UVA HSA Program. If this or any other coordination issue between you and your spouse or other family members occurs, you will not be able to cancel or reverse your elections or make retroactive changes to your contributions or deductions to remedy any tax problems that might result.

All active, benefits-eligible employees enrolled in the Health Savings plan option are able to have a Health Savings Account (HSA). Funds in your HSA can be used for eligible health care, dental, and vision expenses. Funds in these accounts roll over each year and are yours to keep for future health care costs.

If you are enrolled in a Health Savings Account, you are not eligible for a Full Healthcare Flexible Spending Account, but you can enroll in a Limited and/or Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account to maximize your savings.

A Flexible Spending Account (FSA) makes it possible for you to pay for certain expenses on a pre-tax basis, which makes your money go farther.

Here are resources to help you learn more:

• HSA webpage
• FSA webpage
• Full Health Care FSA
• Full Heath Care FSA FAQs
• Limited Purpose FSA
• Dependent Care FSA FAQs

Health Savings participants may have a Limited FSA (LMT) for eligible dental and vision expenses. For medical services and prescription costs, you must use HSA funds. Health Savings participants may not have a Full Healthcare FSA. 

For FSAs, the full contribution amount you choose for the year is available as soon as the account is open. For example, if you choose to put $500 in a LMT for the year, you would be able to use that full $500 for eligible dental and vision expenses after the first paycheck of the year. Payroll deductions for the FSA would continue through the remainder of the year.

For more information:

• Limited Purpose FSA

2024 elections for FSAs and HSAs will NOT carry over to 2025. You must re-elect the FSA and HSA programs for 2025 during Open Enrollment. 

A grace period provides you with an extra 2 1/2 months to spend last year's money. UVA offers a brief grace period into the following year, so you will have until March 15 to incur expenses. The deadline to submit claims is April 30. 

Full FSA, Limited FSA (LMT) and Dependent Care Reimbursement Account (DCA) do have grace periods to spend the money beyond year's end if you are enrolled in the FSA or DCA program on December 31 of the plan year. 

The expenses must be used for eligible services and the expense must be incurred during the calendar year for which the account was opened or during the 2 1/2 month grace period from January 1 to March 15 of the following calendar year. The grace period is designed to give you an opportunity to incur expenses and use all the funds in your account if you contributed more than was actually needed for the calendar year. 

If you are switching from UVA PPO (Value) or Choice Health to Health Savings and you have a Full FSA, then you will be closing your Full FSA. You will need to have a balance of $0.00 in your FSA by December 31 to open your HSA. Otherwise:

• Your HSA cannot be opened, and you will not be able to make employee contributions until April 1, 2025.
• You will not be able to use money in your account to cover any expenses incurred prior to April 1, 2025.

Both spouses can each have a Healthcare FSA whether they work for the same employer or different employers and both can contribute the maximum amount to each account.

Dependent care Accounts, however, have a household limit of $5,000 so if you and your spouse both have a DCA, your combined annual contribution cannot exceed $5,000.