How to use every dollar of your balance before December 31st.
The average person loses $339 in FSA money every year. Not because they do not care about the money. Because nobody reminded them at the right time with everything they needed to act on it.
Your flexible spending account balance expires December 31st. Money left over does not roll into next year — it goes back to your employer. This is real money you earned, set aside pre-tax for health expenses, that simply disappears if you do not use it.
Here is how to use every dollar.
Most FSAs expire December 31st, but two exceptions exist. Some employers offer a grace period that extends the spending window to March 15th of the following year. Others allow you to roll over up to $640 (the 2026 limit) into the next year. A small number of plans offer both.
Log into your FSA portal or check your plan documents to confirm which applies to you. If your plan has a grace period or rollover, you have more time and flexibility than you think. If it does not, December 31st is your hard deadline.
The best single move you can make with your FSA is to book any dental or vision appointments before Thanksgiving. Appointments booked in late November and December bill in the same calendar year. You have time to pay the bill before December 31st. Appointments booked in late December often do not bill until January — too late.
Dental cleanings, eye exams, glasses, contact lenses, orthodontist visits, and specialist appointments all qualify. If you have been putting any of these off, book them before Thanksgiving. Not in December.
Most people know that prescription medications and doctor copays are FSA eligible. Fewer people know how broad the list actually is.
Amazon maintains a dedicated FSA store where every item is pre-screened for eligibility. It is the fastest way to spend down a remaining balance on things you will actually use. Search for the Amazon FSA store and filter by your balance amount.
October is when to check your balance and make a plan. Log into your FSA account, see what is left, and estimate what you will spend between now and year end through normal use. The gap between your projected spending and your balance is what you need to address deliberately.
November is when to act. Book the dental and vision appointments. Place the Amazon FSA order for the items you need. Schedule any specialist visits you have been putting off.
December is for catch-up only. If you still have a balance in December, go back to the Amazon FSA store and stock up on the consumables you use anyway — sunscreen, OTC medications, contact lens supplies.
FSA contributions are pre-tax. If you are in the 22 percent federal tax bracket, every dollar you contribute saves you about 22 cents in federal tax alone, plus your state income tax rate on top of that. Losing that money at year end is not just losing the face value. It is losing money you already received tax advantages to set aside.
A $500 FSA balance that expires represents roughly $610 in gross income you did not actually need to earn to cover those same health expenses. That is the real cost of losing it.
Health savings accounts work differently. HSA money rolls over indefinitely — there is no use-it-or-lose-it deadline. HSA balances can also be invested and grow tax-free. The strategies above apply only to FSAs. If you have an HSA, you have more flexibility and less urgency, though many of the eligible expense categories overlap.
Every Celene and Co member with an FSA receives a reminder on November 15th each year. The reminder includes a link to the Amazon FSA store, a summary of commonly overlooked eligible items, and a note about the Thanksgiving appointment booking window. You do not have to remember any of this. You just act when the reminder arrives.