Health FSA Calculator
Estimate the tax benefit and unused-fund risk of an employee health FSA election. Apply your plan's carryover or grace-period terms.
Rule year: 2026 · USD · Sources checked
Illustrative current-election tax saving
Employee health FSA with calendar-year 2026 plan, no employer credits, dependent-care FSA or non-calendar plan. Eligible expenses and coverage are established; general-purpose FSA/HSA compatibility is not assessed. Tax benefit uses your entered combined marginal rate. Grace-period expenses must be included before estimating forfeiture.
For informational purposes only. This estimate is not financial advice, a tax return, a payroll calculation or a lender decision. See the supported circumstances and exclusions below.
How this calculator works
A health FSA employee salary-reduction election is capped at $3,400 for plan years beginning in 2026, and your employer may set a lower limit. Unlike an HSA balance, unused FSA funds can be forfeited. A plan may offer optional carryover up to $680 from the 2026 plan year or a grace period, but not both. Enter eligible expenses through the deadlines that apply to your selected policy; a grace period is not an indefinite rollover. This calendar-year model also accepts an independently established carry-in from 2025, capped at that prior year's $660 limit. The tax-saving rate is your supplied scenario, not an inferred tax bracket.
Formula and rules
Available funds = election + established carry-in. Unused = max(0, available − eligible expenses). Carryover = min(unused, plan cap) only under a carryover policy. Forfeiture = unused − carryover. Illustrative tax saving = election × entered marginal saving rate.
Assumptions and limitations
Employee health FSA with calendar-year 2026 plan, no employer credits, dependent-care FSA or non-calendar plan. Eligible expenses and coverage are established; general-purpose FSA/HSA compatibility is not assessed. Tax benefit uses your entered combined marginal rate. Grace-period expenses must be included before estimating forfeiture.
Worked example
Elect $2,400, expect $2,000 eligible expenses and enter a 30% saving rate. The tax-saving illustration is $720. With $680 optional carryover, the $400 unused amount can carry forward and no forfeiture is modeled. Without extension, that $400 is forfeited.
- Illustrative current-election tax saving
- $720.00
- Estimated unused amount forfeited after plan deadlines
- $0.00
- Optional carryover to next plan year
- $400.00
- Funds used for entered eligible expenses
- $2,000.00
Official sources and review
Reviewed against the sources below on 2026-10-07. Rates are held in versioned rule modules. Versioned rules, official source review and year-specific calculation tests.
- IRS Publication 15-B (2026): health FSA ↗
Employee health FSA salary-reduction limit is $3,400 for plan years beginning in 2026. Plans may allow carryover or a grace period, not both.
- IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32: FSA limits ↗
2026 health FSA employee limit $3,400 and maximum optional carryover $680; 2025 carryover cap was $660.
- IRS Publication 969 ↗
Eligible coverage months, employer contributions, catch-up age 55 and separate last-month-rule testing.
Common questions
Can my plan offer carryover and a grace period together?
A health FSA generally cannot offer both. Select the policy actually established by your employer and include expenses through its applicable deadline.
Does carryover reduce the new employee election limit?
Permitted carryover is separate from the new salary-reduction limit. The model includes it in funds available for expenses, not as part of the $3,400 election cap.
Can I assume the same saving rate for every dollar?
Only as a scenario. Income-tax brackets, Social Security wage limits and state treatment can change the marginal benefit. Enter a rate appropriate to the eligible election.