FSA eligible expenses : List of easily overlooked and common strategies

FSA is one of the great health savings accounts that lets you save money on taxes.  I changed my doctor mid year and opted to go with a doctor who is not covered by my insurance policy. So I grossly underestimated the medical expenses and have no FSA money left over. I should do a better job this year. If you had a healthy 2010… congratulations! Did you contribute to FSA and have not spent down the money? FSA is a use it or lose it system. You might be scrambling to spend the money in your account instead of donating it to your employer. Here are some common and easily overlooked FSA eligible expenses to help with your spending spree.

Easily Overlooked FSA eligible expenses

1. Sun screen (>30 SPF)
2. Hand Sanitizer
3. Pregnancy tests
4. Ovulation kits
5. Condoms
6. Batteries for medical equipment (hearing aid, BP monitor, etc)
7. Sales tax on medical expenses
8. Transfer of medical records (if you paid any money to transfer all you tests from one doctor to another)
9. Shipping and handling charge if you bought your drugs online
10. Mileage to/from doctors office, hospital or any test facility
11. If you had some special medical condition where treatment requires traveling, you can deduct the travel expenses
12. Lodging expenses of the patient (if the sole reason for the lodging is to receive medical care)
13. Lodging expenses of the companion (if parents are traveling for the kid’s treatment)
14. Parking fees (if the only reason you are there is to receive medical care)
15. Tolls to/from doctor’s office
16. Prescription sunglasses [you always wanted that Prada right ]
17. Chiropractic care
18. Doctor-recommended weight-loss programs
19. Capital expenses to accommodate disability
20. Skin care lotions if you have allergies, psoriasis or eczema

Common FSA eligible expenses

A lot of these FSA eligible expenses are going to require a prescription starting January 1, 2011. I usually won’t recommend buying a truck load of aspirin and Pepto-Bismol, but this year would be a good year to stock up some of those common OTC medicines. Read the entire post about the new changes here – FSA changes 2011. [OTC drugs that require prescription in 2011 is marked with a (*)]

1. Acne treatment (*)
2. Allergy relief (oral medications, nasal sprays, patches, etc) (*)
3. Analgesics/pain killers (aspiring, ibuprofen) (*)
4. Antacids and heartburn relief (*)
5. Anti itch creams (*)
6. Anti histamines (*)
7. Anti candidal/ Anti fungal medicines (*)
8. Antibiotic creams and ointments (*)
9. Crutches
10. Arthritis pain relief (*)
11. Cold medicines (*)
12. Sore throat medicines (*)
13. Dental medicines (toothache relief, temporary filling, denture adhesive) (*)
14. Ear care (ear drops, ear wax removal) (*)
15. Contact lens solution
16. Lubricant drops
17. Reading glasses
18. General eye care
19. Treatment for vaginal infections (*)
20. Healing lotions (*)
21. Hearing aid
22. Flu shots
23. Pregnancy aids (if they are required e.g. support belts)
24. Progesterone/estrogen creams (*)
25. Heat wraps
26. Hot/cold packs,
27. Band-aids
28. First aid kit (bandages, tape, gauze dressing, adhesive pads, rubbing alcohol)
29. Blood pressure monitor
30. Cholesterol monitor
31. Diabetes testing kit/refill
32. Colorectal cancer screening kit
33. HIV testing kit
34. Thermometers
35. Any other home diagnostic test kits
36. Incontinence products/adult diapers (Depends, serenity pads)
37. Joint support bandages and hosiery
38. Laxatives (*)
39. Motion/sea sickness treatment(Dramamine, patches, bracelets) (*)
40. Shampoo treatments (lice/psoriasis)
41. Smoking cessation relief
42. Stomach/digestive relief (lactaid, pepto bismol) (*)
43. Tooth and mouth pain relief(orajel, anbesol) (*)
44. Urinary pain relief (*)
45. Vaporizers and humidifiers if you have allergies (*)
46. Wart removal medication
47. Deductibles and co-payments
48. Dental work
49. Orthodontia
50. Laser eye surgery
51. Psychotherapy, psychiatry, psychology
52. Drug and alcohol treatment
53. Smoking cessation programs and prescriptions
54. Medically necessary cosmetic surgery
55. Massage therapy to treat an injury
56. Physical therapy
57. Speech therapy
58. Out-of-pocket expenses for fertility treatments
59. Medical equipment, such as wheelchairs, crutches or oxygen equipment
60. Assistance for the disabled, including guides, Braille books, seeing-eye or hearing-trained animals, note takers, etc.
61. Birth control pills, devices and procedures
62. Acupuncture or related procedures to treat a medical condition
63. Medically necessary prescriptions
64. Vaccinations
65. Wigs (if the hair loss is due to a medical condition)

If you need some more ideas, browse the drugstore.com site. They have a separate category for FSA eligible expenses called FSA Store or the FSAStore.com. You can browse through the list and just add it to the cart up to whatever you want to spend. If you need a lot more ideas than this and need a more authoritative source check the IRS list of eligible medical and dental expenses. I have to choose the amount I am going to contribute for 2011 by next week. Considering the FSA changes, I will have to choose carefully. I will try to set up an Excel sheet to calculate the FSA expenses and link it here. Did you accurately set up the FSA, or like me did you under fund the account? Do you have any creative ideas to spend down if you over estimated your expenses?

Tagged as: fsa, FSA eligible expenses