● Free tool · open enrollment
Enter your plan year's end date, which relief (if any) your employer's plan offers, your leftover balance and the eligible expenses you could still incur. See the deadline that actually matters for your money and how much is genuinely at risk of forfeiture.
| Deadline that matters | |
| If you spend the expenses above by then, you'd still have | |
| Of that, carried over to next plan year | |
| Forfeited |
What if your plan offered something else? Same balance and spending, each relief type
| Plan offers | Deadline | At risk |
|---|
Default rule: unused money is forfeited at plan-year end (Prop. Treas. Reg. §§ 1.125-1, 1.125-2). A grace period (IRS Notice 2005-42) extends the deadline to incur new expenses by up to 2.5 months (the 15th of the third calendar month after plan-year end), with no dollar cap, but adds no time beyond that. A carryover (Notice 2013-71, as modified by Notice 2020-33) doesn't extend the deadline to incur new expenses -- that's still plan-year end -- but lets what's left, up to the limit, carry into next year to be spent any time during it. A plan may offer a grace period or a carryover, never both, and may offer neither. The carryover option doesn't exist for dependent care FSAs under this rule, regardless of what the plan wants; a dependent care FSA can still get a grace period. This tool doesn't know your plan's actual rules -- check your Summary Plan Description or ask HR. More in the year-end deadline guide.
A health FSA forfeits unused money at plan-year end unless the employer's plan adds a grace period (up to 2.5 extra months to spend it, no dollar cap) or a carryover (up to $680 for 2026 plan years, no extra time, Rev. Proc. 2025-32) -- never both, and it's the plan's choice, not yours. A dependent care FSA can get a grace period but never a carryover. More in the year-end deadline guide.