How much can I contribute to an FSA?
Last updated August 2026
Short answer
Unlike a retirement account, where contributing the maximum is close to always right, an FSA has a genuine cost to overestimating.
The 2026 figures
$3,400 in salary reduction contributions to a health FSA.
Up to $680 may carry over into the next plan year if the plan includes that feature.
Both figures are set by Rev. Proc. 2025-32 and adjust with inflation, so a plan document quoting last year's number is out of date rather than wrong about your plan.
Per employee, not per household
Two working spouses with FSAs at their own employers can each elect up to the limit.
That gives a household up to $6,800 of pre-tax medical spending, which is worth checking at open enrolment because plans are chosen separately and rarely coordinated.
Employer contributions, where offered, generally sit outside your salary reduction limit under the plan's own rules.
The HSA interaction
Being covered by a general-purpose health FSA, including through a spouse's plan, disqualifies you from contributing to an HSA.
A limited-purpose FSA covering dental and vision only preserves HSA eligibility, and some employers offer it precisely for that reason.
Where you have a genuine choice between the two, the HSA is generally the stronger account, because it invests, compounds and follows you.
Try it in Walnut
Walnut connects to brokerage accounts and analyses your investments. An FSA is a spending account rather than an investment one, which is the distinction worth keeping.
How to size the election
Start with what is already known: recurring prescriptions, regular therapy or specialist copays, planned dental work, glasses or contacts.
Add only expenses you are confident about. The asymmetry is the point, because underestimating costs you a tax saving and overestimating costs you the money.
If your plan carries over $680, treat that as the size of the mistake you are allowed to make rather than as extra room.
Changing the amount
Elections are locked for the plan year unless a qualifying life event occurs: marriage, divorce, a birth or adoption, a change in employment or in a spouse's coverage.
Changes must usually be requested within a short window after the event, commonly 30 days.
Absent an event, an over-election cannot be reduced, which is why the number chosen in November governs the whole of the following year.
Dependent care is a different account
A dependent care FSA covers childcare, after-school care and adult dependent care so that you can work, with its own statutory limit.
The two accounts share nothing. Money elected for one cannot pay the other's expenses, and each has its own election.
The dependent care credit is an alternative for the same costs, and the two interact, so running both without checking can waste part of one.
Sources
The $3,400 limit and $680 carryover maximum for 2026 are from Rev. Proc. 2025-32, section 3.15. Eligible expenses are in Publication 502, and HSA eligibility conditions in Publication 969. Walnut is informational and is not an investment adviser. This guide is educational and not personalized tax advice.
FAQ
How much can I contribute to a health FSA in 2026?
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$3,400 in salary reduction contributions, set by Rev. Proc. 2025-32. If your plan permits carryover, up to $680 of unused funds can move into the following plan year.
Can my spouse and I each have one?
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Yes. The limit applies per employee, so two working spouses with separate employer plans can each elect up to $3,400, giving the household $6,800 of pre-tax medical spending.
Does an employer contribution count against my limit?
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Generally not in the same way. The $3,400 caps your own salary reduction. Employer contributions follow separate rules, and many plans add a flat amount that does not reduce what you can elect.
Is the dependent care FSA limit the same?
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No, it is a separate account with a separate statutory limit, and the two are not interchangeable. Money elected for dependent care cannot pay a medical bill and the reverse is also true.
Can I have an FSA and an HSA at the same time?
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Not a general-purpose health FSA, because it disqualifies you from contributing to an HSA. A limited-purpose FSA covering only dental and vision is compatible, and some employers offer exactly that combination.
When do I choose the amount?
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At open enrolment, before the plan year starts. The election is then fixed unless a qualifying life event occurs, so the estimate has to be made in advance of knowing what the year holds.
What is the right amount to elect?
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The floor of what you are confident you will spend: recurring prescriptions, planned dental work, expected copays, contact lenses. Electing above your confident floor risks forfeiting the difference, and electing below only means paying the excess with after-tax money.
What is the dependent care FSA limit?
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It is set by statute separately from the health FSA figure and is not interchangeable with it. Because the dependent care tax credit covers similar costs, running both without checking the interaction can waste part of one, which is worth a conversation with a tax preparer.
Does my FSA election reduce my taxable wages on my W-2?
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Yes. Salary reduction contributions are excluded from the wages reported in box 1, so the reduction is already reflected before you file. There is nothing further to claim on your return, which is why some people never notice the benefit at all.