Limits · calculator
FSA limits for 2026
Two different accounts share the name: the health FSA, indexed every year, and the dependent care FSA, raised by law for 2026.
FSA limits for your 2026 election
Health FSA you can elect
$2,800
Dependent care FSA up to $7,500
- Health FSA cap$3,400
- Left unspent at year end$300
- Carryover allowed (if the plan offers it)$300
- Dependent care election above the cap$0
The dependent care cap rose for 2026 under P.L. 119-21. Plans choose between a carryover and a grace period, or neither.
For 2026 an employee can put up to $3,400 into a health flexible spending arrangement through salary reduction, under section 4.15 of Rev. Proc. 2025-32, and a plan that allows carryover can let up to $680 of unspent money roll into 2027. The dependent care FSA is a separate account with a separate limit, which Public Law 119-21 raised from $5,000 to $7,500 per household for 2026, or $3,750 for a married person filing separately (section 70404); that amount is not indexed. Both accounts take money before federal income tax and before Social Security and Medicare, so an employee in the 22% bracket saves about 29.65 cents per dollar used. The trade-off is the use-it-or-lose-it rule: money left in a health FSA at the end of the plan year is forfeited unless the plan offers the carryover or a grace period of up to two and a half months. Elections are made during open enrollment and generally cannot change mid-year without a qualifying event.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How we calculate
The two accounts side by side
| Health FSA | Dependent care FSA | |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 limit | $3,400 | $7,500 per household ($3,750 married filing separately) |
| Limit applies to | each employee, each employer plan | the household |
| Indexed for inflation | yes | no |
| Unspent money | forfeited, unless a carryover up to $680 or a grace period | forfeited, unless a grace period |
| Pays for | medical, dental and vision costs not reimbursed | care for a child under 13 or a dependent who needs care, so you can work |
Sizing a health FSA election
Add predictable costs: deductibles and copays, prescriptions, dental work, glasses and contacts. The full annual election is available from the first day of the plan year, even before it has been withheld from pay, which makes an FSA useful for a large planned expense early in the year. Spouses each have their own $3,400 limit through their own employers.
Dependent care FSA or the credit
Money run through a dependent care FSA cannot also count for the child and dependent care credit. For most middle- and higher-income families the FSA saves more, since it avoids income tax and FICA; low-income families can come out ahead with the credit, whose rate reaches 50% in 2026. With two children and $12,000 of costs, putting $7,500 through the FSA and claiming the credit on what remains, within its $6,000 cap, often combines both.
Changing an election during the year
Elections are fixed for the plan year once it starts. A change is allowed after a qualifying event: marriage, divorce, birth or adoption, a change in a spouse's job or coverage, or, for dependent care, a change in the provider or its cost. The change must be consistent with the event and made within the window the plan sets, often 30 days. Leaving a job ends contributions; health FSA money not yet spent is generally lost unless COBRA continuation is elected for the account.
HSA instead
People with an HSA-eligible plan, now including bronze plans, may prefer the HSA, which keeps its balance year after year.
Sources: IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32: 2026 inflation-adjusted items and 2025 items modified by Public Law 119-21 (October 9, 2025); section 70404 of Public Law 119-21, read on October 11, 2026.