FAQs
Most Popular Questions
I'm required to pay for my child's day care expenses upfront at the beginning of each month. Can I be reimbursed immediately since I paid it in full?
Unfortunately, no. IRS rules require that expenses can only be reimbursed after the service was actually provided.
Here are two ways you can submit:
- Submit expenses for a full month after that month has ended. Let's say you incurred eligible day care expenses for January 1 - January 31. On February 1, you may submit your claim with the provider's signature on the claim form or through the FSAFEDS app, or you may submit a claim with itemized receipts. The date that you sign and submit your claim form must be after the dates of service were incurred - in this example, February 1 or later.
- Submit the expense for a specific time period. Let's again say you will incur eligible day care expenses for January 1 - January 31. Monday of the following week, you would submit a claim for your previous week's using the process noted above. To be reimbursed for these expenses, your receipt must show dates of services that have already been incurred. Also, you must sign, date and submit your claim form after the dates of service to validate services rendered - in this example, it's the week after services are rendered. You would continue to do this each week or on a schedule which works best for you.
You may want to consider having your dependent care provider sign the Dependent Care FSA Claim or through the FSAFEDS mobile app each time you submit a claim form. Then you do not have to submit receipts with your claim form. This simple step can save you valuable time.