FSA Spend-Down Calculator

Start with two numbers: what you elected for the year and what you have already spent or been reimbursed for. The difference is your remaining balance. What happens to that balance depends on your plan. With a carryover, up to $680 of the 2026 balance can move into next year, and only the amount above that cap is at risk. With a grace period, the whole balance has to be spent by the extended deadline, usually March 15. With neither, the whole balance has to be spent by December 31 or it goes back to your employer. Your employer can set a lower cap than the IRS maximum, so the page lets you change it.

Divide the at-risk amount by the weeks left until your deadline and you get a weekly spend target. Count the weeks to your own deadline: December 31 for a carryover or no-relief plan, March 15 for a grace-period plan. The page also runs a break-even check. Your election was taken from pre-tax pay, so spending beats taking the cash once total spending passes your election minus the tax you saved. At a 22 percent marginal rate, that line sits at 78 percent of the election. If you have already passed it, forfeiting the rest still leaves you ahead. If not, the page says how much more eligible spending gets you there.

The three plan types are easy to confuse, so the page keeps them apart. A plan offers a carryover or a grace period, never both, and some offer neither. A dependent care FSA follows different rules and has no carryover, so this page is for a health FSA. Money carried over from a general-purpose health FSA can also block HSA contributions the next year, which matters if you plan to switch to a high-deductible plan. Check your summary plan description for the cap and deadline your employer actually set. The 2026 figures here are the IRS maximums, not a promise about your plan.