FSA Calculator | 2026 Illustration

2026 illustration for one eligible employee. Health FSA salary reductions assume a plan year beginning in 2026 and the employer adopting the $3,400 ceiling; this is not a household health limit. Dependent care uses the combined household 2026 tax-year exclusion: $7,500, or $3,750 married filing separately. The employer adopts that ceiling, no other household dependent-care assistance is assumed, and qualifying expenses, applicable earned-income limits and all other eligibility conditions are assumed satisfied. Your plan may allow less. This does not determine eligibility or an optimal election.

This U.S. illustration separates one employee's health FSA salary reduction from the household dependent-care exclusion. Filing status changes only the dependent-care reference ceiling. The health reference remains $3,400 for one employee, including when spouses file jointly. Enter expected eligible expenses, rather than an election already made. Each calculated contribution is the smaller of the expense assumption and its reference ceiling. The model does not subtract a spouse's election, employer dependent-care assistance or other assistance; it assumes there is none. If those amounts exist, this simplified scenario is not your remaining allowance.

Savings use your assumed federal and state marginal rates plus a fixed illustrative 7.65% payroll saving. Actual federal, state and payroll treatment can differ, including above the Social Security wage base. Contributions are whole USD; total savings round once to cents, with chart savings allocated to conserve that total. The 26-paycheck figure is a rounded average, not a payroll schedule; rounded deductions can require adjustment. Unused funds may be forfeited; plan carryover or grace-period rules vary.

The annual savings card applies the same assumed combined marginal rate to both calculated contributions. A rate is an input assumption, not an IRS tax bracket selected from your income. The fixed payroll component is not a wage-based calculation. The contribution and savings bars are separate amounts: savings are a possible tax benefit, not extra account funding or reimbursable expenses. Zero contributions give zero savings and no combined-rate result. Even if entered federal and state rates are zero, the fixed 7.65% payroll assumption remains. Increasing expected expenses above a reference ceiling does not increase the calculated contribution or savings. Changing filing status does not change the entered rates.

Before choosing an actual election, ask your benefits administrator which expenses qualify, what the employer permits, and when reimbursement claims are due. Check spouse and employer assistance, earned-income restrictions, dependent eligibility and the plan's unused-fund rules. Separate predictable expenses from uncertain expenses and compare several expense assumptions. The calculated ceiling is neither a recommendation to contribute that amount nor a promise that the money can be reimbursed. An HSA uses different eligibility and contribution rules; this FSA result does not establish compatibility with an HSA. Save the assumptions with your illustration and revisit them during enrollment.