GENERAL FLEXIBLE SPENDING GUIDELINES

• All Flexible Spending plans are regulated and governed by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
• For claims submitted electronically by Tuesday of each week, reimbursements are generally paid by the following Friday.
• For claims submitted on paper by Friday of each week, reimbursements are generally paid by the following Friday.
• You must thoroughly complete claim forms, including the patient name, exact service dates, the provider name, and the amount claimed.
• If you submit your Flexible Spending claim on paper, please remember to sign the claim form. Otherwise, your claim won’t be approved.
• When you receive your reimbursement check, you’ll also receive an explanation of what’s been paid, as well as the amount of your current account balance.
• You must submit claims for the plan year by April 30 of the following year.
• Expenses paid by your Flexible Spending account(s) cannot be claimed as income tax deductions.

Medical & Dental Guidelines

• For general guidelines about the types of medical and dental expenses that are eligible for reimbursement, please see IRS Publication 502
• Beginning January 1, 2011, over-the-counter medications no longer qualify for Flexible Spending reimbursement, unless you have a prescription from your physician. Some over-the-counter items do qualify. Click here to learn more (Adobe Acrobat Document).
• Remember, your insurance premiums cannot be claimed on your income taxes — based on IRS regulations.
• Include a copy of your Explanation of Benefits — from Deseret Mutual or another third-party payer. If you don’t, your claim will be returned.
• If expenses are for services not covered by your medical or dental insurance, include copies of your itemized bills.
• Balance-due statements are not accepted!
• For orthodontics, you may submit receipts from the orthodontist showing the payment date, the amount paid, and the name of the patient.
• You can only be reimbursed for services rendered during the plan year while you’re contributing to the plan. The plan year includes a grace period (from January 1 to March 15 of the following year) as long as you’re still an active employee on December 31.
• Contribution limit: $6,000 per year

Dependent Care Guidelines

• Charges are covered only if:

  • The dependent being cared for is claimed as a dependent on your tax return and:
    • is younger than 13
    • is physically or mentally incapable of self-care and regularly spends at least eight hours a day in your household (this does not mean daily but frequently, on a regular basis)
    • regularly spends at least eight hours a day in your household (this does not mean daily but frequently, on a regular basis
  • You may also claim expenses if you’re a divorced or legally separated taxpayer with custody of a disabled or younger-than-13 child, even if you’ve released the right to a dependency exemption.
    
    

• Flexible Spending covers charges for:

  • Baby sitters or companions
  • Day-care centers that meet state and local regulations if they provide care for more than six nonresident people
  • Day-care centers with less than six nonresident people
  • Preschools
  • Persons providing care who are not:
    • claimed as a dependent on your (or your spouse's) tax return
    • your children/stepchildren younger than 19 at the end of the plan year
    • your spouse
  • Expenses for household services that at least partly include the care of a qualifying individual
    
    

• Contribution limits:

  • Single or married filing taxes separately — $2,500 per year
  • Married filing taxes jointly — $5,000 per year
  • Contributions cannot exceed your earned income or your spouse's earned income, whichever is less.
• To submit dependent care expenses, both you and your spouse must work, unless your spouse is a full-time student or is disabled. If your spouse is a full-time student or is physically or mentally incapable of self-care, the spouse is deemed to have earned an income of $200 if dependent care expenses apply to one dependent, or $400 if dependent care expenses apply to two or more dependents. These amounts apply for each month of disability or school attendance.

Remember

• If you choose to participate in Flexible Spending for dependent care expenses, you cannot claim a dependent care credit on your tax return for the portion claimed in Flexible Spending.
• You cannot use any Flexible Spending money allocated for dependent care expenses for medical expenses, and visa versa. The two accounts must remain separate.
• If you don’t use the money in your account for services received during the plan year, you’ll lose any amounts not spent by the end of the plan year (including the grace period). If you end employment during the plan year, you cannot make additional contributions. Plus, you cannot be reimbursed for expenses incurred after your termination date.
• You’ll forfeit any balances in your Flexible Spending account at the end of the month in which you end employment or go to part-time status, unless you enroll in COBRA and choose to continue making after-tax Flexible Spending contributions.
• Attach an invoice for payment to a day-care center or to an individual who provides the care.
• If an individual provides the care, please include his/her Social Security number or tax identification number.
• If the provider takes care of more than six children (not including his or her own children), he or she must be licensed by the state.
• The individual who provides the care cannot be your spouse or your child younger than 19.
• Expenses claimed cannot exceed your earned income or your spouse's earned income, whichever is less.

Submitting Your Claim:

• Send paper claim forms and any necessary attachments to:
  
  

  Deseret Mutual Benefit
  Administrators – Flexible Spending,
  P.O. Box 45530,
  Salt Lake City, Utah 84145
  
  

• You may also fax your paper claims to 801-578-5903

Questions

• Please feel free to contact us.