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Who does my pre-tax benefits cover?

  • Updated

Health Care FSA, Limited Purpose FSA, HRA

You may request reimbursement for qualified health care and medical expenses incurred by the following persons:

  1. Yourself
  2. Your spouse
  3. All dependents claimed on your tax return
  4. Children under the age of 27
  5. Those who you could have claimed as a dependent on your tax return except that:
    • The person filed a joint return
    • The person had a gross income of $4,300 or more
    • You, or your spouse if filing jointly could be claimed as a dependent on someone else’s tax return.

For this purpose, a child of parents that are divorced, separated, or living apart for the last 6 months of the calendar year is treated as the dependent of both parents whether or not the custodial parent releases the claim to the child’s exemption.

HSA

You may request reimbursement for qualified health care and medical expenses incurred by the following persons:

  1. Yourself
  2. Your spouse
  3. All dependents claimed on your tax return
  4. Those who you could have claimed as a dependent on your tax return except that:
    • The person filed a joint return
    • The person had a gross income of $4,300 or more
    • You, or your spouse if filing jointly could be claimed as a dependent on someone else’s tax return.

For this purpose, a child of parents that are divorced, separated, or living apart for the last 6 months of the calendar year is treated as the dependent of both parents whether or not the custodial parent releases the claim to the child’s exemption.

Dependent Care FSA

You may request reimbursement for dependent care expenses incurred by the following persons:

  1. A dependent child who is 13 years old or younger when the care was provided
    • A parent who is divorced or separated and does not claim a child as a tax dependent can qualify for dependent care expenses in the following cases:
      • The child received over half of his or her support during the calendar year from one or both parents who are divorced or legally separated under a decree of divorce or separate maintenance, are separated under a written separation agreement, or lived apart at all times during the last 6 months of the calendar year, the child was in the custody of one or both parents for more than half the year, and you were the child's custodial parent.
        • The custodial parent is the parent with whom the child lived with for the greater number of nights of the year. If the child was with each parent for an equal number of nights, the custodial parent is the parent with the higher adjusted gross income. For details and an exception for a parent who works at night, see Pub. 501.
        • The noncustodial parent can't treat the child as a qualifying person even if that parent is entitled to claim the child as a dependent under the special rules for a child of divorced or separated parents.
        • For more information about who is a dependent or a qualifying child, see Pub. 501, Dependents, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information.
  1. A spouse who is not physically or mentally able to care for themselves and who you have lived with for more than half the year
  2. A person who in not physically or mentally able to care for themselves and who you have lived with for more than half the year, and:
    • Is your dependent
    • Would have been considered a dependent except that:
      • They received a gross income greater than $4,300
      • They filed a joint return
      • You, or your spouse if filing jointly, could be claimed as a dependent on someone else's tax return.

HRA specific

HRA funds can be used to pay eligible medical expenses for any family member who qualifies as a dependent on the employee's tax return. However, the rule is permissive, not mandatory. Dependent eligibility depends on the employer’s HRA program policy. A dependent may need to be covered by health insurance (or individual health insurance, in the case of the ICHRA).

Commuter Benefits Accounts

Transit and/or parking benefits are limited to employee expenses only: reimbursement is not allowed for spouse or dependent transit or parking expenses.

Under none of the plans can an employee reimburse the expenses of their non-married domestic partner.

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