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Flexible Spending Accounts
The City of San Diego Flexible Benefits Plan provides City employees with the option to participate in Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA). An FSA allows employees to set aside pre-tax contributions from their gross pay to be used towards qualifying expenses. A Dental/ Medical/Vision (DMV) FSA is used for qualifying medical expenses and Dependent/Child Care (DCC) FSA is used for qualifying dependent care expenses.
Some advantages include:
- They help you budget your health care and dependent care expenses in advance of the upcoming year
- You can fund these accounts through convenient payroll deductions
- In most cases, these accounts save you from paying more taxes than through either itemized deductions or tax credits
Because your contributions to both the DMV FSA and DCC FSA are on a pre-tax basis, you have more spendable income.
Note: medical insurance premiums are not eligible to be reimbursed through the DMV FSA option.
WageWorks is the administrator of the City’s Flexible Spending Accounts. Benefits include:
- Debit card for DMV account
- Submit receipts via mobile phone
- 24-hour online access to account
- Ability to set-up payments for recurring expenses
When you enroll in the FSA reimbursement option you will receive information on how to establish a log-in with WageWorks and process claims.
Estimate Your Expenses Carefully
When you enroll in the Flexible Benefits Plan for the coming year, you will need to decide how much you want to set aside in one or both reimbursement accounts. Be sure you estimate your expenses carefully as the IRS has special rules that apply and you will forfeit any remaining money after the Plan Year ends. These forfeitures cannot be deducted on your income tax return.
FY 2020 Plan Year Designations
| Account | Minimum | Maximum |
|---|---|---|
| DMV | $240 | $2,700 |
| DCC | $240 | $5,000 |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a flexible spending account?
A flexible spending account (FSA) is a tax-deferred spending account that helps City employees pay for certain medical and child care expenses not covered by an insurance plan. Employees who enroll in an FSA will contribute pre-tax dollars from their paycheck into an account offered by the City of San Diego.
To withdraw these funds tax-free to pay for qualified expenses, employees will submit a request for reimbursement using SAP Self-Services. Some examples of qualified expenses include health insurance premiums, out-of-pocket medical costs, child care provider fees, or pre-school expenses.
What expenses are eligible for reimbursement?
The IRS determines which expenses can be reimbursed by an FSA.
Not unless you have a Qualifying Event. Once you enroll for the DMV reimbursement plan, you are not allowed to change or cancel your contribution unless there is a related Qualifying Event. Please see the 
Qualifying Event Chart for more information.
Yes. Per IRS Section 125 regulations, an employee cannot be reimbursed for the dependent/child care reimbursement if the spouse is not working or is not a student. IRS allows the dependent child/care reimbursement to be canceled if this situation occurs. You have 30 days from the date of the event to inform the Flexible Benefits Plan Office at 619-236-5924 and have the contribution stopped.
No. Because of IRS regulations, each account is set up separately and the funds cannot be mixed.
What happens to my reimbursement accounts if I leave my job mid-year?
You may submit claims up to 30 days after termination for expenses you incurred while eligible for the reimbursement option. An option to continue the flexible spending account for Dental/Medical/Vision is available under the COBRA plan by paying the monthly premium plus 2% administrative fee. A COBRA letter will be mailed to you to notify you about the plans available for continuation. If you decide to continue to contribute to the plan, an invoice will be sent until the plan year ends or when you elect to cancel.
No. If a receipt has been submitted for reimbursement to another employer, the employee cannot submit the same receipt for reimbursement or claim the same receipt on the federal income tax return because your spouse has already taken advantage of the pre-tax benefit.