2026 FSA Limits: Health FSA, Carryover, Limited-Purpose FSA and 2025 Limits
The official 2026 health FSA salary-reduction limit and carryover, the 2024 and 2025 limits, the limited-purpose FSA that works with an HSA, and how an FSA, HSA and HRA differ.
The 2026 health FSA salary-reduction contribution limit is $3,400 per employee. If the employer's plan allows a carryover of unused amounts into the next plan year, the most it may carry over is $680. The IRS has not yet published the 2027 health FSA limit or carryover (as of November 4, 2026); they come in its annual inflation-adjustment Revenue Procedure (2027 FSA limits). Until then the latest official figures are the 2026 $3,400 limit and $680 carryover (IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32), and the dependent-care FSA limit stays $7,500 in 2027 because it is fixed by statute (26 U.S.C. §129(a)(2)(A)).
Official Published by the IRS for tax year 2026 (IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32). These are the figures for income earned in 2026, reported on the 2026 return filed in early 2027. Planning for 2027? See the 2027 figures →
| Limit | 2026 |
|---|---|
| Health FSA salary reduction contribution limit | $3,400 |
| Maximum carryover of unused amounts | $680 |
The limit is per employee, so both spouses can each contribute up to $3,400 to their own employer's FSA in the same year, even if they are married filing jointly. A plan is not required to offer a carryover at all — it may instead offer a short grace period, or neither, and forfeit unused amounts under the "use it or lose it" rule. A dependent-care FSA is a separate account with its own limit, unrelated to this one: from 2026 it is $7,500 a year ($3,750 for a married person filing separately), up from $5,000, under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (26 U.S.C. §129(a)(2)(A): the exclusion “shall not exceed $7,500 ($3,750 in the case of a separate return by a married individual)”).
FSA limits 2024, 2025, 2026 and 2027
| Year | Health FSA | Carryover | Dependent-care FSA | QSEHRA self / family | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $3,200 | $640 | $5,000 | $6,150 / $12,450 | IRS Rev. Proc. 2023-34 |
| 2025 | $3,300 | $660 | $5,000 | $6,350 / $12,800 | IRS Rev. Proc. 2024-40 |
| 2026 | $3,400 | $680 | $7,500 | $6,450 / $13,100 | IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 |
| 2027 | Not yet published | Not yet published | $7,500 | Not yet published | 2027 FSA limit |
The 2025 FSA limit was $3,300 with a $660 carryover (IRS Rev. Proc. 2024-40); 2024 was $3,200 and $640 (IRS Rev. Proc. 2023-34). The dependent-care limit is a fixed dollar amount in the statute, not indexed: $5,000 through 2025 and $7,500 from 2026 (26 U.S.C. §129(a)(2)(A)). Dependent care FSA limit 2026 and the credit it competes with →
FSA rollover (carryover) limit 2026
Up to $680 of unused 2026 health FSA money can roll into the 2027 plan year — but only if your employer’s plan offers a carryover (IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32). The carryover does not count against the next plan year’s limit, so you can elect the full new amount on top of it. A plan may offer a grace period of up to 2.5 months instead, or neither, but not both (IRS Notice 2013-71). Anything above the carryover is forfeited.
Limited-purpose FSA: the FSA that works with an HSA
A general health FSA counts as other health coverage, so it stops you contributing to an HSA. A limited-purpose health FSA does not: it pays only for dental care, vision care and the other items an HSA-eligible person may have covered, plus preventive care. A post-deductible FSA, which pays nothing until the HDHP minimum deductible is met, is allowed too (IRS Publication 969 (2025), Health Savings Accounts and Other Tax-Favored Health Plans, “Other employee health plans”). The same $3,400 limit applies. Pairing one with an HSA lets you spend the FSA on glasses and dental work and leave the HSA invested: the 2026 HSA limits are $4,400 self-only and $8,750 family (2026 HSA limits).
FSA vs HSA vs HRA
| Health FSA | HSA | HRA | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who puts money in | You (salary reduction), and your employer if the plan allows | You, your employer, anyone | Your employer only |
| 2026 limit | $3,400 | $4,400 / $8,750 | Set by the employer; a QSEHRA at most $6,450 / $13,100 |
| Needs a high-deductible plan | No | Yes (HDHP, or from 2026 a bronze or catastrophic marketplace plan) | No |
| Unused money | Forfeited, except a carryover or grace period | Yours; rolls over and can be invested | Plan rules decide |
| Leaves with you | No | Yes | Usually no |
The QSEHRA figures are from IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 section 4.63. Bronze and catastrophic marketplace plans count as high-deductible plans under 26 U.S.C. §223 (health savings accounts) (c)(2)(H), added by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. HSA rules: eligibility and the triple tax advantage →
FSA and HSA eligible expenses
Both accounts pay for “medical care” as the tax code defines it for the medical expense deduction (26 U.S.C. §223 (health savings accounts) (d)(2)(A); IRS Publication 502, Medical and Dental Expenses). That includes doctor, dental and hospital bills, prescription drugs and insulin, eyeglasses and contact lenses, physical examinations and psychiatric care; menstrual care products are named in the statute. It does not include cosmetic surgery or general health-club dues. Your plan may limit the list further (a limited-purpose FSA, for one), and the expense must not be paid by insurance.
Your 2026 FSA room
What a 2026 health FSA contribution saves you in tax
Enter what you would put in. The tax engine figures your 2026 return with and without it: federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare tax, and state income tax.
2026 federal and state returns as filed (the Tax Table where the form uses it), from the same tax engine as the federal income tax calculator. Your own wages only, no other income, the standard deduction. The limit is $3,400 per employee; up to $680 of unused money can carry over if your plan allows it (some plans give a grace period instead, or neither). State treatment: California taxes HSA contributions and New Jersey taxes both HSA and FSA contributions, so they get no state saving here; every other state is treated as following the federal exclusion, and city or county income taxes are not included.
See your whole 2026 return in the Return Preview → Enter your W-2 box 1 wages, which are already net of a payroll health FSA contribution, and it figures every line of the federal and state return.
An FSA is a one-year bet on your own spending — a retirement plan is a forty-year one. QuantCalc runs your whole retirement — withdrawals, taxes, Medicare surcharges — year by year, on the 2026 figures above.
Run the free tax-aware simulation →Common questions
What is the FSA contribution limit for 2026?
The 2026 health FSA salary-reduction contribution limit is $3,400 per employee. If the employer's plan allows a carryover of unused amounts into the next plan year, the most it may carry over is $680. Source: IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32.
Can unused FSA money carry over?
Only if the employer's plan allows it, and only up to $680 for 2026 (IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32). A plan may instead offer a grace period of up to 2.5 months, or neither.
What is the 2027 FSA limit?
See 2027 FSA contribution limit, not yet published — the IRS Revenue Procedure lands in the autumn.
What were the 2025 FSA limits?
$3,300 for a health FSA, with a $660 maximum carryover (IRS Rev. Proc. 2024-40). The dependent-care FSA limit was $5,000 (26 U.S.C. §129(a)(2)(A)).
What is a limited-purpose FSA?
A health FSA that pays only for dental, vision and preventive care, so it does not stop you contributing to an HSA (IRS Publication 969). Its 2026 limit is the same $3,400.
Sources
Every figure on this page is read at build time from QuantCalc’s tax constants, the same ones the planner runs on, and was checked against the text of the documents above. Every figure with its source: JSON. QuantCalc is calculation software, not tax advice.
Related
2026 HSA contribution limits → 2026 401(k) contribution limits → Dependent care FSA limit 2026 → HSA rules 2026 →