Flex your Flex: Dependent Care
Set it and forget it!
Many employees at the University utilize Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs or Flex Accounts) to save on taxes. Those who utilize a medical FSA can use a debit card and submit receipts to UND’s Flex benefit manager, ASIFlex. Those with Dependent Care FSAs do not have such a card. Instead, they must pay out of pocket and submit for reimbursement following the expense.
Child care, especially daycare, is a regularly occurring expense. Rather then submitting for reimbursement every pay period, employees have the option to utilize the Dependent Care Automatic Claim Request form to have their claim submitted on their behalf and receive reimbursement automatically. For employees with a recurring reimbursement set up, their pre-tax deduction will come out of their paycheck and a few days later they will receive that money back through auto-deposit in their account, tax free.
Please note that IRS regulations disallow reimbursement for services that have not yet been provided, so even if you pay in advance for your expenses, you can only claim service periods that have already occurred. For example, if you are required to pay for all of January’s child care expenses on January 1st, you cannot claim the entire month’s expense until the end of January. If you utilize recurring reimbursement, you will be reimbursed at the end of the pay period for your expenses that occurred in the prior pay period.
Submit the Dependent Care Automatic Claim Request form through the ASIFlex Self Service mobile app or online at ASIFlex.com.
Questions?
Contact Cheryl Arntz, UND’s Flex Account expert at cheryl.arntz@UND.edu or 7.4423
