FSA Deadlines: Every Date That Matters
FSA deadlines depend on your plan's design. Use-it-or-lose-it is the FSA rule, but some plans offer carryover or grace periods. Learn every date that matters.
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Short answer
Four dates can land on your FSA calendar: plan year end, claims deadline, and, if your plan has one, a grace period cutoff or a carryover cap. Miss the one that applies to you and your leftover balance is forfeited. That rule is FSA-only. An HSA has no matching deadline, and an HRA runs on your employer's own calendar.
Which date is real for you depends on what your plan offers. The plan year end triggers forfeiture by default. The run-out period is your window to file claims for money already spent. A grace period, where offered, extends spending into the new year by up to 2 months and 15 days. Carryover, where offered, has no deadline at all beyond an annual dollar cap. Your plan document names which of these applies to you and the exact day.
The use-it-or-lose-it rule and account types
Mark one date on your calendar before any other: the last day of your plan year. IRS guidance is direct: "the use-or-lose rule... requires that unused benefits or contributions remaining as of the end of the plan year ... be forfeited". That is what happens by default on that date. Two IRS-permitted exceptions can push the real deadline later: a carryover or a grace period. Whether either applies to you sits in your plan document, not in this general rule.
This deadline is an FSA-only date. An HSA has no matching entry on the calendar: under IRS rules, "amounts that remain at the end of the year are generally carried over to the next year", with no dollar cap attached. An HRA has a date too, but your employer's plan design sets it, not a single IRS rule that applies to everyone.
The FSA calendar, one entry at a time
Four entries can appear on your FSA calendar, though not every plan carries all four. Here they are in the order they happen, with what changes on each one.
Plan year end date
Date one: your plan year ends. Your employer sets this date, and for most plans it lands on December 31, though a handful run on a different twelve-month cycle. Your summary plan description states the exact day. Once that date passes, whatever is sitting in your account becomes subject to forfeiture, unless date two or date three below applies to your plan.
Run-out period
Date two: your claims deadline, inside the run-out period. This window opens right after your plan year ends. The IRS defines it as "a period immediately following the end of a plan year during which a participant can submit a claim for reimbursement of expenses incurred for qualified benefits during the plan year". It sets no minimum or maximum length. Your plan document has the actual number of days. What you do in this window: file paperwork for money you already spent last year. What you cannot do: buy something new and expect the old balance to cover it.
Grace period (if your plan offers it)
Date three, option A: the grace period deadline. Not every plan has one, and a plan can only have this or carryover, never both, since a carryover plan "is not permitted to also provide a grace period with respect to health FSAs". Where a grace period exists, it runs up to 2 months and 15 days past the plan year end. On a December 31 plan year, that puts the outer edge around March 15. Anything left in last year's balance is still spendable on eligible purchases up to that date. After it passes, whatever remains is gone.
Carryover option (if your plan offers it)
Date three, option B: no hard deadline, just a cap. If your plan adopts carryover instead of a grace period, your unspent balance moves into the next plan year on its own, up to a dollar limit. For 2026, "the maximum carryover amount is $680, an increase of $20 from tax years beginning in 2025", and anything above that line is still forfeited on your plan year end date. The $680 lands on top of whatever you elect to contribute for the new year, and you then get the full next plan year to spend it.
How to find out which deadlines apply to you
Nothing on this page can hand you your exact dates. Only one document can: the summary plan description or plan document your employer issued when you enrolled. What follows is where to find it and what it will tell you once you do.
Where to look
The enrollment packet or benefits handbook your employer gave you. It is a required document, and it lists every deadline your plan actually uses.
Your administrator's online portal. Once you are signed in, plan rules and a dated summary of key dates are usually a few clicks away.
Your HR or benefits contact, directly. Three questions get you every date: when does our plan year end, do we run a grace period or carryover, and what is the claims deadline?
What the plan document will say
Four section headers to scan for: plan year, grace period, carryover, and run-out period. Wherever your plan lands, the document names the actual day, and if carryover applies, confirms whether your employer set the cap at the 2026 maximum of $680 or lower. No mention of grace period or carryover anywhere in the document means neither applies to you, and your full balance is due by the plan year end date.
What to do with a balance before it expires
Once you know which dates apply to your plan, the only real work left is spending with intention so the money gets used instead of forfeited.
Before the plan year ends (no carryover or grace period)
No exception, no extra time: this is the strict version of date one. Everything you paid out of pocket this plan year is still fair game, because what counts is when the expense happened, not when you request money back for it. A December 15 appointment still counts even if you file in January, as long as it lands inside the run-out period from date two above.
During a grace period window
This is date three, option A, and it is your last chance to spend last year's money. Common moves in this window: buying a pair of glasses, stocking up on eligible over-the-counter medicine, replacing hearing aid batteries, or booking an appointment and paying out of pocket, then requesting reimbursement before the window closes.
If your plan offers carryover
This is date three, option B, and there is no rush. Up to $680 of last year's balance is already sitting in your account for the new plan year, spendable on any eligible expense whenever you need it. Think of it as a cushion, not a coupon with an expiration date.
Getting it reimbursed with Burst
Burst handles the letter and the claim. You request the letter of medical necessity in about two minutes for $35, a licensed clinician reviews it, and it typically lands in your inbox within 24 hours. Burst files the reimbursement claim with your FSA, HSA or HRA administrator. The administrator pays you out of your account by deposit or check. No letter, no charge. Claim denied, money back. Request it before you buy, because the letter has to be dated on or before the purchase it covers.
Frequently asked questions
What is the use-it-or-lose-it rule?
Use-it-or-lose-it is the FSA rule that turns your plan year end date into a hard deadline, unless your plan adds carryover or a grace period. It has no HSA equivalent, since HSA money simply carries forward. HRA dates are set by your employer's plan, not by this rule.
What is the FSA deadline for 2026?
It depends on which calendar date applies to your plan. Options are the plan year end (commonly December 31), a grace period running into mid-March, or a carryover with no real deadline, just a $680 cap for 2026. Your plan document names which one is yours.
What is the FSA claim deadline?
You file inside the run-out period, the window right after your plan year closes. The IRS leaves the exact length up to your employer, so your plan document has the specific date for your workplace.
Grace period or carryover: how are they different?
A grace period sets a hard stop, up to 2 months and 15 days after your plan year ends. Carryover sets a dollar cap instead, up to $680 for 2026, with the full next plan year to spend it. Your plan runs exactly one of the two, never both.
Can I carry over my FSA balance into next year?
Only if carryover is the option your plan chose. The cap for 2026 is $680. Without carryover, your balance is forfeited at the plan year end date, unless your plan runs a grace period instead.
Does my HSA or HRA have a deadline like an FSA does?
No. An HSA carries no expiration date and no dollar limit on what rolls forward. An HRA runs on whatever calendar your employer's plan design sets. The forfeiture deadline above is an FSA-only rule.
When should I spend my FSA balance?
By your plan year end date if you have no grace period or carryover. Into mid-March if you have a grace period. Anytime in the next plan year, with no rush, if you have carryover.
Keep reading: FSA Grace Period Deadline, How Much Should I Contribute to My FSA?, Deadlines, Limits and Plan Rules, and all guides on this topic.
Sources
IRS Notice 2013-71 (use-or-lose rule definition, run-out period definition, grace period definition, carryover and grace period exclusivity, 2026 carryover maximum)
IRS newsroom: tax inflation adjustments for tax year 2026 (2026 FSA carryover maximum of $680)
IRS Publication 969, Health Savings Accounts and Other Tax-Favored Health Plans (HSA automatic carryover with no cap or deadline; HSA definition)
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