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Flexible
Spending Accounts
Effective January 1, 1989, Mount
Holyoke College established two Flexible Spending Accounts, the Dependent
Care Account and the Health Care Spending Account. These accounts
let you use before-tax dollars to help you pay for eligible out-of-pocket
expenses. Hence, both reduce your taxable income.
The open enrollment for the Flexible Spending Accounts are held
during the month of November for the next calendar year.
The Health Care Spending Account
The Health Care Spending Account allows participants to pay for
eligible medical expenses with pre-tax dollars through automatic
payroll deductions.
The Dependent Care Spending Account
With the Dependent Care Spending Account you may obtain a tax advantage
for dependent care expenses by paying for them with the tax-free
dollars.
You cannot use both a Dependent Care Spending Account and the federal
tax credit for the same expenses. The amount you contribute to a
Dependent Care Spending Account will reduce, dollar-for-dollar,
the amount you may claim as a tax credit.
How the Mount Holyoke College Spending Accounts Work
Participation in one or both of the Spending Accounts is voluntary.
In general, a Spending Account works this way:
- You estimate what your eligible expenses will be for the year
(using the information provided in the booklet you receive each
November for participation in the upcoming Plan Year of January
1 through December 31 and/or your own tax adviser as a guide)
and designate that amount on your enrollment form.
- The College will set up an account for you and fund it with
your contributions.
- The amount of pay you contribute to your account will be deducted
from your paycheck in equal amounts each pay period until you
reach the yearly maximum you have specified.
(Please note: your contributions must be at least $120.00 per
Plan Year to participate in a Spending Account)
- The amount of your pay that goes into a Spending Account will
not count as taxable income, so you will have immediate tax savings.
- To be reimbursed for an eligible expense, complete a claim
form and include the required documentation supporting your request.
Claim forms are provided at the time of your enrollment and additional
forms are available at the Human Resources Department, or use
the mySourceCard Debit Card for immediate reimbursement.
Eligibility and Participation
You are eligible to participate in a Spending Account if you are:
- a continuing Faculty member working half time or more; or
- a regular staff member working at least 17.5 hours per week
(staff in Dining Services and Facilities Management must work
at least 20 hours per week); or
- an eligible active employee who is not currently enrolled but
has a "Qualified Status Change Event". You have 30
days from the date of the qualifying event to enroll in a Spending
Account.
To participate in a Spending Account during 2009, you must
have enrolled between November 1 and November 30, 2007, for the
Plan Year
beginning
January 1, 2008.
The Plan Year for 2008 runs from January 1 to December 31.
Determining your Eligible Expenses
When you enroll, you must decide how much you want to contribute
to your account. You will need to spend some time estimating your
anticipated eligible health or dependent care expenses. Federal
tax regulation requires that any unused amount will be forfeited.
Expenses are treated as having been incurred when the services
are rendered, and not when you are formally billed or charged for,
or pay for the services.
Submitting Claims
Mount Holyoke College has contracted with American Benefits Group,
The Cutlery Building, 320 Riverside Drive, PO Box 1209, Northampton,
MA 01061-1209, to administer the Spending Accounts.
To receive reimbursement you may submit a completed claim
form for eligible expenses along with the appropriate documentation
to
American Benefits Group. Claim forms for reimbursement of Health
Care and Dependent Care expenses are available in the Human Resources
Department.
Access your Flexible Spending
dollars using the mySourceCard Debit Card. No waiting for reimbursement,
simply use your card to pay for qualified medical, dental and dependent
care expenses.
American Benefits has requested that all Mount Holyoke College
flexible spending participants receive reimbursements through direct
deposit rather than by check, in order to implement a more efficient
reimbursement process.
Your Contribution Limits
Minimum Contribution
For the Plan Year, each Spending Account has a minimum contribution
requirement of $120.00 per Plan Year.
Maximum Contribution
Health Care Spending Account: During the Plan Year (January 1 -
December 31), you may contribute up to $6,000.
Dependent Care Spending Account: Under current IRS regulations
the maximum amount you may contribute to a Dependent Care Spending
Account is $5,000.
- If you are married, both you and your spouse must be working
if you want to use the Dependent Care Spending Account (unless
your spouse is a full
time student or is disabled). The amount you and your spouse
may contribute to your account is limited, by law, to the smaller
of your two incomes. If your spouse is a full-time student or
is disabled, the IRS will consider your spouse to have an income
of either $200 or $400 a month, depending on the number of children
you have.
- $5,000 per year, if you are single, or if you are married and
file a joint tax return; or
- $2,500 per year, if you are married and you and your spouse
file separate tax returns.
Changing or Stopping Your Contributions
You will have 30 days to change your participation status after
a Qualified Status Change Event occurs. To do so, you must contact
the Human Resources Department.
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