Nannies and dependent care FSA

emilyec1

I am filing my first claim for the dependent care FSA. Can I claim the full amount I pay nanny each week or only the non-tax portion that goes to her? For example if we paid her 500/week and 50 of that we withhold to pay the IRS on her behalf, do I claim 500 or 450? Thanks!

cnthrdlywt2bwZ

Maybe ask HR?
We can claim only up to 5,000 for the year on our dependent FSA, so I'm not sure how it works for you.

doxgirl

The gross amount paid.

boogerbearoriginal

Ditto PP - I called our FSA vendor and they said the gross pay is what we claim.

SCtoDC

In my experience, they only pay out up to as much as you've contributed to the FSA so far.  That means I claim less than half of what I actually paid her because my bi-monthly contributions are less than half of what we pay her.

Does that make sense?

It doesn't start with the full $5000 available like HSAs, they have to accumulate.  So it almost doesn't matter what you "claim," they don't use that form as a tracker of what you are actually paying for child care.

emilyec1

Thanks everyone!! I so appreciate y'all taking the time to respond!