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Contact lens FSA and HSA planner

Find the date your benefit money actually stops being usable, how much of your balance is genuinely at risk rather than protected, how much lens supply it buys, and what the tax break is worth. Health FSA, limited-purpose FSA, and HSA. Everything is calculated in your browser.

Last reviewed 2026-08-09. Dollar limits come from IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32 and Revenue Procedure 2025-19. Plan design rules come from IRS Notice 2013-71 and Publication 969.

Your account and deadline

Everything runs in your browser. No balances, dates, or plan details are uploaded.

Which account are you spending from?

Health FSAEmployer plan funded by salary reduction. It has a plan year and a spending deadline.Limited-purpose FSASame deadlines as a health FSA, but restricted to dental and vision expenses, which is where lenses sit.HSAPaired with a high deductible health plan. The money is yours and does not expire at year end.

Balance available right nowRead this from your administrator's portal, not from your last pay stub. Pending claims can change it.Last day of your plan yearMost plan years end December 31, but plenty run on a different cycle. Your summary plan description says which.

What happens to money left at year end?

CarryoverA set amount rolls into the next plan year. Anything above that amount still has to be spent by the plan year end.Grace periodYou get extra time after the plan year to incur expenses, up to two months and fifteen days.NeitherStrict use or lose. Every unspent dollar stops being available after the plan year ends.

A health FSA may offer a carryover or a grace period, but not both.

Carryover your plan allows$680 is the IRS maximum for plan years beginning in 2026. Your employer may set a lower figure, so check before you rely on it.Claim filing window after the plan year endsThis is the run out period for submitting receipts. It is set by your plan and is not the same thing as the spending deadline.Lead time you want before the deadlineRoom for an appointment, prescriber verification, and a card that gets declined at the wrong moment.

What you plan to buy

Price per box of lensesBoxes you plan to orderEye exam or fitting feeSolution, drops, and lens suppliesPrescription glasses or prescription sunglasses

Tax estimate

Your marginal federal income tax rateFunded by payroll deductionAdds the 7.65% employee share of Social Security and Medicare tax to the estimate. Health FSA contributions always run through payroll. HSA contributions do only when made through an employer cafeteria plan.

This is a rough estimate, not tax advice. State and local taxes are not included, and a few states treat these accounts differently.

Fill in the left side

For a health FSA or limited-purpose FSA, the tool needs your balance and the last day of your plan year before it can work out a spend by date, a claim by date, and how much of your balance is genuinely at risk. For an HSA it needs your coverage type and what you have contributed so far.

Nothing you type leaves your browser.

After the boxes arrive

A benefit deadline order is usually the biggest lens order of the year, and it turns into a drawer full of loose boxes within a week. Sturdysight organizers are reusable hard-shell cases, one labeled L and one labeled R, that hold sealed unopened daily-disposable blister packs so the supply stays countable. They are not soaking cases and never hold worn lenses, bare lenses, or solution.

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Not sure which size? Use the case size finder.

Whether any particular product qualifies for reimbursement is decided by your plan and your administrator. Ask them before you assume, and keep the itemized receipt either way.

Reference figures used here: the $3,400 health FSA salary reduction limit and $680 maximum carryover for plan years beginning in 2026, and the $4,400 self only and $8,750 family HSA contribution limits for 2026. Your own plan can be more restrictive than the federal maximum.

The deadline is not one date, it is three

Every December, benefits administrators field the same call. Someone has a few hundred dollars left in a flexible spending account, they have heard the money disappears, and they want to know how long they have. The honest answer takes three dates, and most people only know about one of them.

The first is the last day you may incur an expense against the plan year. The second is the last day you may submit a claim for an expense already incurred, which plans call the run out period and which is usually somewhere between thirty and ninety days after the plan year ends. The third is the one you set yourself: the day you have to place the order so that an appointment, a prescriber verification, and shipping all fit before the first date. Confusing the first two is the single most common way people lose money that was already theirs.

A long run out period feels reassuring and does nothing for you if you have not bought anything. It exists so that a claim for a December 28 eye exam can still be filed in February. It does not let you shop in February.

Three ways a plan can end its year

The original rule for a health flexible spending arrangement was strictly use or lose. In 2013 the IRS modified that rule to let a plan carry a limited amount forward, and the alternative of a grace period had existed since 2005. A plan may adopt one or the other, or neither, but never both. Which one your employer picked changes your deadline by months and changes how much of your balance is really at stake.

Carryover

Rev. Proc. 2025-32

A set dollar amount of whatever is left rolls into the next plan year and stays spendable. For plan years beginning in 2026 the IRS maximum carryover is 680 dollars, and an employer may set a lower figure or none at all. Money above the carryover amount still disappears at the end of the plan year, which is the part people miss when they hear the word carryover and relax.

Grace period

IRS Notice 2013-71

Instead of rolling money forward, the plan gives you extra time to incur expenses against the old year, up to two months and fifteen days after the plan year ends. On a calendar year plan that runs to March 15. The full remaining balance is available during those weeks, not just a capped amount, which makes a grace period the more generous design for anyone sitting on a large balance.

Neither

Section 125 rules

Plain use or lose. Every dollar you do not spend by the last day of the plan year stops being available to you. This is still a common design, and it is the one that produces the December vision store rush.

There is a fourth possibility worth knowing about even though it does not change your date. Health FSA money is available in full from the first day of the plan year, not accumulated month by month like a savings account. If you elected 1,200 dollars and you need lenses in January, all 1,200 dollars is spendable in January even though you have contributed 100 dollars so far. That front loading is the strongest argument for getting the annual lens order out of the way early in the plan year rather than late.

What a lens wearer can actually buy with it

The federal definition of a qualified medical expense is the same one used for the medical expense deduction, and it is set out in IRS Publication 502. For contact lens wearers it is unusually generous, because vision correction is one of the categories the publication names directly rather than leaving to interpretation.

Contact lenses

Publication 502 lists amounts paid for contact lenses needed for medical reasons as an includible medical expense. That covers the boxes themselves, in whatever quantity your prescription supports.

Equipment and materials for using contact lenses

The same publication names saline solution and enzyme cleaner explicitly as equipment and materials required for using contact lenses. Most administrators read the category the same way for other lens care supplies.

Eyeglasses and prescription sunglasses

Eyeglasses needed for medical reasons are includible. Prescription sunglasses are usually treated the same way. Nonprescription sunglasses are not.

Eye examinations and contact lens fittings

The exam is a medical expense. The contact lens fitting fee that some practices bill separately is generally treated the same way, and it is often the cheapest way to clear a small remaining balance.

Eye surgery

Publication 502 includes eye surgery to treat defective vision, such as laser surgery or radial keratotomy. This is the line item that turns a large balance into a genuine decision rather than a shopping trip.

Over the counter eye products

Since a 2020 change in the law, over the counter medicines and products no longer need a prescription to be reimbursed from an FSA or HSA. Lubricating drops are the usual example for lens wearers. Your administrator's current eligibility list is the operative document.

Two cautions. First, your plan document can be narrower than the federal definition, and the administrator applies the plan document. Second, an online eligibility list published by a retailer is a marketing resource, not a ruling. When an item sits near a line, ask your administrator in writing before you spend, and keep the itemized receipt whatever the answer is.

FSA, limited-purpose FSA, and HSA side by side

People often hold more than one of these at once, and the order you spend them in matters. If you have an HSA and a limited-purpose FSA, the limited-purpose account is the one with a deadline and the narrower list of uses, so lenses should come out of it first. Money left in an HSA is not lost, it is invested or waiting.

Account	Who owns it	2026 funding	When you can spend it	What it covers
Health FSA	Employer plan. You forfeit what you do not use, subject to the carryover or grace period your plan chose.	Salary reduction, capped at 3,400 dollars for plan years beginning in 2026.	The entire annual election is available on day one of the plan year, even though you fund it by payroll over twelve months.	Medical, dental, and vision expenses, which includes lenses.
Limited-purpose FSA	Same forfeiture rules as a health FSA.	Same contribution limit as a health FSA.	Same day one availability.	Dental and vision only, so it exists to be spent on exactly this. If you have one alongside an HSA, spend the limited-purpose FSA on lenses first.
HSA	Yours. It moves with you between jobs and plans, and the balance rolls forward with no deadline.	4,400 dollars self only or 8,750 dollars family for 2026, plus 1,000 dollars if you are 55 or older.	You can only spend what has actually been deposited, so contributions accumulate rather than front loading.	Same qualified medical expense definition, with no year end pressure to use it.

An HSA also requires you to be covered by a high deductible health plan to contribute. For 2026 that means a plan with a minimum annual deductible of 1,700 dollars for self only coverage or 3,400 dollars for family coverage, and annual out of pocket amounts no higher than 8,500 dollars and 17,000 dollars respectively. You can spend an existing HSA balance whether or not you are still eligible to contribute.

The prescription rule does not care about your deadline

This is where benefit deadline shopping goes wrong most expensively. A contact lens purchase in the United States is governed by the FTC Contact Lens Rule no matter what account is paying. A seller may not fill an expired prescription. If a prescriber tells the seller that a prescription is inaccurate, expired, or otherwise invalid, the seller may not fill it. A December 30 balance does not create an exception.

The timing is the trap. If you hand the seller a copy of a valid prescription, the transaction is straightforward. If the seller verifies with your prescriber instead, the prescriber gets eight business hours to respond before the prescription is treated as verified and the seller may fill it. Eight business hours is not eight hours on a clock. A request submitted on the afternoon of December 23 can sit through the holidays. Then the order has to be picked, packed, and shipped.

Work backward instead. Decide the date you want the money spent, subtract two weeks, and treat that as the order date. If your prescription expires before the plan year does, the exam moves to the front of the list, and the exam itself is an eligible expense that reduces the balance you are trying to clear. Our prescription expiration checker will tell you which situation you are in.

How to clear a balance without buying lenses you cannot use

The obvious move with a few hundred dollars left is to buy more boxes. It is usually the right move, because an annual supply is where per box pricing and manufacturer rebates are best anyway. It stops being the right move at the point where you are buying lens supply you will not wear before it expires.

Every sealed blister pack carries a manufacturer expiration date printed on the foil, separate from anything to do with your prescription or your benefit plan. Daily disposables bought in quantity in December and stored in a drawer are the classic case of a stockpile quietly aging past its dates. Before you add boxes to clear a balance, work out how many packs you actually go through in a year: seven days a week in both eyes is 728 packs, five days a week in both eyes is 520.

When the remaining balance is larger than a sensible lens order, spread it across the rest of the eligible list rather than forcing it into one category. An overdue eye exam, a spare pair of prescription glasses, prescription sunglasses, lubricating drops, and the fitting fee your practice bills separately all draw from the same account. For a genuinely large balance, eye surgery to treat defective vision is on the Publication 502 list, and that is a decision to make on its merits rather than because of a date.

Receipts and substantiation

Health FSA claims have to be substantiated. Some benefits debit card transactions substantiate automatically at the point of sale, which is why a purchase at an optical retailer sometimes clears with no paperwork and the same purchase from a general merchant does not. When it does not, the administrator asks for documentation and can suspend the card until you supply it.

What they generally want is an itemized receipt showing the merchant or provider, the date of service or purchase, a description of what was bought, and the amount you paid. A credit card statement line does not qualify because it shows none of that. Download the itemized receipt at the time of the order, save it where you will find it in three months, and file the claim well before your plan's run out deadline rather than on it.

Vision insurance and benefit money are not the same pot

Many lens wearers have a vision plan allowance as well as an FSA, and the two run on separate clocks with separate rules. The allowance is typically a fixed dollar amount toward lenses or frames, often usable only at network providers, and often expiring on its own annual schedule with no carryover at all. Because it cannot be redirected to anything else, it should be used first. Then the remainder of the purchase, including anything the allowance did not cover, can run through the FSA or HSA.

Doing it in the other order wastes the more restricted benefit, which is a quiet loss nobody sends you a notice about. Manufacturer rebates add a third layer with their own submission windows, and they generally stack with both. Our rebate and promo code guide covers what to check before you submit.

After the order lands

A benefit deadline purchase is usually the largest lens order somebody places all year, and it arrives as a stack of cartons. Within a week those cartons are open, half emptied, and spread across a bathroom cabinet where you cannot see how many packs are left or what the foil dates say. That is how a carefully planned annual supply turns into an emergency reorder in August.

Keeping sealed packs upright, separated left from right, and visible turns your supply into something you can count at a glance. That is the job a Sturdysight organizer does for unopened daily-disposable blister packs. It is a dry organizer for sealed packs only. It is not a soaking case and it never holds a worn lens, a bare lens, or solution. If you also wear reusable lenses, keep using the case and solution your prescribed care system specifies.

Ask your administrator these four things

What is the last day of my plan year?
Does my plan have a carryover or a grace period, and how much or how long?
How many days do I have after the plan year to file claims?
What documentation do you need if a card transaction is not auto substantiated?

2026 figures at a glance

Health FSA salary reduction limit: 3,400 dollars
Maximum health FSA carryover: 680 dollars
HSA limit, self only: 4,400 dollars
HSA limit, family: 8,750 dollars
HSA catch up at 55 or older: 1,000 dollars
Maximum grace period: 2 months and 15 days

Order early in the plan year

Your whole health FSA election is available from day one. Buying the annual lens supply in January rather than December removes the deadline risk entirely and gives you time to compare delivered totals.

Compare annual totals

Eight mistakes that cost people real money

Treating the claim deadline as the spending deadline

These are two different dates and plans set them independently. The spending deadline is the last day you may incur an expense. The run out period is the extra window afterward for submitting receipts on expenses you already incurred. Filing early does not extend the first date, and a generous run out period does not let you shop in February for a December balance.

Assuming carryover protects the whole balance

Carryover is capped. For plan years beginning in 2026 the IRS maximum is 680 dollars, and an employer may set less. If you are sitting on 1,400 dollars in a carryover plan, more than half of it is still on a deadline.

Buying lenses on a prescription that expires first

A benefit deadline does not override the FTC Contact Lens Rule. A United States seller may not fill an expired contact lens prescription, and if a prescriber tells the seller a prescription is invalid the seller may not fill it. Check the printed expiration date before you plan a December order, not during it.

Leaving no room for prescriber verification

When a seller verifies with your prescriber rather than working from a copy you supply, the prescriber has eight business hours to respond before the prescription is treated as verified. Eight business hours spanning a holiday week is a long time. Then the order still has to ship.

Over ordering past the foil dates

Clearing a balance by buying lens supply only works if you will actually wear the lenses before the manufacturer expiration date printed on each blister pack. A two year stockpile bought to use up a benefit is a worse outcome than forfeiting a small remainder.

Ignoring the vision plan sitting next to the account

A vision insurance allowance and an FSA are separate pots. Use the allowance first, since it usually expires on its own schedule, then run the remainder through the account. Doing it the other way around wastes the allowance.

Losing the itemized receipt

Debit card transactions at some merchants substantiate automatically and some do not. When yours does not, you need an itemized receipt showing the provider or merchant, the date, a description of the item, and the amount. A credit card statement line is not enough for most administrators.

Guessing the plan year end

Plenty of employer plan years do not run January to December. A plan year ending June 30 puts your deadline in the middle of summer, when nobody is thinking about it. Read the summary plan description once and put the real date in a calendar.

Frequently asked questions

Are contact lenses FSA eligible?

Yes. IRS Publication 502 lists amounts paid for contact lenses needed for medical reasons as an includible medical expense, and the equipment and materials required for using them, such as saline solution and enzyme cleaner, are included as well. That definition is what health FSAs, limited-purpose FSAs, and HSAs use for qualified medical expenses. Your plan document can be narrower than the federal definition, so confirm with your administrator before a large order.

Can I use my HSA for contact lenses?

Yes, under the same qualified medical expense definition. The practical difference is timing. HSA money does not expire at the end of the plan year, it rolls forward indefinitely, and the account stays yours if you change employers. There is no deadline forcing the purchase, so an HSA purchase should be driven by when you need lenses rather than by a date on the calendar.

What is the FSA deadline for 2026?

It depends on your plan, not on a single national date. The deadline is the last day of your plan year, which is December 31 for most calendar year plans. If your plan offers a grace period you get up to two months and fifteen days beyond that to incur expenses, which is March 15 on a calendar year plan. If your plan offers a carryover instead, unused money up to the plan's carryover amount rolls forward and the rest stops being available at the plan year end.

How much can I put in a health FSA for 2026?

The IRS set the salary reduction limit at 3,400 dollars for plan years beginning in 2026, with a maximum carryover of 680 dollars for plans that offer one. Employers may set lower amounts. Those figures come from Revenue Procedure 2025-32.

What are the 2026 HSA contribution limits?

4,400 dollars for self only high deductible health plan coverage and 8,750 dollars for family coverage, with an additional 1,000 dollar catch up contribution if you are 55 or older. Those figures come from Revenue Procedure 2025-19. Employer contributions count against the same limit.

Can my FSA have both a carryover and a grace period?

No. A health FSA may adopt a carryover or a grace period, or neither, but not both. If you are unsure which one your plan uses, that single question is the most valuable thing you can ask your benefits administrator this year.

Is a contact lens case or organizer an eligible expense?

That is a plan level determination, not something a retailer can promise. Some administrators and eligibility lists treat lens cases and lens care accessories as reimbursable, and others ask for documentation. Ask your administrator before you assume, keep the itemized receipt, and treat any eligibility list you find online as a starting point rather than an answer for your plan.

Does a benefit deadline let me order with an expired prescription?

No. The FTC Contact Lens Rule governs the sale regardless of how you are paying. A seller may not fill an expired prescription, and a prescriber who tells the seller a prescription is inaccurate, expired, or otherwise invalid blocks the fill. If your prescription expires before your plan year does, the exam is the first thing on the list, not the last.

Should I use my vision insurance or my FSA first?

Use the vision plan allowance first when both are available. The allowance is usually a use it or lose it benefit on its own schedule and it cannot be converted to anything else, while your FSA can be spent on a wider set of expenses. Apply the allowance, then run the remaining balance through the account.

Does this tool send my balance anywhere?

No. Every calculation runs in your browser. Balances, dates, and plan settings you enter are not uploaded, and nothing is stored between visits.

Is this tax advice?

No. It is a planning calculator built on published IRS figures and general plan design rules. Your plan documents, your administrator, and a tax professional are the authorities on your situation.

Sources

Dollar limits and plan design rules on this page come from current IRS publications and revenue procedures. Purchase rules come from the FTC Contact Lens Rule. Figures are adjusted annually and plan documents vary, so check the current text and your own summary plan description before relying on any of it. This page is planning information, not tax or medical advice.

Next steps

Prescription expiration checkerConfirm the prescription will still be valid on the day you want to place the benefit deadline order.Cost comparison calculatorPrice the order properly, with shipping, fees, rebates, and benefit treatment included in the total.Reorder path comparisonCompare how each seller handles the prescription step and what it promises for delivery timing.Rebates and promo codesManufacturer rebates stack with benefit money and have their own submission deadlines.Unopened-pack size finderComplete the product checks before choosing an organizer size for a large annual order.Sturdysight organizersPaired hard-shell cases, one labeled L and one labeled R, for sealed daily-disposable packs.