BAS Blog

Question of the Week

Written by mroshkoff@basusa.com | Dec 26, 2013 8:37:21 AM

Q.- An employee’s mother-in-law lives with him and is his tax dependent. Can the mother-in-law’s expenses be reimbursed through the employee’s FSA?

A.- You will first have to determine if your plan allows expenses of dependents other than children to be reimbursed. If it does,

  • For the Health FSA- If the mother-in-law is a tax dependent for health care purposes, her eligible expenses may be reimbursed from the employee's Health FSA. He should consult his tax advisor to determine if the mother-in-law is a tax dependent for health care purposes.
  • For the Dependent Day Care FSA- If the mother-in-law is physically or mentally incapable of caring for herself and lives with the employee for more than half of the year, and if the employee provides more than half of her support, her day care expenses may be reimbursed under the DFSA.