If you have a Flexible Spending Account (FSA), time is not running out for you to spend your pre-tax savings. But if you, like this humble author, let the calendar flip to 2024 without having used all of your cash, you know all too well the sting of a blundered healthcare budget.
Of course, you can’t just solve this problem by filling your pantry with Tylenol, because technically that would make you a “hoarder” in the eyes of the IRS and your judgy roommates. So set a reminder to revisit this page in December, because if you’ve already read this far, you’re a total dummy and forgot to switch to an HSA this year.
Here are 6 surprising, but tax-code vetted, ways you can spend your FSA this year:
- A costume for your dog, with a doctor’s note.
- A costume for your cat (no doctor’s note required).
- If your bodega umbrella has been inverted by high winds in the last 10 minutes, go ahead, treat yourself to a $20 umbrella from Duane Reade. It’s tax-free.
- Every single delectable puff pastry treat that is purchased on the way to work.
- A Game Boy that meets the following requirements:
- It must be the same color as the Game Boy you hocked in your school’s cafeteria in 2005.
- It must be won on eBay.
- The winning bid must be cast between the hours of 12:00 AM and 1:59 AM (local time).
- The winning bid amount is too embarrassing to admit to anyone (IRS excluded).
- Go see your goddamn dentist.