Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account (FSA)

Syracuse University offers employees the opportunity to contribute pre-tax dollars to a dependent care FSA administered by HealthEquity.  If you pay for daycare and related expenses for a dependent child or adult so that you and your spouse/domestic partner can work or attend school, you can use a dependent care FSA.  In addition, check out the University’s Dependent Care Subsidy Program which provides a tax-free subsidy to benefits-eligible faculty and staff to assist with dependent care needs.   There is specific criteria that must be met and submitted through an annual application process.

Contact HealthEquity at 877.924.3967 (TTY: 866.353.8058) should you have any questions on these benefits. Should you require accommodations to access any information on this webpage, please reach out to HR Shared Services at 315.443.4042.

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Benefit Design

The dependent care FSA offers tax savings on eligible dependent care expenses provided by qualified caregivers.  Generally, you can contribute up to $5,000 per household annually to this account. The maximum limit is $2,500 for married individuals filing separate returns.

Keep in mind that in January (or as of your effective date of enrollment, if later) you will be making your regular dependent care payments to your provider, but your account will not yet be funded. You cannot request reimbursement from the Dependent Care FSA for more than has been deposited into it. Depending on the amount of your contribution, it may take more or less time to build up enough of a balance to be reimbursed for your expenses.

Eligible Dependent Care Expenses

These accounts reimburse the cost of eligible care for your qualifying child (typically age 12 and under) or other qualifying dependent, while you work or which enables you to work.

The HealthEquity website has a searchable database of eligible dependent care expenses.

Eligible expenses require a receipt that shows payment was made to an eligible caregiver that includes service dates, dependent’s name, type of service, amount billed and provider’s name and address. Credit card receipts, canceled checks and balance forward statements do not meet the requirements for acceptable documentation.

Common Dependent Care Expenses

  • Babysitting or au pair services
  • Before/after-school programs
  • Day care and nursery schools
  • Summer day camp
  • Preschool programs
  • Elder care services

Ineligible Dependent Care Expenses

  • Private school tuition (kindergarten and up)
  • Lessons
  • Sports registration fees
  • Sleep-away camp
  • Tutoring

Reimbursement Process

The reimbursement process through HealthEquity is simple:

  • Incur your eligible expenses and pay bills as you normally would.
  • Submit your claim, receipts and any additional required information to HealthEquity by selecting one of the following options:
    • EZ Receipts App: Allows you to file your claim from your smart phone or other mobile device.
    • FSA Online Account: Log into the secure website to submit a claim and view all of your account information.
    • Pay Me Back Paper Claim Form [PDF]: Complete the paper form and mail or fax your submission to HealthEquity with your receipts. Reimbursements will be sent to you via paper check as a default, but you can enroll in direct deposit online by logging into your HealthEquity account.

You will have until Apr. 30 of the following plan year to submit claims for expenses incurred during the plan year beginning Jan. 1 (or as of your effective date of enrollment if later) through Dec. 31.

It is important to highlight that COBRA continuation is not available for a dependent care FSA.

Changing Your Election

Typically, you can make your elections when you first become benefits-eligible, during a qualified family status change, or during Open Enrollment each year. Allowable changes must be made on a prospective basis and include new elections, as well as increases or decreases to existing FSA elections. If an election is made to reduce your dependent care FSA contribution, the reduced contribution must be no less than the claims that have already been reimbursed or approved for reimbursement.

Helpful Links


Every effort has been made to ensure that the information contained within this website is accurate. However, benefits are governed by legal documents (which, in certain circumstances, may include insurance contracts). If there is any difference between the information in this website and the official documents, the official documents will control. As is the case with all of Syracuse University’s employee benefit plans, the University reserves the right to modify or terminate these benefits at any time.