Healthcare Flexible Spending Accounts for Active Duty
In the first quarter of 2025, the Department of Defense began offering an additional financial benefit for service members: the Health Care Flexible Spending Account (HCFSA). This option was previously unavailable to active-duty troops, but the added option may enhance healthcare options for those the program is right for.
The active duty Flexible Spending Account program, administered through FSAFEDS, allows troops to set aside $3,300 of their pre-tax income annually for eligible health, dental, and vision expenses. When both spouses in a military marriage qualify, they can each contribute up to $3,300, for a combined total of $6,600.
What’s an HCFSA?
According to the FSAFEDS official site, “A Health Care FSA (HCFSA) is a pre-tax benefit account that’s used to pay for eligible medical, dental, and vision care expenses that are not covered by your health care plan or elsewhere. With an HCFSA, you use pre-tax dollars to pay for qualified out-of-pocket health care expenses. ”
This new program extends to active component service members, reservists, National Guard members on Active Guard Reserve duty, and Coast Guard reservists on active duty for over 180 days.
Federal civilians and those in the private sector have long used similar accounts, but this is a first for today’s active-duty service members.
“A Health Care Flexible Spending Account is an optional benefit that enables service members and their families to use pretax earnings to pay for eligible health, dental and vision care expenses,” said Ronald T. Garner, the assistant director of military compensation policy within the Defense Department, quoted in a DoD press release.
Enrollment
Beyond the initial enrollment period offered each year, service members can enroll after qualifying life events, such as deployment, a permanent change of station, marriage, divorce, or birth. When the program was launched in March 2025, service members had a short window of time to apply, but other options are available beyond the initial March 2025 signup period (ending at the end of March 2025.)
See below for additional options to register for an active-duty FSA.
The DoD believes the active duty FSA option provides value for military families, including those with members in the Exceptional Family Member Program, who may face unpredictable medical costs. By participating in the HCFSA, service members potentially change their taxable income depending on the current year’s tax law and gain new care options.
Pre-Signup
Before signing up, DOD officials recommend that service members consult with a military tax expert, DOD personal financial manager, or financial counselor to understand the benefits and potential tax implications fully.
Why?
According to official DoD guidance, service members should “look closely at their own financial situation and how much they expect to spend each year on health care expenses before deciding to contribute,” as some are likely to benefit more from FSAs than others.
Service members must enroll in the HCFSA by March 31, 2025, to take advantage of this benefit for 2025.
Where to Apply for an Active Duty Health Care Flexible Spending Account
Eligible service members can learn more or sign up for an HCFSA at FSAFEDS.gov during the open enrollment period, which at press time runs through March 31, 2025. Sign ups are also open during the annual federal benefits open season, which runs each year from mid-November to mid-December, or if they experience a qualifying life event (see above.)
About the author
Editor-in-Chief Joe Wallace is a 13-year veteran of the United States Air Force and a former reporter/editor for Air Force Television News and the Pentagon Channel. His freelance work includes contract work for Motorola, VALoans.com, and Credit Karma. He is co-founder of Dim Art House in Springfield, Illinois, and spends his non-writing time as an abstract painter, independent publisher, and occasional filmmaker.
