2026 FSA Contribution Limits Chart: Health & Dependent Care

How the table works

On the defaults — a health FSA election of $3,400, no dependent care election, a marginal rate of 22%, and 26 pay periods — the tax saved is $1,008.10, the net cost is $2,391.90, and the per-paycheck net cost is $92.00.

The big news for 2026 is the dependent care FSA: the limit JUMPED from $5,000 to $7,500 — the first change since 1986, because the old limit was set by statute and never indexed. The increase comes from P.L. 119-21 §70404, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The health FSA limit is different: it is indexed to inflation, and it rose from $3,300 to $3,400 for 2026 under IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32. The carryover rose with it, from $660 to $680.

The carryover is 20% of the health limit ($680 is 20% of $3,400) and it only applies if your employer’s plan offers it AND you re-enroll — otherwise unused health FSA money is use-it-or-lose-it. A grace period is the other option, never both: a plan offers a carryover or a grace period, not both. Dependent care money has NO carryover and is only available as payroll deductions accumulate, so you cannot spend next month’s dependent care money today.

A general-purpose health FSA disqualifies you from an HSA; a limited-purpose FSA does not, because it only covers dental and vision until you meet your health plan deductible. Your employer may also set a lower plan limit than the IRS maximum — the table shows the IRS ceilings, not what your plan allows, so check your open-enrollment packet before you elect the full amount.

The 2026 FSA contribution limits table

The table below is the limits data for 2024, 2025, and 2026. Every cell is derived from the limits data by the table function — the health care and limited-purpose FSA limits come from IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32, the dependent care limits from P.L. 119-21 §70404, and the carryover is 20% of the health limit in each year. The 2026 column is the one that matters for your next open enrollment.

The worked example, line by line

Setup: the health FSA election is E = $3,400, the dependent care FSA election is D = $0, the marginal tax rate is 22%, and there are 26 pay periods.

Line 1 — the saving rate: FSA money skips federal income tax AND the 7.65% employee FICA share, so the saving rate is 22% + 7.65% = 29.65%. That is the whole trick of an FSA: every dollar you elect saves you 29.65 cents at a 22% marginal rate, not just 22 cents.

Line 2 — tax saved: tax saved = (E + D) × 29.65% = $3,400 × 0.2965 = $1,008.10. Of that, $748.00 is federal income tax and $260.10 is the FICA share you never pay.

Line 3 — net cost: net cost = (E + D) − tax saved = $3,400 − $1,008.10 = $2,391.90. You put $3,400 into the account, but after the tax saving it only costs you $2,391.90 of take-home pay — the other $1,008.10 would have gone to tax anyway.

Line 4 — per paycheck: per-paycheck net cost = $2,391.90 ÷ 26 = $92.00. That is the number to compare with your budget: $92.00 out of each biweekly paycheck buys you $3,400 of tax-free health spending for the year.

Line 5 — dependent care only: a $7,500 dependent care election at 22% saves $7,500 × 0.2965 = $2,223.75, costs $5,276.25 net, and $202.93 per paycheck. Daycare is the bigger number for most families — and the $7,500 limit is new for 2026, up from $5,000.

Line 6 — both maxed: electing both maximums, $3,400 + $7,500 = $10,900, saves $10,900 × 0.2965 = $3,231.85, costs $7,668.15 net, and $294.93 per paycheck. Totals are computed from unrounded values, so rounded parts may differ by a cent from their rounded sum.

Every branch, checked

Dependent care only ($7,500): tax saved $2,223.75, net cost $5,276.25, $202.93 per paycheck. A family paying for daycare with no health election — the dependent care limit alone is worth more than twice the health FSA’s saving at the same rate.

Both maxed ($3,400 + $7,500): tax saved $3,231.85, net cost $7,668.15, $294.93 per paycheck. Both elections at their 2026 maximums at a 22% marginal rate — over three thousand dollars of tax saved on $10,900 of spending you were going to do anyway.

Health election $2,000: tax saved $593.00, net cost $1,407.00, $54.12 per paycheck. A smaller election at the same rate and periods — the saving scales exactly with the election, because the rate is the same on every dollar.

Marginal 12%: tax saved $668.10, net cost $2,731.90, $105.07 per paycheck. At the 12% bracket the FICA share is a bigger slice of the saving — $260.10 of the $668.10 is FICA, and only $408.00 is income tax.

Marginal 32%: tax saved $1,348.10, net cost $2,051.90, $78.92 per paycheck. A higher bracket makes the same $3,400 election worth $340.00 more in tax saved than at 22% — and $680.00 more than at 12%.

Dependent election $5,000: tax saved $1,482.50, net cost $3,517.50, $135.29 per paycheck. The old dependent care limit, kept for comparison — the new $7,500 limit saves $741.25 more at 22%.

Monthly, 12 periods: tax saved $1,008.10, net cost $2,391.90, $199.33 per paycheck. The same annual figures as the defaults — only the per-paycheck cost changes, because the same net cost is split over 12 paychecks instead of 26.

Weekly, 52 periods: tax saved $1,008.10, net cost $2,391.90, $46.00 per paycheck. The same annual figures again, split over 52 weekly paychecks — the tax saved does not depend on how often you are paid.

Both maxed, marginal 37%: tax saved $4,866.85, net cost $6,033.15, $232.04 per paycheck. At the top bracket the two maximum elections together save almost half their face value in tax — the saving rate is 37% + 7.65% = 44.65%.

The reverses, worked backwards

Health election for tax saved of exactly $1,000 at 22%: exactly $3,372.6813 — displayed $3,372.68 gives tax saved $1,000.00, net cost $2,372.68, $91.26 per paycheck, and $1 less, $3,371.68, gives tax saved $999.70, net cost $2,371.98, $91.23 per paycheck. The star is DOLLARS. Verdict: CONTINUOUS — this reverse is exact, not a step: the election is a continuous value, so the displayed cents are rounded from the exact $3,372.6813.

Marginal rate for tax saved of exactly $1,200 on a $3,400 health election: exactly 27.6441% — displayed 27.64% gives tax saved $1,199.86, net cost $2,200.14, $84.62 per paycheck; 27.63% gives tax saved $1,199.52, net cost $2,200.48, $84.63 per paycheck; 27.65% gives tax saved $1,200.20, net cost $2,199.80, $84.61 per paycheck. The star is PERCENT. Verdict: CONTINUOUS — the displayed rate is rounded from the exact 27.6441%.

Dependent care election for tax saved of exactly $2,000 at 22%: exactly $6,745.3626 — displayed $6,745.36 gives tax saved $2,000.00, net cost $4,745.36, $182.51 per paycheck, and $1 less, $6,744.36, gives tax saved $1,999.70, net cost $4,744.66, $182.49 per paycheck. The star is DOLLARS. Verdict: CONTINUOUS — this reverse is exact, not a step: the election is a continuous value, so the displayed cents are rounded from the exact $6,745.3626.

Smallest whole-dollar health election for tax saved of at least $500 at 22%: $1,687 — at $1,687 the figures are tax saved $500.20, net cost $1,186.80, $45.65 per paycheck, and at $1,686 the figures are tax saved $499.90, net cost $1,186.10, $45.62 per paycheck. The star is DOLLARS. Verdict: STEP — $1,687 is the smallest whole-dollar election that reaches $500 of tax saved, and $1,686 is the first election under the line.

Marginal rate for tax saved of exactly $3,500 with both maxed: exactly 24.4601% — displayed 24.46% gives tax saved $3,499.99, net cost $7,400.01, $284.62 per paycheck (one cent under — the displayed rate rounds down); 24.45% gives tax saved $3,498.90, net cost $7,401.10, $284.66 per paycheck; 24.47% gives tax saved $3,501.08, net cost $7,398.92, $284.57 per paycheck. The star is PERCENT. Verdict: CONTINUOUS — the displayed rate is rounded from the exact 24.4601%, and because it rounds down, the forward at the displayed rate lands one cent under the $3,500 target.

Smallest number of pay periods for a per-paycheck net cost of at most $100: 24 periods — at 24 periods the figures are tax saved $1,008.10, net cost $2,391.90, $99.66 per paycheck, and at 23 periods the figures are tax saved $1,008.10, net cost $2,391.90, $104.00 per paycheck. The star is PAY PERIODS. Verdict: STEP — the per-paycheck cost falls as the number of periods rises, so 24 is the smallest number of periods that gets the cost at or under $100, and 23 periods is the first count over the line.

What the defaults assume

The defaults are a health FSA election of $3,400, a dependent care election of $0, a marginal rate of 22%, and 26 pay periods — tax saved $1,008.10, net cost $2,391.90, $92.00 per paycheck. A health election of $0 saves $0.00 and costs $0.00 — a model-level outcome, not an error. A marginal rate of 0% still saves $260.10 — the FICA share alone — with a net cost of $3,139.90 and $120.77 per paycheck. Both elections maxed at a 37% marginal rate save $4,866.85. The calculator asks for a health election from $0 to $3,400, a dependent care election from $0 to $7,500, a marginal rate from 0% to 50%, and pay periods of 12, 24, 26, or 52, so a health election above $3,400, a dependent care election above $7,500, a rate above 50%, and 23 pay periods are validation errors, not results.

Output · formula · meaning

Who uses this

• The employee electing the full $3,400 health FSA at 22%: they learn the election saves $1,008.10 in tax and costs $92.00 per paycheck — and they check that the net cost is only $2,391.90 before deciding whether the full election fits their budget.
• The parent paying for daycare: they learn a $7,500 dependent care election at 22% saves $2,223.75 and costs $202.93 per paycheck — and they check that the new $7,500 limit saves $741.25 more than the old $5,000 limit before they set their election.
• The worker in the 12% bracket deciding whether the FSA is worth it: they learn a $3,400 election saves $668.10, costs $105.07 per paycheck — and they check that $260.10 of the saving is the FICA share alone, so the FSA still pays even in a low bracket.
• The couple maxing both FSAs at 37%: they learn the two maximum elections together save $4,866.85 and cost $232.04 per paycheck — and they check that the saving rate is 44.65% before they elect the full $10,900.

Accuracy & limitations

The limits are the IRS ceilings for 2026: the health care and limited-purpose FSA limit of $3,400 and the carryover of $680 come from IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32, and the dependent care limit of $7,500 ($3,750 if married filing separately) comes from P.L. 119-21 §70404, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Your employer may set a lower plan limit, and your plan may not offer a carryover at all — the table shows what the law allows, not what your plan allows. The calculator models federal income tax at the marginal rate you enter plus the 7.65% employee FICA share; it does not model state income tax, and it assumes the same marginal rate applies to every FSA dollar, which is how a marginal-rate estimate works. It does not model the dependent care tax credit, which some families may claim instead of (or alongside) a dependent care FSA — run both numbers before you choose. Use the table to plan your open-enrollment election, not as tax advice.

Frequently asked questions