SoFi

Whether you’re purchasing a new pair of eyeglasses, stocking up on over-the-counter medications, or paying for your child’s daycare, there may be certain expenses your health insurance plan doesn’t cover.

In those cases, having a flexible spending account, or FSA, could help you save money. This special savings account lets you set aside pretax dollars to pay for eligible out-of-pocket healthcare expenses, which in turn can lower your taxable income.

Let’s take a look at how these accounts work.

What Is an FSA?

An FSA is an employer-sponsored savings account you can use to pay for certain health care and dependent costs. It’s commonly included as part of a benefits package, so if you purchased a plan on the Health Insurance Marketplace, or have Medicaid or Medicare, you may no longer qualify for a FSA.

There are three types of FSA accounts:

•   Health care FSAs, which can be used to pay for eligible medical and dental expenses.

•   Dependent care FSAs, which can be used to pay for eligible child and adult care expenses, such as preschool, summer camp, and home health care.

•   Limited expense health care FSA, which can be used to pay for dental and vision expenses. This type of account is available to those who have a high-deductible health plan with a health savings account.

How Do You Fund an FSA?

If you opt into an FSA, you’ll need to decide on how much to regularly contribute throughout the year. Those contribution amounts will be automatically deducted from your paychecks and placed into the account. Whatever money you put into an FSA isn’t taxed, which means you can keep more of what you earn.

Your employer may also throw some money into your FSA account, but they are under no legal obligation to do so.

You can use your FSA throughout the year to either reimburse yourself or to help pay for eligible expenses for you, your spouse, and your dependents (more on that in a minute). Typically, you’ll be required to submit a claim through your employer and include proof of the expense (usually a receipt), along with a statement that says that your regular health insurance does not cover that cost.

Some employers offer an FSA debit card or checkbook, which you can use to pay for qualifying medical purchases without having to file a reimbursement claim through your employer.


💡 Quick Tip: When you have questions about what you can and can’t afford, a spending tracker app can show you the answer. With no guilt trip or hourly fee.

What Items Qualify for FSA Reimbursement?

The IRS decides which expenses qualify for FSA reimbursement, and the list is extensive. Here’s a look at some of what’s included — you can see the full list on the IRS’ website.

•   Health plan co-payments and deductibles (but not insurance premiums)

•   Prescription eyeglasses or contact lenses

•   Dental and vision expenses

•   Prescription medications

•   Over-the-counter medicines

•   First aid supplies

•   Menstrual care items

•   Birth control

•   Sunscreen

•   Home health care items, like thermometers, crutches, and medical alert devices

•   Medical diagnostic products, like cholesterol monitors, home EKG devices, and home blood pressure monitors

•   Home health care

•   Day care

•   Summer camp

Are There Any FSA Limits?

For 2025, health care FSA and limited health care FSA contributions are limited to $3,300 per year, per employer. Your spouse can also contribute $3,300 to their FSA account, as well.

Meanwhile, dependent care FSA contributions will be increased to $7,500 per household, or $3,750 if you’re married and filing separately, on January 1, 2026.

Does an FSA Roll Over Each Year?

In general, you’ll need to use the money in an FSA within a plan year. Any unspent money will be lost. However, the IRS has changed the use-it-or-lose-it rule to allow a little more flexibility.

Now, your employer may be able to offer you a couple of options to use up any unspent money in an FSA:

•   A “grace period” of no more than 2½ extra months to spend whatever is left in your account

•   Rolling over up to $660 from 2025 to use in the 2026 plan.

Note that your employer may be able to offer one of these options, but not both.

One way to avoid scrambling to spend down your FSA before the end of the year or the grace period is to plan ahead. Calculate all deductibles, copayments, coinsurance, prescription drugs, and other possible costs for the coming year, and only contribute what you think you’ll actually need.

Recommended: Flexible Spending Accounts: Rules, Regulations, and Uses

How Can You Use Up Your FSA?

You can consider some of these strategies to get the most out of your FSA:

•   Buy non-prescription items. Certain items are FSA-eligible without needing a prescription (but save your receipt for the paperwork!). These items may include first-aid kits, bandages, thermometers, blood pressure monitors, ice packs, and heating pads.

•   Get your glasses (or contacts). You may be able to use your FSA to cover the cost of prescription eyeglasses, contact lenses, and sunglasses as well as reading glasses. Contact lens solution and eye drops may also be covered.

•   Keep family planning in mind. FSA-eligible items can include condoms, pregnancy tests, baby monitors, and fertility kits. If you have a prescription for them, female contraceptives may also be covered.

•   Don’t forget your dentist. Unfortunately, toothpaste and cosmetic procedures are not covered by your FSA, but dental checkups and associated costs might be. These could include copays, deductibles, cleanings, fillings, X-rays, and even braces. Mouthguards and cleaning solutions for your retainers and dentures may be FSA-eligible as well.


💡 Quick Tip: Income, expenses, and life circumstances can change. Consider reviewing your budget a few times a year and making any adjustments if needed.

Flexible Savings Account (FSA) vs. Health Savings Account (HSA)

When it comes to managing healthcare costs, another popular option is a health savings account (HSA). Both FSAs and HSAs offer tax advantages, but they differ in terms of eligibility, contribution limits, and how the funds can be used.

Both types of accounts:

•   Offer some tax advantages

•   Can be used to pay for co-payments, deductibles, and eligible medical expenses

•   Can be funded through employee-payroll deductions, employer contributions, or individual deductions

•   Have a maximum contribution amount. In 2025, people with individual coverage can contribute up to $4,300 per year, while those with family coverage can set aside up to $8,550 per year.

That said, there are some key differences between HSAs and FSAs:

•   You must be enrolled in a high deductible health plan in order to qualify for an HSA.

•   HSAs do not have a use-it-or-lose-it rule. Once you put money in the account, it’s yours.

•   If you quit or are fired from your job, your HSA can go with you. This happens even if your employer contributed money to the account.

•   If you’re 55 or older, you can contribute an additional $1,000 to your HSA as a catch-up contribution — similar to the catch-up contributions allowed with an IRA.

•   If you withdraw money from your HSA for a non-qualified expense before the age of 65, you’ll pay taxes on it plus a 20% penalty.

•   If you withdraw money from your HSA for any type of expense after age 65, you don’t pay a penalty. However, the withdrawal will be taxed like regular income.

Recommended: Benefits of Health Savings Accounts

The Takeaway

Flexible spending accounts are offered by employers and can be a useful tool for paying for health care or dependent-related expenses. Notably, you fund the account with pretax dollars taken from your paycheck, which can lower your taxable income and help you save money.

You typically need to spend your FSA money within a plan year, though your employer may give you the option to either roll over a portion of the balance into the next year or use it during a grace period. There are also guidelines around what you can spend the FSA funds on and how much you can contribute to your account.

Take control of your finances with SoFi. With our financial insights and credit score monitoring tools, you can view all of your accounts in one convenient dashboard. From there, you can see your various balances, spending breakdowns, and credit score. Plus you can easily set up budgets and discover valuable financial insights — all at no cost.

See exactly how your money comes and goes at a glance.

FAQ

How does a flexible spending account work?

A flexible spending account (FSA) lets you set aside pretax money from your paycheck to cover eligible medical, dental, vision, or dependent care expenses. Because contributions reduce your taxable income, you save on taxes.

What is the difference between an FSA and an HSA?

The main difference between an FSA and an HSA is ownership and eligibility. FSAs are employer-owned and require you to spend funds within the plan year, while HSAs are individually owned, available only with high-deductible health plans, and allow funds to roll over and grow tax-free year after year.

Can I withdraw money from my flexible spending account?

Yes, you can withdraw money from your flexible spending account (FSA) to pay for eligible medical expenses such as copays, prescriptions, and medical supplies. However, withdrawals must be for qualified expenses.

SoFi Relay offers users the ability to connect both SoFi accounts and external accounts using Plaid, Inc.’s service. When you use the service to connect an account, you authorize SoFi to obtain account information from any external accounts as set forth in SoFi’s Terms of Use. Based on your consent SoFi will also automatically provide some financial data received from the credit bureau for your visibility, without the need of you connecting additional accounts. SoFi assumes no responsibility for the timeliness, accuracy, deletion, non-delivery or failure to store any user data, loss of user data, communications, or personalization settings. You shall confirm the accuracy of Plaid data through sources independent of SoFi. The credit score is a VantageScore® based on TransUnion® (the “Processing Agent”) data.

This content is provided for informational and educational purposes only and should not be construed as financial advice.

Financial Tips & Strategies: The tips provided on this website are of a general nature and do not take into account your specific objectives, financial situation, and needs. You should always consider their appropriateness given your own circumstances.

Third-Party Brand Mentions: No brands, products, or companies mentioned are affiliated with SoFi, nor do they endorse or sponsor this article. Third-party trademarks referenced herein are property of their respective owners.

Tax Information: This article provides general background information only and is not intended to serve as legal or tax advice or as a substitute for legal counsel. You should consult your own attorney and/or tax advisor if you have a question requiring legal or tax advice.

SORL-Q425-005

If you’re thinking of taking a road trip, using a gas trip cost calculator can help you determine how much you are likely to spend filling up your tank. Then you can use that information to decide whether it’s more cost-effective to drive, take a train or bus, or fly.

Let’s look not only at a gasoline cost trip calculator table, but also why you should calculate how much you’ll spend on gas and how you can save money filling up at the pump.

Why Use a Gas Cost Trip Estimator

You may think nothing of filling up your gas tank every few weeks when you’re only driving to work and the store. But consider how much gas you’d use for a trip from, let’s say, San Diego to New York City. Understanding what it will cost you to fuel up for an entire trip can help you better budget your expenses.

Using a gas trip cost calculator can help you figure out how much of your entire trip budget will be dedicated to fueling up.


💡 Quick Tip: Online tools make tracking your spending a breeze: You can easily set up budgets, then get instant updates on your progress, spot upcoming bills, analyze your spending habits, and more.

How to Calculate Your Gas Cost Trip

To figure out how much gas will cost for a road trip, you can, of course, use a trip cost calculator. You’ll need to input basic details, like your type of car (different sizes and types of cars burn gas at different rates) and your route, and the calculator can estimate with real-time gas prices.

A simple method to calculate your gas cost is to look at your route and the total distance in miles, and divide this number by the number of miles per gallon your vehicle gets. (You can check your owner’s manual to find this out if you don’t already know.) This will tell you the number of gallons of gas you’ll need for the entire trip.

Now you’ll need to know the price of gas so you can multiply it times the number of gallons you need. Since gas prices by state may vary wildly, you might take an average of prices found in five places along the way. Tools like Gas Buddy let you search for gas prices in a given city, so you can use this for research.

Gas Cost Trip Calculator Table

Let’s use the process above to illustrate how you can be your own gas calculator for trip costs.

As you can see, it would cost about $407.50 for gas for the entire trip. Of course, this is based on an average cost of gas, and prices will fluctuate over time and in different towns and cities.

💡 Quick Tip: Income, expenses, and life circumstances can change. Consider reviewing your budget a few times a year and making any adjustments if needed.

Examples of Gas Cost Trips

Let’s look at a few other examples of trips and how much they would cost in gas.

Reasons to Calculate Your Gas Cost

So why should you bother using a road trip cost calculator? Well, most people don’t have unlimited funds when it comes to taking a road trip, so for starters, it can help you see how much you’d spend. You might decide it’s not worth driving if the cost exceeds what you’d pay for a flight, bus, or train ride.

Even if you’re not planning a big trip, looking at how much it costs to drive on a tank of gas can be helpful for maintaining your monthly budget. Once you understand how much you’re spending on gas, you might limit how often you drive to save money.

Speaking of saving money, here are five ways to save money on gas.

Tips on How to Save on Gas Money

Speaking of saving money, let’s look at how to save money on gas.

Plan Where You’ll Fuel Up

If you’re planning a road trip, use a tool that shows you exactly where the cheapest gas can be found. You might be able to save $.10 or more a gallon simply by planning ahead. There are even some trip fuel cost calculators that will help you plan where to stop based on gas prices.

Consider How You Pay

There are different types of credit cards that can help you save at the pump. Branded gas credit cards often offer rewards that will shave off a few cents per gallon or give you a bonus after you’ve charged a certain amount of purchases.

You might also consider a cash back credit card that gives you cash or credits for your purchases once you’ve hit a certain threshold.

Look into Alternative Transportation

You may be quick to rely on cars to get around, but there are often other overlooked methods of transportation to consider. Whether it’s a bus, train, Uber, or plane, you might be able to save money by leaving your car at home.

You can also cut your gas costs by splitting them with a friend.

Another way to stick to your travel budget? A money tracker app, which can help you keep tabs on where your money is going while you’re on the road.

Only Use Premium if Necessary

Most cars run just fine on regular unleaded gas, which can be significantly cheaper per gallon than premium versions, especially if you’re on a long trip. Check your car manufacturer’s recommendations to see if you can use regular unleaded gas.

Drive an Empty Car

The heavier your car is, the more gas it burns. So if you’ve been lugging around something heavy unnecessarily, consider leaving the load at home before you drive.

The Takeaway

Paying attention to how much gas costs, particularly for a road trip or long commute, is smart financial planning. Whether you use an online version or crunch the numbers on a piece of paper, a gas trip cost calculator can help you figure out how much you may want to budget for fill-ups.

Take control of your finances with SoFi. With our financial insights and credit score monitoring tools, you can view all of your accounts in one convenient dashboard. From there, you can see your various balances, spending breakdowns, and credit score. Plus you can easily set up budgets and discover valuable financial insights — all at no cost.

See exactly how your money comes and goes at a glance.

FAQ

How do I calculate gas cost for a trip?

To calculate gas for a long road trip, divide the number of miles of the route by the miles per gallon your car gets. This is the number of gallons you’ll need to drive the distance. Then, average the cost of gas on your route and multiply this times the number of gallons to get the total cost of gas for your trip.

How much would 1 mile of gas cost?

Divide the cost per gallon by the number of miles per gallon your car will go. For example, if you pay $3.99 per gallon and your car gets 22 miles per gallon, driving one mile would cost about $.18.

How do you calculate fuel to destination?

To calculate how much fuel you’ll need to get to your destination, divide the number of miles of the remaining route by the miles per gallon your car gets. Then, average the cost of gas on your route and multiply this times the number of gallons to get the total cost of gas for your trip.

Photo credit: iStock/georgeclerk

SoFi Relay offers users the ability to connect both SoFi accounts and external accounts using Plaid, Inc.’s service. When you use the service to connect an account, you authorize SoFi to obtain account information from any external accounts as set forth in SoFi’s Terms of Use. Based on your consent SoFi will also automatically provide some financial data received from the credit bureau for your visibility, without the need of you connecting additional accounts. SoFi assumes no responsibility for the timeliness, accuracy, deletion, non-delivery or failure to store any user data, loss of user data, communications, or personalization settings. You shall confirm the accuracy of Plaid data through sources independent of SoFi. The credit score is a VantageScore® based on TransUnion® (the “Processing Agent”) data.

This content is provided for informational and educational purposes only and should not be construed as financial advice.

Financial Tips & Strategies: The tips provided on this website are of a general nature and do not take into account your specific objectives, financial situation, and needs. You should always consider their appropriateness given your own circumstances.

Third-Party Brand Mentions: No brands, products, or companies mentioned are affiliated with SoFi, nor do they endorse or sponsor this article. Third-party trademarks referenced herein are property of their respective owners.

SORL-Q425-007

An unrealized gain or loss is the change in market value of an asset from its purchase price, before it is sold.