A patient from Arroyo Grande that I saw in my San Luis Obispo office asked my office staff about using her FSA account for her LASIK. This is a common question this time of year! Many patients find that using an employer sponsored FSA to help pay for LASIK allows them to use pre-tax dollars to pay for their laser vision correction surgery.  A Flexible Spending Account, or FSA, also can be called a Flex Plan, a Reimbursement Account, Flex 125 Plan, Tax Saving Plan, Medical Spending Account, a Section 125. It is a type of “Cafeteria Plan” that is set up with your employer and conforms to Section 125 of the Internal Revenue Code, hence the name “Flex 125 Plan”. (Please be aware though that an FSA account is different from an HSA, or health savings, account, which also can be used for helping to pay for laser vision correction). Employees are allowed to place up to $2500 per year in the FSA account using pre-tax dollars. The money can be used for “qualified expenses,” which include LASIK and PRK laser eye surgery. Funds put into an FSA account need to be used by the end of the year they are set aside (“use it or lose it” rule), although some employers add language to add flexibility to this deadline. This time of year, we see many patients who want to schedule their LASIK or PRK laser eye surgery before the end of the year so they don’t lose the money they previously set aside in their 2017 FSA accounts.  At the Shapiro Laser Eye Center, we have extensive experience helping patients use their FSA accounts to help pay for their LASIK or PRK laser eye surgery using pre-tax dollars. If you have any questions at all regarding using FSA accounts, please do not hesitate to contact our office!