Military Health Care FSA Open Season: November 9 to December 14, the $3,400 Limit, and the Tax Break by Rank

The Federal Benefits Open Season for the 2027 plan year runs November 9 through December 14, 2026, and for an active-duty family it is the only scheduled window to put a Health Care Flexible Spending Account in place for next year. The Office of Personnel Management's Open Season Highlights for the 2027 Plan Year carry three facts that matter: the account does not renew ("Participation in FSAFEDS does not automatically continue from year to year"), a new FSAFEDS Visa FSA Card can be chosen with the election, and every election made in the window takes effect January 1, 2027. Settled: the 2026 health FSA limit is $3,400 with a $680 carryover, set by IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32, and the dependent care limit is $7,500, fixed in 26 U.S.C. 129 for tax years beginning after December 31, 2025. Not settled: the 2027 health FSA limit, which the IRS adjusts for inflation each fall and had not published as of October 20, 2026.

Who can enroll, and who cannot

Military OneSource lists the eligible groups: members of the regular (active) component, members of the reserve component performing Active Guard Reserve duty, members of the National Guard performing Active Guard Reserve duty, and DoD civilians. The Air Force benefits fact sheet reviewed March 10, 2026 puts it in one line: "Air Force Service members on active duty are eligible to enroll in a Health Care Flexible Spending Account." Drilling reservists and Guard members not on AGR orders are outside the program. So are retirees: OPM's highlights mark FSAFEDS as "active employees only," which for the uniformed services means the account ends with your service and cannot follow you into retirement.

Enrollment happens on fsafeds.gov, not through TRICARE and not through your personnel office. Military OneSource says to enroll during the annual federal benefits open season, "mid-November through mid-December," or after a qualifying life event such as a PCS or the birth or adoption of a child. The uniformed services got their first health care FSA window in a special enrollment period in March 2025, as Military Times reported at the time; since then the only doors are Open Season and a qualifying life event.

What is new for the 2027 plan year

• The dates. November 9 through December 14, 2026. OPM's release asks enrollees to act "before the December 14 deadline." TRICARE's own open season runs November 9 through December 8, 2026, so the two windows overlap but do not end on the same day; our TRICARE 2027 costs guide covers that one.
• Re-enrollment is mandatory. Health, dental and vision coverage roll over; FSAFEDS does not. OPM: "All current FSAFEDS participants who want to continue for Benefit Year 2027 must reenroll in the program." If you enrolled for 2026 and do nothing, the account stops with the 2026 benefit period, and the carryover depends on re-enrolling.
• The FSAFEDS Visa FSA Card. OPM's highlights: "Beginning with the upcoming Open Season, FSAFEDS will be offering the FSAFEDS Visa FSA Card as a debit card option to pay for eligible health care, pharmacy, dental and vision expenses." It pulls funds from the Health Care FSA or the Limited Expense Health Care FSA, so "participants do not need to pay out of pocket and then wait to be reimbursed," and transactions and balances show in the FSAFEDS mobile app. It is a choice, not a default: "Participants will have the choice of the debit card or paperless reimbursement." FSAFEDS's September 1, 2026 notice adds that card users keep itemized receipts and Explanation of Benefits statements to validate expenses when asked.
• Effective date. January 1, 2027, for a new enrollment, a re-enrollment or a change made during Open Season.

The 2026 limits, and what is known for 2027

The health FSA money is front-loaded: Military OneSource says the full election is available starting January 1, with payroll deductions continuing "until you reach your full election amount." The dependent care account works the other way, "your deduction in January will be available in February," because by law it can only pay out what has already been deducted.

What a full $3,400 election is worth, by rank

The saving is not the $3,400; it is the tax you would otherwise pay on it. The Air Force fact sheet is the clearest official statement of what is skipped: the money "is not subject to federal income tax, state income tax (in most states)" or "Social Security and Medicare taxes." IRS Publication 15-B's Table 2-1 says the same for accident and health benefits: exempt from income tax withholding and from Social Security and Medicare. So the value is your marginal federal rate plus 7.65 percent, applied to what you elect. Military taxable income is base pay; BAH and BAS are not taxed, which is why the brackets below are lower than a civilian with the same total pay would see.

The table uses the 2026 basic pay table (3.8 percent raise, effective January 1, 2026), the 2026 standard deduction of $16,100 single and $32,200 married filing jointly, and the 2026 tax rate tables, all from Rev. Proc. 2025-32 and the DFAS pay table, with base pay as the only taxable income and no state tax. Federal income tax saved is the difference between tax on base pay and tax on base pay less $3,400. The Social Security and Medicare line is 7.65 percent of $3,400, $260.10, at every grade.

Two things move those numbers. Special pays, a working spouse's wages or a second job raise taxable income and can raise the bracket; the child tax credit lowers the tax owed but not the marginal rate, so it does not change the saving. State income tax adds to it in most states. The federal tax calculator shows your withholding at the grade you choose, and the basic pay tables hold every cell the table above drew from.

What the account pays for, and the forfeiture risk

A TRICARE Prime family may have little out of pocket, and a health FSA only saves money on expenses you would have had. Military OneSource lists copays and cost shares, deductibles, dental including braces and orthodontia, vision including glasses and contact lenses, prescription and over-the-counter medicines, and wellness care such as acupuncture, massage and chiropractic care. The sizing rule that follows from the carryover: elect what you can document from 2026 receipts, plus any known 2027 expense such as orthodontia, and treat $680 as the margin for error. Elect $3,400 against $1,500 of real expenses and the forfeiture outweighs the tax saved.

If you also pay for child care, the dependent care account is the larger lever: $7,500 at the E-5 family's combined 17.65 percent rate is $1,323.75 a year, against the fees our child care cost guide shows by rank. It has no carryover, so size it to fees you are certain to pay. Both deductions come out before the TSP contribution and before withholding, so the take-home change on the LES is smaller than the election divided by twelve.

Before November 9

1. 1Add up 2026 receipts for copays, dental, vision, prescriptions and over-the-counter items. That total, not the $3,400 ceiling, is your election.
2. 2Create or check your fsafeds.gov login before the window opens. Enrollment is there, and the window closes December 14.
3. 3Decide on the card. Choose it if you want to pay at the pharmacy or dentist straight from the account; keep paperless reimbursement if you would rather file claims through the website or app and keep the receipts either way.
4. 4If you are enrolled for 2026, re-enroll between November 9 and December 14, or the account and its carryover end with the 2026 benefit period.
5. 5Check the first 2027 LES with the LES Auditor: the deduction should match your election spread across the year's paydays, and your taxable wages should drop by the same amount.

Rates and limits on this page are the FY2026 pay table and the 2026 IRS figures. Verify your election with FSAFEDS and your pay with your finance office before making financial decisions.