Flexible Benefits
Garland ISD is able to provide you with opportunities to reduce taxable income through its Flexible Spending Account Benefit Plan. The plan includes two components:
(1) pre-tax deductions of certain insurance premiums, and
(2) pre-tax contributions to a heatlh care or dependent care flexible spending account.
What are Pre-Tax Premium Deductions?
This component allows Garland ISD to deduct your dental, vision, and supplemental plans on a pre-tax basis. It also gives you the choice to have your health plan premium deducted on a pre-tax basis. All benefits deducted on a pre-tax basis can be changed during the plan year only if you have a qualified Family Status Change (Please note that premiums for the group universal life plan and the disability plan can only be deducted on an after-tax basis; otherwise, the benefits paid to you by these plans would be taxable income.)
What Are Flexible Spending Accounts?
Flexible spending accounts allow participants to use pre-tax dollars to pay for out-of-pocket medical expenses and dependent care expenses. Because these expenses are paid with pre-tax dollars, participants are taxed on a lower gross salary, thereby saving money that would otherwise be spent on federal taxes.
Eligible Garland ISD employees can choose to participate in the Dependent Care Reimbursement Account and/or the Health Care Reimbursement Account. During benefits enrollment, employees determine the amount they want to contribute to an account for the plan year. For new-hires the plan year begins the first of the month following 30 days of employment and ends August 31. The annual amount elected is divided over the number of paychecks the employee will receive during the plan year. Deducted amounts are deposited with FlexSystem and FlexSystem maintains the funds in individual accounts until reimbursement is requested.
Flex System Reimbursements
Participants can request reimbursement any time a qualified expense has been incurred. The service related to the expense needs only to have taken place; it need not be paid before requesting reimbursement. Simply complete a Request for Reimbursement Form and fax or mail it to TASC along with your receipts/documents. TASC will also allow employees to submit claims on-line through their web site as well as submit dependent care claims on-line up to three months in advance. Claims must be (a) for eligible expenses incurred during the applicable plan year, (b) for eligible plan participants, and (c) for expenses that have not been previously reimbursed under this or any other benefit plan or claimed as an income tax deduction. It is the participant’s responsibility to comply with these guidelines and to avoid submitting duplicate or ineligible claims. Failure to comply may delay payment.
Approved requests received by FlexSystem before noon CST will be processed that business day, with checks mailed and direct deposits made the following day. Actual receipt of the reimbursement depends on the mail and banking systems.
Once a request is reviewed and approved, a reimbursement check is issued. For dependent care reimbursements, there must be sufficient funds in the account for the full request to be reimbursed. If there are insufficient funds in a participant’s dependent care account, a check will be issued for only the amount available in the account, and the outstanding balance of the request will remain an open item until additional deposits are received, at which time an additional check will be issued. Medical expenses will be reimbursed for the full amount of the request, provided the total of the request does not exceed the total annual election.
Account Communication
Each reimbursement check contains a summary of the account’s activity. Participants can access their FlexSystem accounts 24-hours a day on the Interactive Voice Response (IVR) System and on the TASC web site. To access the IVR, just call 1-800-422-4661. To access the information on the TASC web site, go to www.tasconline.com. Click on the “Login to My TASC” link on the top of the screen. Participants will need their Client ID, Participant ID and PIN Numbers assigned by TASC to access their account on both the IVR and the web site.
Use-It-or-Lose-It-Rule
It is important to be conservative in making elections because any unused funds following the close of the Plan Year are not refundable to the Participant. Participants should use the IVR and web site to keep track of their account balances.
Change in Elections During the Plan Year
Participants can make a mid-year change to their annual election only in the event of a qualified Family Status Change. Participants also have the opportunity to change their elections annually during Annual Benefits Enrollment.
Information Packet
After enrollment, participants will receive a packet from FlexSystem/TASC containing logon information and additional claim filing details.
Health Care Reimbursement Account
The Health Care Reimbursement Account (HCRA) allows you to set aside pre-tax dollars to pay for eligible medical, dental, vision, and hearing expenses not covered by insurance. You may contribute a minimum of $300 up to a maximum of $5,000 per plan year. We suggest you use the HCRA Tax-Free Worksheet included in the Summary of Provisions below to determine the amount you want to contribute to your account.
- Summary of Provisions
(includes eligible and ineligible expenses, info about mid-year changes to the Plan, and worksheet)
Dependent Care Reimbursement Account
The Dependent Care Reimbursement Account (DCRA) allows you to set aside pre-tax dollars to pay for eligible dependent care expenses, eliminating the need to sue the tax credit at the end of the year. We suggest that you use the worksheet included in the Summary of Provisions below to chart your expected daycare expenses, taking into account holidays and summers when you may not need daycare, to help you determine the amount you want to contribute to your account. You may contribute a minimum of $300 up to a maximum of $5,000 for the plan year. (If married filing jointly, $5,000 per family; if single or married filing separately, $2,500 each.)
- Summary of Provisions
(includes worksheet)