QMac 2017: How to set up a FSA in Quicken for Mac 2017
How do I set up an employer offered flex spending account in Quicken 2017 for Mac? For example, during open enrollment, I opt to have $1000.00 to spend the following year in a FSA. So I have what appears to be an asset account that is a credit card. Payments are deducted from my paycheck evenly through out the year. How is the best way to create an account in Quicken to handle this type of account?
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I set up a Cash account in Quicken called "Flex Spending". On the split line in my paycheck representing the deduction for flex spending, I show it as a transfer to the Flex Spending cash account. This shows up as a deposit in the Flex Spending account register (positive amount). In your case, you would show $41.67 transferred from your paycheck transaction to the Flex Spending cash account if you happen to be paid twice a month.
When you incur a medical expense against the Flex account, you would enter that in the Flex Spending register as a "spend" or debit transaction.
The balance of the Flex Spending account could be positive or negative depending on if you have incurred less or more medical expense (respectively) than the employer has collected from you so far. At the end of the year, you would expect to show a zero balance in the Flex Spending account.
You may or may not be able to connect the debit/credit card that they issued to you for transaction download. In my case, it is not possible since there really is no "bank" account to connect to. If it is possible in your case, you may want to set it up as a credit card account, rather than a cash account.
Make sense?
So, I set mine up by creating an Asset account and record a 'deposit' by my employer at the start of every year. Then I simply apply the expenses as they come up that are deducted from that account by recording the transaction, say in my credit card account, with a split line that deducts the expense from the Asset account.
The monthly payments I make to the employer do not interact with the asset account I simply have these as a deduction on my pay stub entry and that is all.
You can play around and make adjustments using either of these methods to agree with your needs.
HTH.
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I used to have my HSA setup as a cash account, but I didn't like having that money inflating, if I may, my liquid cash balances. I moved it to an asset account so that it still affects my net worth, but doesn't show screw with my cash & credit account totals.
Granted HSA accounts typically have a higher balance, but it is something to keep in mind.
SO, I created 2 accounts, an FSA Liability account and an FSA Spending account.
The 1st of each year, I transferred the full amount ($1000 in the OP's example) from the liability account to the Spending account. This created a $1000 amount that I owed and a $1000 that I had to spend.
My paychecks directed the periodic withholding amount to the Liability account ... to pay it down. The same as any other loan.
My actual spending was out of, naturally, the Spending account.
That way I could see both how much of the $1000 remained available in the Spending account, AND how much of that $1000 advance I still owed.
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