Updated September 2026 · Figures taken from IRS publications and notices
Contact lenses are an eligible expense. If your FSA money expires December 31, this is one of the easier ways to use it.
The IRS is direct about it. Publication 502 says you can include “amounts you pay for eyeglasses and contact lenses needed for medical reasons,” and it counts the supplies too: “the cost of equipment and materials required for using contact lenses, such as saline solution and enzyme cleaner.”
One thing to get straight before you panic. An HSA is not on a deadline. Only FSA money is. If you have been told your balance disappears at the end of the year, check which kind of account you actually have, because half the urgency people feel about this is misplaced.
What follows is the plain version: which account you have, what the deadline really is for your plan, what counts as eligible, and how this works alongside vision insurance when a retailer is out of network. Every figure is pulled from the IRS itself and linked at the bottom.
On this page
FSA or HSA: only one of them is on a clock
These get talked about as if they were the same thing. For December purposes they are opposites.
| Health FSA | HSA | |
|---|---|---|
| What happens to leftover money | IRS Publication 969: “Amounts that remain at the end of the year are generally forfeited” | IRS Publication 969: “Amounts that remain at the end of the year are generally carried over to the next year” |
| 2026 contribution limit | $3,400 in employee salary reductions | $4,400 self-only, $8,750 family |
| Is there a year-end deadline? | Yes, with possible extensions your employer chooses | No |
| If you change jobs | Tied to the employer’s plan | The account is yours and goes with you |
So if you have an HSA, nothing forces your hand in December. Buying contacts with it is still a smart use of pre-tax dollars, but you are not racing anyone. If you have an FSA, keep reading.
What actually counts as eligible
Contact lenses qualify as a medical expense, and so do the things you need to use them. IRS Publication 502 names both directly.
✓ Prescription contact lenses. “Amounts you pay for eyeglasses and contact lenses needed for medical reasons.”
✓ Solution and cleaning supplies. “The cost of equipment and materials required for using contact lenses, such as saline solution and enzyme cleaner.”
✗ Lenses bought purely to change your eye color. Those are treated as cosmetic rather than medical, so they are not eligible.
The word doing the work in that first line is “prescription.” A valid prescription is what makes the purchase a medical expense, and it is also what makes the sale legal in the first place, since every contact lens sold in the United States is a regulated medical device. If you are not sure what your prescription says, our guide to reading your contact lens prescription goes line by line.
Your deadline may not actually be December 31
December 31 is the date everybody repeats, and for a plan that runs on the calendar year it is right. But three things can change it, and they are set by your employer, not by the IRS.
1 A different plan year. If your employer’s plan year does not end on December 31, neither does your deadline.
2 A grace period. Employers may allow extra time to spend last year’s money, up to “two months and 15 days” in the IRS’s words, which is March 15 for a calendar-year plan.
3 A carryover. Instead of a grace period, a plan may let you roll a limited amount into next year. For plan years beginning in 2026 the IRS set that maximum at $680.
! You do not get both. IRS Notice 2013-71 is explicit: a plan that adopts the carryover “is not permitted to also provide a grace period with respect to health FSAs.” So find out which one your plan uses, because the difference is months.
Your benefits portal or your plan administrator can tell you all three in about two minutes, and it is worth knowing before you assume you are out of time or assume you have plenty.
Using vision insurance and an FSA together
These are two separate pots of money and people conflate them constantly. Vision insurance is a benefit from an insurer. An FSA or HSA is your own money, set aside before tax. You can generally use both on the same purchase, in sequence, and that is often the cheapest way to do it.
There is one hard rule. You cannot be paid twice for the same dollar. IRS Publication 502 puts it plainly: “You can’t include medical expenses that were paid by insurance companies or other sources.” So if your vision plan reimburses part of an order, your FSA covers what is left over, not the whole thing again.
How this works here, plainly
We are out of network. We do not look up your coverage, we do not bill your insurer, and we do not apply benefits at checkout. What we do is provide the claim forms for EyeMed, VSP, Davis Vision, Cole Managed Vision and Superior Vision, and you submit the form with your invoice to get reimbursed by your plan. Details and the forms are on our insurance page. Eligibility and reimbursement are between you and your insurer, so check your coverage before you order.
How to pay, and what to keep
There are two normal routes, and either is fine.
Pay with the card. Most FSA and HSA accounts issue a debit card that runs on the ordinary payment networks, so you use it like any other card at checkout. If a card is ever declined because of how a merchant is categorized, that is not a dead end, it just pushes you to the second route.
Pay normally and reimburse yourself. Use whatever card you like, then submit the receipt to your FSA or HSA administrator and they pay you back from your balance. Plenty of people do this on purpose to keep points or cash back on a regular card.
Either way, keep the itemized receipt showing what was bought and when. Administrators ask for documentation, and an invoice that names the lenses is much easier to substantiate than a credit card line item.
Why the last week of December is a bad plan
There is a practical reason not to leave this to the last week, and it is not the one you would guess.
Ordering contacts is not instant, and the reason is federal. When you supply prescription details rather than a copy of the prescription, the seller has to verify it with your eye doctor, and that process runs on a clock set by the FTC: your prescriber gets eight business hours to respond, counted 9am to 5pm on weekdays in their time zone. A request sent on a Friday afternoon may not clear until the middle of the next week, and holiday closures stretch it further. Add shipping on top.
Two things shorten it. Send a copy of your prescription up front instead of having us verify, and order well before the final days. You can send your prescription before, during, or after checkout.
The bottom line
If you have a health FSA with money left and a plan year ending December 31, that balance is generally forfeited when the year turns. Prescription contact lenses and the solution to go with them are eligible medical expenses, which makes a year’s supply one of the more sensible places for it to go.
Check three things this week: whether your account is an FSA or an HSA, when your plan year actually ends, and whether your plan offers a grace period or a carryover. Then order with enough runway that verification and shipping cannot eat your deadline.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use my FSA or HSA to buy contact lenses?
Yes. IRS Publication 502 lists amounts you pay for eyeglasses and contact lenses needed for medical reasons as medical expenses, and it includes the equipment and materials required to use contact lenses, such as saline solution and enzyme cleaner. A valid prescription is what makes them eligible. Lenses bought purely to change eye color are treated as cosmetic and are not eligible.
Does my HSA money expire on December 31?
No. IRS Publication 969 states that amounts remaining in an HSA at the end of the year are generally carried over to the next year. The account also belongs to you rather than your employer, so it stays with you if you change jobs. Only health FSA money is subject to a year-end deadline.
What happens to unused FSA money at the end of the year?
IRS Publication 969 says amounts that remain at the end of the year are generally forfeited. Your employer may soften that in one of two ways: a grace period of up to two months and 15 days, or a carryover of a limited amount into the next year, capped at $680 for plan years beginning in 2026. A plan can offer one or the other, not both.
How much can I put in an FSA or HSA for 2026?
For 2026 the IRS set the health FSA employee salary reduction limit at $3,400, with a maximum carryover of $680. The 2026 HSA contribution limits are $4,400 for self-only high deductible health plan coverage and $8,750 for family coverage. These figures are adjusted for inflation and can change from year to year, so confirm the current figures for your plan year.
Can I use vision insurance and an FSA on the same order?
Generally yes, in sequence, but not on the same dollars. IRS Publication 502 states that you cannot include medical expenses that were paid by insurance companies or other sources. In practice that means your vision plan covers what it covers, and your FSA or HSA can go toward the remainder. Your plan administrator can confirm how to document it.
Do you accept FSA and HSA cards?
FSA and HSA debit cards generally run on the ordinary payment networks, so they are used like any other card at checkout. If a card is declined because of how a merchant is categorized, you can pay with a regular card and submit the itemized receipt to your administrator for reimbursement from your balance. Keep the invoice either way, since administrators commonly ask for documentation.
Do you bill my vision insurance directly?
No. We are out of network, so we do not look up coverage or bill insurers. We provide claim forms for EyeMed, VSP, Davis Vision, Cole Managed Vision and Superior Vision, and you submit the form with your invoice to your plan for reimbursement. Eligibility and reimbursement are determined by your insurer, so it is worth checking your coverage before ordering.
How late can I order and still use this year’s FSA money?
Earlier than you think. If the seller has to verify your prescription with your eye doctor, federal rules give the prescriber eight business hours to respond, counted during weekday business hours in their time zone, and holiday closures can stretch that out. Shipping comes after. Sending a copy of your prescription with the order removes the verification wait entirely.
Sources
- Internal Revenue Service. Publication 502, Medical and Dental Expenses, on eyeglasses and contact lenses, contact lens supplies, and expenses paid by insurance.
- Internal Revenue Service. Publication 969, Health Savings Accounts and Other Tax-Favored Health Plans, on forfeiture of unused FSA amounts and carryover of HSA balances.
- Internal Revenue Service. Tax inflation adjustments for tax year 2026, health FSA limit of $3,400 and maximum carryover of $680.
- Internal Revenue Service. Revenue Procedure 2025-19, 2026 HSA contribution limits of $4,400 self-only and $8,750 family.
- Internal Revenue Service. Notice 2013-71, grace period of up to two months and 15 days, and the rule that a plan with a carryover may not also provide a grace period.
- Federal Trade Commission. The Contact Lens Rule: A Guide for Prescribers and Sellers, on the eight business hour verification window.
A note on the above: this article is general education, not tax, legal, or medical advice, and we are not tax advisors. FSA and HSA rules are set partly by the IRS and partly by your employer’s plan document, so the specifics of your deadline, your grace period or carryover, and your documentation requirements come from your plan administrator. Contribution limits are adjusted for inflation and can change from year to year. Contact lenses are prescription medical devices, and only a licensed eye doctor can determine what is right for your eyes.
