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  • Benefits
  • Reimbursement Accounts
  • Health Care Account
  • IRS Rules

IRS Rules

The following rules are dictated by Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regulations:

  1. By enrolling in the plan, you authorize your employer to deduct your election amount from your paycheck on a pre-tax basis.  
  2. Your account can be used to pay for eligible expenses incurred while you are enrolled during the plan year. Expenses are considered incurred on the day of service, not when you pay or are billed.  
  3. Your account cannot be used to pay for expenses incurred before or after you are covered under this plan or for services you plan to receive in the future.  
  4. Your account can only be used to pay for medically necessary and eligible health care expenses for which you have not and will not seek reimbursement from any other health plan or source.  
  5. You cannot take a deduction or a tax credit on your tax return form for any health care expense paid for through this account.  
  6. You are responsible for maintaining documentation (e.g. detailed receipts) to verify your expenses (the nature of each expense, the amount and the date incurred). Keep these with your other important tax papers for the calendar year. You may be requested to submit these per your monthly statement.  
  7. You will have until April 15 following the plan year (your Claim It By date) to get reimbursed from your account (by filing a Pay Me Back claim form) for eligible expenses incurred from January 1 - December 31 of the plan year (your Spend It By date). Both dates are displayed online and on your monthly account statement and subject to change should you stop participating in this plan before the end of the plan year.  
  8. Be sure to incur eligible expenses totaling your election amount as of December 31 (your Spend it By date). Any balance remaining in your account after April 15 of the following year (your Claim It By date) cannot be rolled over or paid out to you and will be forfeited.  Note: you can carry over up to $570 ($550 for the 2021 plan year) of unused funds into the next plan year for the Health Care Reimbursement Account only. You must be an Active employee in a benefits-eligible work status on December 31 in order to be eligible for the carryover provision.
  9. If you want to participate during the next plan year, you will need to reenroll during the open enrollment period. HealthEquity is not allowed to keep you enrolled or automatically re-enroll you.  
  10. You may be able to enroll, change or cancel your enrollment during the plan year if you have experienced a qualified change as defined by the IRS.  
  11. Participation in this plan reduces your taxable income and may affect other compensation-based benefits such as life, disability and Social Security.  
  12. Consult a tax advisor if you have any questions regarding your personal situation.

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Human Resources

Duke Human Resources
705 Broad St. Box 90496
Durham, NC 27705
Phone: (919) 684-5600
Have questions?

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