--- title: 'PSA: You Can Use Your FSA Money to Buy At-Home Coronavirus Tests' description: The deadline to use up your funds in many plans is Dec. 31. authors: - name: Julia Glum role: Managing Editor url: https://money.com/author/julia-glum/ bio: Julia Glum joined Money in 2018 and specializes in covering financial trends that affect everyday Americans' wallets. She also writes Dollar Scholar, a weekly newsletter that teaches young adults how to navigate the messy world of money. education: University of Florida at_money_since: 2018 articles: 453 covers: - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology also_seen_in: - Newsweek - International Business Times - CBS News - Good Morning America - WUSA9 - Pix 11 - The New York Times - Mashable - The Washington Post - CNBC - Politico social: - https://x.com/superjulia - https://www.linkedin.com/in/julia-glum published: '2020-12-23T13:00:19.000Z' modified: '2024-01-10T16:10:37.000Z' section: Banking tags: - Health Care word_count: 506 canonical: https://money.com/fsa-eligible-covid-tests/ type: Article source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We may earn a fee if you click on the links below. Compensation does not determine ranking. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![FSA-Deadline-Home-Coronavirus-Tests](https://img.money.com/2020/12/shutterstock_1858662802.jpg) For many Americans, December is a mad shopping rush — not only to buy gifts for the holidays, but also to spend all the money in their [Flexible Spending Accounts](https://money.com/flexible-spending-account-deadline/) before it expires. This year is no exception, but it has a pandemic twist: People are using their FSA dollars to buy at-home coronavirus tests. Rida Wong, president of Health-E Commerce, tells Money that home collection COVID-19 tests have been a top-selling item since they launched on [FSAstore.com](http://fsastore.com) in October. They're even advertised on the homepage. Legally, coronavirus testing is [free](https://www.hhs.gov/coronavirus/community-based-testing-sites/index.html) for everyone in the U.S., even if you don't have insurance. But getting to a testing site and waiting for results can be inconvenient from a planning perspective. To that end, the Food and Drug Administration has [issued](https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/coronavirus-covid-19-update-december-17-2020) emergency authorizations for roughly 300 tests and sample collection devices, some of which can be used at home. The products are [legitimate](https://money.com/at-home-covid-costs-pros-cons/), but they're not cheap. And that may make them an attractive option for people trying to spend the pre-tax dollars earmarked for out-of-pocket medical and dental expenses in their FSA. FSAstore.com sells a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test from MyLabBox for $199.99. Customers buy the kit, collect their own saliva sample and mail it in to be analyzed. They get results back in as little as 24 hours after the sample is received by the lab, and if they're positive, they can consult with a physician. Similarly, Everlywell specifically says on its website that its $109 home coronavirus [test](https://www.everlywell.com/products/covid-19-test/), a nasal swab kit, "is covered by participating FSA and \[Health Savings Accounts\] plans." Costco's site [notes](https://www.costco.com/covid-test.html?features=fsa+eligible&refine=ads_f142553_ntk_cs%253A%2522FSA%2BEligible%2522) that its $129.99 and $139.99 tests through Azova are FSA eligible, too. Generally, FSA plans reimburse people for expenses not covered by insurance. You may have to submit a claim, provide receipts or use a special debit card, so investigate before you splurge. Due to the use-it-or-lose-it nature of FSAs, Wong estimates more than $400 million in FSA funds go unspent every year. She says people may have more money to use this year than normal because the pandemic led them to postpone doctor's appointments and procedures. Thanks to the CARES Act, over-the-counter medications and feminine care products like tampons, pads and menstrual cups are now eligible for FSA reimbursement. This year has also seen thermometers, nasal irrigation kits and products to help minimize [maskne](https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/coronavirus/coronavirus-tips-to-avoid-maskne-skin-irritation) spike in popularity. "Overall, I think there's just been a lot more increase in awareness about health as a result of COVID-19," Wong says. However, should you choose to buy and take an at-home coronavirus test, remember that a negative result doesn't give you automatic permission to frolic mask-less through large crowds. In addition to the risk of false negatives, experts say COVID-19 tests only provide a snapshot of a moment in time. Even the FDA [admits](https://www.fda.gov/health-professionals/closer-look-covid-19-diagnostic-testing) "no test is 100% accurate," so proceed with caution. ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/fsa-eligible-covid-tests/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Banking", "item": "https://money.com/banking/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Savings Accounts", "item": "https://money.com/savings-accounts/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "PSA: You Can Use Your FSA Money to Buy At-Home Coronavirus Tests" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/fsa-eligible-covid-tests/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/fsa-eligible-covid-tests/", "name": "PSA: You Can Use Your FSA Money to Buy At-Home Coronavirus Tests", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2020-12-23T13:00:19.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/fsa-eligible-covid-tests/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/fsa-eligible-covid-tests/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2024-01-10T16:10:37.000Z" }, { "@type": "Article", "headline": "PSA: You Can Use Your FSA Money to Buy At-Home Coronavirus Tests", "articleSection": "Banking", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2020/12/shutterstock_1858662802.jpg", "width": 2880, "height": 1920, "caption": "FSA-Deadline-Home-Coronavirus-Tests" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Julia Glum", "url": "https://money.com/author/julia-glum/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/julia-glum/#author", "description": "Julia Glum joined Money in 2018 and specializes in covering financial trends that affect everyday Americans' wallets. 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