The flexible-spending account, or FSA, is one of two common ways of paying for healthcare expenses tax-free. With an FSA, employees can deduct a certain amount of money from their paychecks each year—the maximum was $3,050 in 2023—to cover expenses not paid by their insurance such as doctor and prescription copays. 

The FSA is often confused with the second type of account with a similar acronym called a health-savings account, or HSA, which is available only to people with high-deductible health insurance plans.