# The Working Families Childcare Access Act of 2022

This bill makes it easier and more affordable for working parents to pay for their children's care and activities by expanding what they can pay for with pre-tax money through their employer's dependent care savings account.

Right now, many employers offer dependent care flexible spending accounts (FSAs), which let employees set aside money before taxes to pay for childcare. This bill significantly expands what counts as eligible expenses. Instead of just traditional childcare, parents can now use these accounts to pay for sports programs, tutoring, music lessons, art classes, and adoption expenses. The bill also raises the age limit from 13 to 15, so parents can cover activities for slightly older kids. This matters because using pre-tax money means families save money on taxes—essentially getting a discount on these activities.

The bill also makes the accounts more practical by allowing unused money to roll over to the next year instead of being lost. Currently, if you don't spend all your set-aside money by the end of the year, you forfeit it. Under this bill, any balance of $20 or more automatically carries forward, and smaller balances can be carried forward if you choose. Additionally, the bill triples the annual contribution limit from $5,000 to $15,000 per household (or $7,500 for married couples filing separately), giving families much more flexibility to save for these expenses. These changes take effect for tax years starting after December 31, 2022, making it significantly easier for working families to afford enrichment activities and childcare without losing money to the "use it or lose it" rule.

WFCA Act of 2022

Miller, Carol D.

Working Families Childcare Access Act of 2022 or the WFCA Act of 2022 This bill allows certain additional expenses to be paid from a dependent care flexible spending arrangement (FSA), specifically qualified sports, tutoring, and music or art expenses. It also increases the eligibility age for dependent care benefits to 15, allows a carryforward of unused benefits to the next plan year, and increases to $15,000 the maximum amount of dependent care benefits excludible from employee gross income.