Adoption Assistance
What is it?
Adopting a child can be an exciting, fulfilling experience. Unfortunately, it can also be expensive. With an Adoption Assistance account, you can get reimbursed with pre-tax dollars for reasonable and necessary expenses that you incur in the process of legally adopting a child, including adoption fees, court costs, attorney fees, and related travel costs.
How Does it Benefit You?
Because adopting a child can be expensive, enrolling in an Adoption Assistance FSA provides significant savings that you can use on other expenses as your family grows. When you enroll in an Adoption FSA, you lower your taxable income and increase your take-home pay. And, because you’re using pre-tax dollars on eligible expenses, you save approximately 30%-40% on your dollar (depending on your tax bracket).
Manage Your Account Online
Create your online account so you can submit claims, check your account balance, sign up for direct deposit and more. Download our mobile app to conveniently access your account anytime, anywhere. You can also manage your account when you log into your account from any of your mobile devices.
Learn how to use P&A's mobile app to manage your P&A account. Penny Panda shows you how in this tutorial. Please note: this app is available for FSA, HRA, Commuter, and COBRA participants.
Watch VideoDownload P&A’s MyBenefits Mobile App
Contribute
Deciding How Much to Contribute
First, you need to calculate your anticipated adoption expenses in the upcoming plan year. Because any election in the Adoption Assistance FSA should also coordinate with the use of the tax credit you receive when adopting a child, it’s strongly recommended that you seek advice from your own tax adviser before enrolling in the account.
Contribution Amount
The maximum amount of reimbursement that you may receive in connection with the adoption of any one child in 2024 is $16,810 (adjusted for inflation each year). For 2025, the maximum amount of reimbursement that you may receive is $17,280. This is a total rather than an annual amount, even if the expenses occur over a period of years.
Eligible Expenses
Your adopted child must be younger than 18 years old or physically or mentally incapable of caring for himself or herself. The Adoption Assistance FSA reimburses you for the reasonable and necessary expenses that you incur in the process of legally adopting an eligible child including:
- Adoption fees
- Attorney fees
- Court costs
- Related travel costs
Non-eligible Expenses
Adoption Assistance FSAs do not reimburse expenses incurred in the following situations:
- Adoption of step-child
- Carrying out a surrogate parenting arrangement
- Violation of state or federal law in any context
Adopting a Non-Citizen Child
Generally, any amounts paid to reimburse you for eligible adoption expenses would be excluded from your income for the year of the reimbursement. However, should you adopt a child who is not a citizen or resident of the United States, all amounts reimbursed to you would be excludable from your income only in the year in which the adoption becomes final.
Use Your P&A Benefits Card
P&A Benefits Card
When you enroll in an FSA, you’ll receive a P&A issued Benefits Card in the mail. Use your P&A Benefits Card to purchase expenses wherever MasterCard is accepted. When you swipe the card, your money is automatically deducted from your account.
Additional cards can be ordered at no extra cost by logging into your P&A MyBenefits Account. You can also contact customer service to order extra cards.
After you use your Benefits Card, you may be occasionally requested to provide documentation of your purchase. This request is to ensure the plan is in compliance and you’re using it to purchase IRS-approved eligible expenses. Examples of acceptable documentation include an Explanation of Benefits (EOB) from your insurance carrier or an itemized receipt.
View a list of providers who will accept the P&A Benefits Card.
If you are unable to use your Benefits Card, pay for your expense out-of-pocket and submit a claim to P&A.
Sign up for Direct Deposit
Enroll in direct deposit and have your reimbursement deposited directly into your designated checking or savings account. With direct deposit, P&A’s typical turnaround time is less than 24 hours from the point a claim is approved. If you don’t enroll in direct deposit, a reimbursement check will be mailed to your home, which can take anywhere from 10-15 business days.
To sign up for direct deposit, log into your account and go to Direct Deposit under Quick Links. Please note, it can take up to 15 days to verify your banking info and set up direct deposit in your MyBenefits account.
How to Submit a Claim
If you’re unable to use your Benefits Card, you can pay out-of-pocket for your expense and submit a claim for reimbursement.
Ways to Submit a Claim
With P&A, there are numerous ways to submit a claim for reimbursement.
Log into your P&A MyBenefits account and click Upload Claim/Documentation to submit a claim.
All claims must be accompanied with a receipt/proof of purchase that includes the date(s) of service and service(s) rendered. Estimates or statements with previous balances are not sufficient. Additional information may be requested if a receipt/proof of purchase contains an estimate, previous balance or does not contain service and services rendered.
Manage Your Account Online
Create your online account so you can submit claims, check your account balance, sign up for direct deposit and more. Download our mobile app to conveniently access your account anytime, anywhere. You can also manage your account when you log into your account from any of your mobile devices.
Learn how to use P&A's mobile app to manage your P&A account. Penny Panda shows you how in this tutorial. Please note: this app is available for FSA, HRA, Commuter, and COBRA participants.
Watch VideoDownload P&A’s MyBenefits Mobile App
Contribute
Deciding How Much to Contribute
First, you need to calculate your anticipated adoption expenses in the upcoming plan year. Because any election in the Adoption Assistance FSA should also coordinate with the use of the tax credit you receive when adopting a child, it’s strongly recommended that you seek advice from your own tax adviser before enrolling in the account.
Contribution Amount
The maximum amount of reimbursement that you may receive in connection with the adoption of any one child in 2024 is $16,810 (adjusted for inflation each year). For 2025, the maximum amount of reimbursement that you may receive is $17,280. This is a total rather than an annual amount, even if the expenses occur over a period of years.
Eligible Expenses
Your adopted child must be younger than 18 years old or physically or mentally incapable of caring for himself or herself. The Adoption Assistance FSA reimburses you for the reasonable and necessary expenses that you incur in the process of legally adopting an eligible child including:
- Adoption fees
- Attorney fees
- Court costs
- Related travel costs
Non-eligible Expenses
Adoption Assistance FSAs do not reimburse expenses incurred in the following situations:
- Adoption of step-child
- Carrying out a surrogate parenting arrangement
- Violation of state or federal law in any context
Adopting a Non-Citizen Child
Generally, any amounts paid to reimburse you for eligible adoption expenses would be excluded from your income for the year of the reimbursement. However, should you adopt a child who is not a citizen or resident of the United States, all amounts reimbursed to you would be excludable from your income only in the year in which the adoption becomes final.
Use Your P&A Benefits Card
P&A Benefits Card
When you enroll in an FSA, you’ll receive a P&A issued Benefits Card in the mail. Use your P&A Benefits Card to purchase expenses wherever MasterCard is accepted. When you swipe the card, your money is automatically deducted from your account.
Additional cards can be ordered at no extra cost by logging into your P&A MyBenefits Account. You can also contact customer service to order extra cards.
After you use your Benefits Card, you may be occasionally requested to provide documentation of your purchase. This request is to ensure the plan is in compliance and you’re using it to purchase IRS-approved eligible expenses. Examples of acceptable documentation include an Explanation of Benefits (EOB) from your insurance carrier or an itemized receipt.
View a list of providers who will accept the P&A Benefits Card.
If you are unable to use your Benefits Card, pay for your expense out-of-pocket and submit a claim to P&A.
Sign up for Direct Deposit
Enroll in direct deposit and have your reimbursement deposited directly into your designated checking or savings account. With direct deposit, P&A’s typical turnaround time is less than 24 hours from the point a claim is approved. If you don’t enroll in direct deposit, a reimbursement check will be mailed to your home, which can take anywhere from 10-15 business days.
To sign up for direct deposit, log into your account and go to Direct Deposit under Quick Links. Please note, it can take up to 15 days to verify your banking info and set up direct deposit in your MyBenefits account.
How to Submit a Claim
If you’re unable to use your Benefits Card, you can pay out-of-pocket for your expense and submit a claim for reimbursement.
Ways to Submit a Claim
With P&A, there are numerous ways to submit a claim for reimbursement.
Log into your P&A MyBenefits account and click Upload Claim/Documentation to submit a claim.
All claims must be accompanied with a receipt/proof of purchase that includes the date(s) of service and service(s) rendered. Estimates or statements with previous balances are not sufficient. Additional information may be requested if a receipt/proof of purchase contains an estimate, previous balance or does not contain service and services rendered.