How Much Should I Put in my Flexible Spending Account?

This calculator will estimate your 2013 tax savings if you use your employer's flexible spending plan to pay for medical and/or dependent care expenses. "Flex plans" let you set aside a portion of your salary before taxes to pay for dependent care costs and medical expenses not covered by insurance. Once you pay for the expense, you are reimbursed by your plan.

There's one drawback to flex plans, though. If you don't use all the money in your account by the end of the plan year, you lose it. You could still come out ahead if you save more in taxes than you forfeit. You don't want to lose a dime, of course, but to encourage you to take full advantage of the tax benefit -- and not forfeit tax breaks by putting in too little -- we'll show you the minimum you'd need to spend to come out ahead.

And an important caveat: As you might know, tax rates for 2013 aren't set. At Kiplinger, we expect that the highest earners, those making somewhere around $500,000 a year, may see somewhat higher tax rates next year. That would increase the value of putting money aside in an FSA.