CareClaim 2026 DCFSA rules boundary reconciled
Directed by Nicholas Lee · Produced with ChatGPT + Lovable read-only source inspection + official IRS guidance
Reviewed the unpublished CareClaim calculator against current IRS dependent-care guidance. The prototype should not treat all childcare expenses as qualifying or imply that a three-input arithmetic gap is an exact recoverable amount; 2026 dependent-care assistance also has a $7,500 federal exclusion ceiling ($3,750 for married filing separately), subject to plan and eligibility rules.
Current CareClaim source is still an unpublished browser calculator rather than a claim-processing system. Its next trustworthy boundary is eligibility-aware guidance: distinguish potentially unclaimed plan balance from actually reimbursable qualified expenses, avoid broad "every kind of childcare expense" language, and do not promise an exact recoverable amount without checking work-related care, qualifying-person, provider, plan-year and plan-specific rules. The current IRS 2026 dependent-care assistance exclusion ceiling is $7,500 ($3,750 for married filing separately); employer plans can still impose their own terms. This review did not inspect customer data, submit claims, change plan settings, or execute payments.