Sunglasses & Glasses

Are Sunglasses FSA / HSA Eligible? [Full List of Approved Expenses]

If you have a flexible spending account (FSA) or health savings account (HSA), you can actually buy prescription sunglasses with your tax-free funds. But the keyword here is prescription. You can use your FSA or HSA card to pay for the sunglasses at checkout, whether you’re shopping online or over-the-counter at a store.

FSA and HAS accounts do not cover regular sunglasses. This is because sunglasses are usually not classified as valid medical expenses unless they have prescription lenses to correct vision.

FSA and HSA Eligible Sunglasses

What’s Eligible Under FSA and HSA Accounts? 

FSA and HSA funds cover a variety of vision expenses, including:

Prescription sunglasses – Again, the keyword is prescription. Your sunglasses must have prescription lenses to qualify for reimbursement. FSA and HSA accounts also cover specialty prescription sunglasses lenses such as photochromic, mirrored, and polarized lenses.

Blue light glasses – Most FSA and HSA plans cover sunglasses and eyeglasses lenses with blue-light filters. But you may need to refer to your plan’s coverage. However, from our experience, most plans cover these types of glasses.

Prescription eyeglasses – Including all corrective clear glasses such as progressive, bifocal, over-the-counter reading glasses, and plain eyeglass frames. And don’t be afraid to add extras such as scratch-resistant or anti-reflective coating. Your plan covers these options too. The one option not included is any insurance or protection plans for your prescription glasses. These have to be covered out-of-pocket.

Prescription contact lenses – The FSA and HSA cover all kinds of prescription contact lenses. These include extended-wear, monthly, or disposable contacts. However, the plans don’t cover non-prescription contacts, such as colored contacts for fashion use.

Safety goggles – Just make sure that the safety goggles have prescription lenses. The FSA doesn’t cover regular safety goggles.

Sports sunglasses – Brands like Oakley make sports-specific sunglasses for baseball, golf, fishing, etc. Your FSA can cover these types of shades if they have prescription lenses. Fortunately, it’s not hard to find prescription sports sunglasses. They are a good alternative to over-the-glasses (OTG) options.

Eye care – FSA covers eye care accessories. These include contact lens cleaning solutions, saline, eyeglasses wipes, and cleansers. You can also add eyeglasses repair and repair kits to the list of covered accessories. These accessories also apply to prescription sunglasses.

Routine eye exams – The funds can be used for annual eye exams or other routine check-ups. And this is great since you’ll need a valid prescription to purchase corrective eyeglasses or sunglasses. Learn how to read your prescription in our guide here.

Eye surgery – The FSA covers corrective eye surgery, including cataract, radial keratotomy, or LASIK surgeries. However, it is good to consult your coverage provider to see the types of eligible surgeries.

Eye drops – Your plan also covers eye drops for dry eye or allergies. And this includes using your card to purchase eye drops over the counter.

It’s also worth noting that you can buy prescription sunglasses with a limited-purpose flexible spending account (LPFSA). But, again, only prescription sunglasses and not regular sunglasses are eligible for reimbursement.

The same isn’t true for a dependent care flexible spending account. Prescription sunglasses aren’t eligible for reimbursement with these DCFSA accounts. This account is designed for dependent care health expenses and doesn’t cover prescription sunglasses, including blue-light sunglasses.  

FSA and HSA Eligible Eyewear Expenses List

How to Pay for Sunglasses with your FSA or HSA Account?

You can pay for your prescription sunglasses using direct FSA or HSA payments, which most sunglasses vendors support. In this case, you can make direct payments with your FSA or HSA card, just like you do with a regular debit or credit card.

But you don’t need a physical FSA or HSA card to complete your purchase. Instead, you can simply use your regular credit card. Then, your HSA or FSA provider will reimburse the money to the card you used to make the payment. But it’s important to remember that you’ll need an itemized receipt to claim your reimbursement. And you may need to enter the receipt online for verification. 

Are Regular Sunglasses FSA Eligible?

No, regular sunglasses are not eligible unless you have a medical reason and a prescription from your doctor. For most people, this means you can only use FSA and HSA funds to cover prescription eyewear. Since sunglasses aren’t used for vision correction unless they have prescription lenses, they aren’t covered under your FSA and HSA accounts.

It’s also worth adding colored contact lenses to this list. Unfortunately, the FSA or HSA doesn’t cover contact lenses that don’t correct your vision. 

Are Oakleys, Ray-Bans, and Other Brands Covered?

Yes, you can spend FSA and HSA funds on top prescription sunglasses brands like Oakley and Ray-Ban. And this is useful since brand-name prescription sunglasses can be expensive. But many eyewear providers allow you to stack your insurance payments and coverage.

For example, you can use your FSA funds to pay for a portion of the sunglasses, such as the prescription lenses. Then, you can use your regular vision insurance to pay for the frames. To find out if you’re plan allows this, you’ll want to contact your eyewear provider and insurance company. They should be able to provide details on how to stretch your FSA dollars. 

Also, keep in mind that FSA funds expire at the end of the calendar year of your coverage period. So remember to use your funds before December 31st, or you’ll be forced to forfeit them. That means you can choose to indulge in designer eyewear before your funds expire. Alternatively, you can stock up on good replacement frames or contacts for when you need them.  

Conversely, HSA funds do not expire and simply roll over to the following year. So you can use your funds any time you like.  

Does FSA Cover Blue Light Glasses? 

Your FSA plan may cover sunglasses with blue light filters. However, these glasses are a grey area since not all providers agree if blue light filters constitute vision care. Still, you have a good chance of qualifying if an optometrist or optician prescribes your blue light sunglasses.

Finally, check with your provider to ensure that blue light filters are covered under your plan. Some people are sensitive to blue light emissions from computer or smartphone screens. Sensitive people may develop vision problems and insomnia from blue light. So it is easy to see why this may be considered a valid medical expense.

Again, a dependent care flexible spending account doesn’t cover blue light sunglasses or any type of prescription sunglasses.

Have a Question?

Want to know more about using your FSA or HSA card for sunglasses? Or have a question about the process? Let us know in the comments below.

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lens crafters has 50% lenses through monday. I talked to them today and the lady said they are not supposed to discount the oakleys, but that some reps will. so 50% off lens and using tax free fsa money is not a bad deal at all