Updated September 29, 2026. Quick answer: The maximum amount that can be excluded from income through a dependent care flexible spending account is $7,500 for a joint or single filer ($3,750 married filing separately) starting with the 2026 tax year, up from $5,000/$2,500, the first change to this dollar figure since it was originally set in 1986. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025 (26 U.S.C. §129(a)(2)(A), as amended by Public Law 119-21 §70404) made the increase permanent, but it is still a flat dollar amount with no inflation-adjustment mechanism attached, so the 2027 figure is expected to be the same $7,500 unless Congress changes the law again.
IRS worksheets read line by line: Form 2441 prior-year expenses worksheet.
More IRS forms and schedules for individual filers, read line by line: Form 8839 Part III employer adoption benefits.
Line-by-line IRS form guides for 2025: Form 2441 lines 3 to 6, Form 2441 lines 16 to 21 and Form 2441 lines 22 to 31.
Schedule 3 (Form 1040) for 2025, read line by line: Schedule 3 line 2.
The employee copy of Form W-2, read box by box: W-2 boxes 10 to 20 and W-2 box 10.
The employee copy of Form W-2, read box by box: W-2 boxes 1, 3 and 5.
Related 2026 figures: the 2026 FSA limits and the 2026 Child Tax Credit.
Related figures and codes: Social Security Earnings Test Limits 2027, Solo 401(k) Contribution Limit 2027 and Standard Deduction 2027.
What is the dependent care FSA limit for 2027?
The limit is $7,500 for a joint or single filer ($3,750 married filing separately) starting with the 2026 tax year. It is a flat amount in 26 U.S.C. §129(a)(2)(A) with no inflation adjustment, so 2027 is expected to stay $7,500 unless Congress changes the law.
The dependent care FSA limit, 2024-2027
| Year | Married filing jointly / single | Married filing separately |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $5,000 | $2,500 |
| 2025 | $5,000 | $2,500 |
| 2026 | $7,500 | $3,750 |
| 2027 (flat, no COLA mechanism) | $7,500 | $3,750 |
Thirty-nine years unchanged, then a permanent increase
26 U.S.C. §129(a)(2)(A) originally set the dependent care assistance program exclusion at $5,000 (married filing jointly or single) and $2,500 (married filing separately) in 1986, and it stayed there for every year except 2021, when the American Rescue Plan Act temporarily raised it to $10,500 for that year only before it reverted. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025, Public Law 119-21 §70404(a), substituted “$7,500 ($3,750” for “$5,000 ($2,500,” effective, per §70404(b), which reads “The amendment made by this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2025,” so the new figure first applies to 2026 tax returns. Unlike the health care FSA limit under §125(i), which is indexed for inflation every year, this dependent-care figure has no cost-of-living clause attached to it in either the old or the new statutory text, so it is expected to hold at $7,500 for 2027 and beyond absent a further legislative change.
Why no forecaster projects this figure
Because the amount is fixed by statute rather than indexed to inflation, no named forecaster treats it as a moving figure: it does not appear in Milliman’s IRS limits forecast, which covers only inflation-indexed retirement-plan figures, and it does not appear in either the Bloomberg Tax or Thomson Reuters Checkpoint 2027 projection reports. The 2027 amount is $7,500 by the same logic that makes the pre-2026 $5,000 figure knowable for any year without a forecast: it simply does not change until Congress changes it.
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The $7,500 and $3,750 limits on this page were checked against Public Law 119-21 section 70404 and 26 U.S.C. §129 on September 29, 2026.
- 26 U.S.C. §129(a)(2)(A), via Cornell Law School’s Legal Information Institute: the current $7,500/$3,750 statutory text, the editorial note confirming the 2025 amendment by Public Law 119-21 substituted it for the prior $5,000/$2,500, and the effective-date note confirming it applies to tax years beginning after December 31, 2025, read directly from the codified statute.
- 26 U.S.C. §129, via the U.S. House Office of the Law Revision Counsel: the codified statutory text, from the House’s own copy of the U.S. Code.
Statute: 26 U.S.C. §129(a)(2)(A), as amended by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025 (Public Law 119-21), §70404.
Related
General information, not tax or legal advice. This page will be updated with the official 2027 figure the day it is announced.
For a related 2027 figure, see 457(b) Contribution Limit 2027: $24,500 for 2026.
For a related 2027 figure, see Adoption Credit 2027: $17,670, and Now Refundable Up to $5,120.
For a related 2027 figure, see EITC 2027: $8,231 Max Credit for 2026 (3+ Children).
For a related 2027 figure, see Highly Compensated Employee Limit 2027: $160,000 for 2026.
For a related 2027 figure, see Long-Term Care Premium Deduction Limits 2027: The Five Age Bands for 2026.
For a related 2027 figure, see QBI Deduction Thresholds 2027: $201,750 / $403,500 for 2026, Wider Since OBBBA.
For a related 2027 figure, see Roth IRA Income Limits 2027: $153,000-$168,000 for 2026.
For a related 2027 figure, see Student Loan Interest Deduction 2027: The $2,500 Cap Never Moves, the Range Does.