Does a dependent care FSA cover summer camp?
A dependent care FSA covers day camp for a child under 13 when it lets you (and your spouse) work, but it never covers overnight camp.
What flips the answer
- Covered when
It's a day camp for a child under 13 and the care lets you and your spouse work or look for work.
- Not covered when
It's an overnight or sleepaway camp — the IRS excludes overnight camp entirely.
- Not covered when
You (or your spouse) don't have earned income and aren't a full-time student or disabled, so the work-related test isn't met.
A dependent care FSA reimburses the cost of care that lets you and your spouse work or look for work. Summer day camp for a child under age 13 qualifies as that kind of care — even a specialty day camp built around soccer, coding, or art — because the child is being supervised during your working hours.
The bright line is overnight. The IRS specifically excludes the cost of overnight (sleepaway) camp, because it's treated as an expense for the child's benefit rather than work-enabling care. If the camp includes an overnight stay, none of it is reimbursable.
Both parents generally need earned income for the expense to qualify (with exceptions for a spouse who is a full-time student or disabled). The annual dependent care FSA contribution is also capped, so a full summer of camp can exceed what the account holds.
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