How Does Stacking HSA/FSA Savings With Sales and Discount Codes Work?

Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) and Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) let you set aside pre-tax dollars to pay for qualified medical expenses (for the full mechanics of how that works, see HSA Tax Benefits: How to Maximize Your Money). Spending your HSA/FSA isn't actually a discount, but it can feel like one because that money was never taxed, so it goes further than post-tax income would on the exact same purchase. Qualified customers save an average of 30% compared to paying out of pocket, making necessary health interventions more accessible.*

The exact amount you save depends on your individual circumstances (your income tax bracket, state taxes, and payroll tax treatment), so 30% is an average, not a guarantee for every purchase or every person. But the underlying mechanic is straightforward: pre-tax spending power stretches further than post-tax spending power, on the exact same item.

*Truemed is for qualified customers. HSA/FSA tax savings vary. Learn more at truemed.com/disclosures.

Here's the math behind “savings stacking.” If a retailer is separately running a sale on the same item, your pre-tax savings and that sale price combine rather than compete. For example, pre-tax savings of around 30% on an item that's also 30% off during a sale isn't simply 60% off. The sale price gets applied first, and then your pre-tax dollars stretch further against that already-lower price, which can add up to meaningfully more total savings than either discount alone.

Since built in HSA/FSA savings are already a massive lever for saving on health purchases, there’s no need to wait for a sale to justify investing pre-tax dollars in your health. However, if you’re a savvy saver and want to stretch those dollars even further, there are five sale moments throughout the year to pay attention to.

Black Friday is arguably the single best stacking opportunity of the year for HSA/FSA shoppers. Retailers across supplements, footwear, and fitness equipment tend to run their deepest sitewide discounts of the year during this window, which means your pre-tax savings are stacking on top of the steepest sale prices you'll see all year.

Cyber Monday often extends Black Friday's momentum, but it also tends to be a strong window specifically for health tech, including wearables and connected fitness devices, which are frequently discounted during this period in ways they aren't during the rest of the year.

January is "new year, new you" season, and brands across the health and wellness space lean into it hard. Anything tied to getting healthier, including fitness equipment, gym memberships, supplements, and recovery tools, is more likely to be discounted in January than in a typical month, making it a strong window to combine with HSA/FSA spending.

Labor Day weekend is a major promotional weekend generally, and in the health space it tends to skew especially strong for fitness equipment. If a piece of home gym equipment has been on your list, this is a window worth watching.

Memorial Day weekend tends to be a strong window for sleep products and mattresses specifically, with several sleep brands running some of their biggest deals of the year around this weekend.

Retailers change their promotional calendars from year to year, so treat this as a general planning guide rather than a guarantee of when any specific brand will run a sale.

Stacking savings only works if the purchase is actually HSA/FSA eligible in the first place, and eligibility for many health interventions is not guaranteed. Some health products, like sunscreen and prescriptions, are pre-approved for HSA/FSA spending. Other health products, like certain supplements and ergonomic furniture, may be HSA/FSA eligible for qualified customers when connected to the treatment of a specific medical condition. That’s because in many cases, product eligibility is tied to an individual’s health needs and medical necessity, not just the product itself.

For those health interventions that are not automatically approved for HSA/FSA spending, Truemed can help. Through Truemed, customers can explore thousands of potentially eligible health brands. Add the desired product to cart on the brand’s site and then proceed to checkout as usual. Once in the checkout flow, select “Truemed - Pay with HSA/FSA” and complete a health intake survey. The survey answers are then reviewed by an independent licensed clinician and if your purchase connects to a documented medical need, you may receive a Letter of Medical Necessity (LMN) that allows you to use HSA/FSA funds toward that purchase.

Since Truemed lets qualified customers shop directly from the brand's own site, you're free to take advantage of whatever sale or discount code that brand is already offering. The LMN process and the retailer's promotion aren't mutually exclusive.

A few things are worth keeping in mind any time you're combining a sale or discount code with HSA/FSA funds:

• Your reimbursement is based on what you actually paid: If a discount or promo code lowered your total, your HSA/FSA plan will generally only reimburse the discounted, out-of-pocket amount, not the original sticker price.
• Keep your receipts: Save an itemized receipt showing the final price you paid after any sale or code was applied, along with your LMN if one was provided.
• Don't double-dip: Only submit for reimbursement on the amount you actually paid.

For more detail on how promo codes interact with HSA/FSA reimbursement generally, see How Do I Use Promo Codes To Save on Health-Related Purchases?