By Victoria E. Knight
Dow Jones Newswires

NEW YORK (Dow Jones/AP) — If you're among the one in five Americans working for a large employer who has socked away dollars in a health care flexible spending account, now could be the time to go out and splurge.

Flexible spending accounts enable workers to pay for medical expenses that aren't covered by their health insurance with pretax dollars. The caveat: What you don't use during the year, you lose. Money in FSAs can't be rolled over or refunded to you.

“People often put away money and then forget about it,” says Tracey Baker, vice president of CJM Wealth Advisers Ltd., a financial planning firm in Fairfax, Va.

With employers generally imposing few restrictions on how much money you can put into an FSA and employees increasing their annual contributions - by around 5 percent a year over the past three to four years, according to data from health insurer Aetna Inc. - balances can run into thousands of dollars.

Don't despair if you find your FSA full of money. For one thing, it means you're probably healthier than you thought because you and your family didn't need to use as many medical services over the year as you had predicted.

For another, your pocketbook won't suffer: There's a wide range of medical services, health care products and treatments you can spend your money on without falling foul of the Internal Revenue Service.

Contrary to common belief, you often don't need a doctor's note or prescription to go on your health care shopping spree. Dental checkups and orthodontics, hearing and eye exams, contact lenses, over-the-counter drugs, exotic vaccinations — even surgery — can be on your list, experts say.

But some careful planning is needed to get the best value for your money — and your health. For instance, FSAs can pay for corrective eye surgery — but that's not a procedure you should rush into without researching providers.

First, “find out what your employer's deadline is for spending money in FSAs,” advises Baker, who is the co-author of “Navigating Your Health Benefits for Dummies,” a consumer guide sponsored by Aetna and the Financial Planning Association, a trade group representing financial planners and stock brokers.

Traditionally, employees had until Dec. 31 to make their medical purchases. Under a rule passed by the IRS in May 2005, employers can provide a 2 1Ú2-month grace period — until March 15 — to use these untaxed funds. Check the summary of your plan's description for details or ask your HR department. Also, be mindful of claims submission deadlines.

Flu season is approaching, so why not use your FSA dollars to stock up on over-the-counter drugs to ease the pain? For instance, Advil, Benadryl, Theraflu and Tylenol are among the medicines eligible for FSA reimbursement. Even if your insurance plan or employer doesn't cover the cost of flu shots, consider getting one. It's also reimbursable.

Also, “you can replenish your medicine cabinet,” says John Gibson, president of Convergys Corp.'s Employee Care business, which provides advice on benefits to employees of Starbucks Corp., Johnson & Johnson and the state governments of Florida and Texas, among other organizations.

Antacids, antibiotic ointments, insect bite creams, motion sickness and nausea pills, and even bandages can be eligible. If you're worried about your blood pressure, then why not buy a monitoring device?

But forget about buying dietary supplements or vitamins - unless they're used to treat a specific medical condition, such as iron tablets for anemia.

However, if you're looking to quit smoking, you can get a jump-start on that New Year's resolution by ordering supplies of nicotine patches and gum. You might even want to enroll in a smoking-cessation program. You can check with your human resources office for details or ask your primary care physician for recommendations. The same goes for weight-loss programs.

If you take prescription drugs and receive them through the mail, don't forget to order your next three months' supply.

“The copays and coinsurance can be paid from your FSA,” says Tom Billet, a senior consultant with Watson Wyatt Worldwide.

A visit to the dentist can be a wise investment, especially if you're one of the growing number of employees without dental coverage, according to Billet. X-rays, fillings, extractions, dentures, caps, crowns, fluoride treatments, implants and orthodontia, including braces for your kids, are among the eligible medical expenses.

However, if you want to have your teeth whitened or fancy having veneers done, you'll have to pay for these treatments out of your own pocket.

The same goes for Botox injections. The IRS doesn't consider warding off wrinkles to be a medical necessity.

“Anything cosmetic is a no-no,” says Billet.

However, you will see eye-to-eye with the tax authorities if you seek to use your FSA funds to improve your vision. Get your eyes checked and invest in some eyeglasses and/or contact lenses. Solutions are also covered.

The fashion-conscious may be disappointed: While you can use tax-free dollars to update your look with new prescription eyeglasses and tinted prescription specs, you can't use them to buy over-the-counter sunglasses or colored contacts that don't improve your sight.