Changes of status and girlfriend/boyfriend - please help!

[Guest MS-KH]

Hi there,

Can anyone please help me with this situation? This is the scenario: male employee A has a live-in girlfriend. They have a child together. The child is on employee A's health insurance and employee A also has a Dependent Care FSA for this new child. The girlfriend is not on the employee's health insurance. If the girlfriend loses/voluntarily leaves her job so that she can stay at home, would this be considered a qualifying event so that employee A can decrease his Dependent Care FSA?

I know that this would be a qualifying event if they were married, but how does the IRS view live-in girlfriend/boyfriends?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!!!

[david rigby]

Isn't the definition related to "married" or "spouse"? (Spouses don't even have to live together.) What does the plan say?

[Guest JerseyGirl]

I think this is one of those situations where we now have too much information. If we take the martial status issue out of the picture, it clearly becomes a qualifying event since the IRS would allow a change in any other circumstance in which the employee was able to obtain Dependent Care services for a lesser fee, or for free -- although I’m sure he’s paying for it one currency or another 8-)

Don’t be surprised if this situation brings up more issues down the road, such as adding the girlfriend to his health insurance.

[oriecat]

I agree with JerseyGirl. The qualifying event here is not related to the girlfriend changing her job, it is the employee changing the daycare provider.

[Guest MS-KH]

Wonderful! Thank you everyone!! :-D