Costco FSA-Eligible Items: Departments, Products Listed

Short Answer

Costco accepts FSA funds for certain purchases. FSA-eligible items you can purchase at Costco include reading glasses, contact lenses, prenatal vitamins, and blood pressure monitors. Other items like over-the-counter medications may also be purchased with a valid doctor’s prescription. For the list of Costco FSA-eligible items, see below.

Table of Contents

What Is an FSA?

A flexible spending account (FSA) is a bank account connected to your employer that accumulates pre-tax deposits from your paycheck. Sometimes, employers will contribute additional funds to your FSA as a benefit of employment.^[1] FSA account holders are issued a debit card (or an FSA card) that can be used to purchase qualifying health care items. Eligible items can vary as individual employers determine what expenses to include. Common FSA-eligible expenses are dental care, optical care, and hearing aids.^[2]

Keep in mind that any funds remaining in your FSA at the end of the year will not roll over into the next year; unused funds are forfeited.^[1] To avoid lost funds, you might want to stock up on nonperishable items like contact lens solution or, depending on your account balance, purchase a big-ticket item like a wheelchair.

Does Costco Take FSA?

You can use your FSA at Costco to make eligible purchases. We contacted Costco’s corporate customer service department, as well as Costco warehouse locations in Florida, New York, Ohio, and Tennessee; all of the representatives we spoke with said Costco accepts FSA, but not all locations accept FSA cards at the main checkout registers. About 50% of the stores we contacted said FSA cards are only accepted at the pharmacy; FSA cards may also be accepted at Costco vision centers.

Keep in mind that you can, however, take FSA-eligible items from a different department to a Costco register that accepts FSA cards, such as in the pharmacy or vision center.

You can also buy FSA-eligible items at Costco.com, but customer service representatives told us that FSA cards often present processing issues when customers try to make online purchases. Because of this, it’s typically best to purchase in-stock items with your FSA card in person at your local Costco.

Costco FSA-Eligible Items

There are three departments at Costco that have FSA-eligible items: the pharmacy department, the optical center, and the hearing aid center. Since your employer determines which items are covered, we are unable to provide a list of FSA-eligible items that will apply to all account holders. Instead, we’ve listed the items and categories marked FSA-eligible on Costco’s website, and we’ve linked to each product.

The IRS allows you to purchase many other items, such as over-the-counter medicine, using an FSA card provided you have a valid doctor’s prescription.^[3] If you do not have a prescription, you can still purchase these items using a different payment method. The FSA Store lists the following items as FSA-eligible with a doctor’s prescription:^[4]

Acne treatment
Allergy medicine
Antacids
Anti-fungal treatment
Anti-itch treatment
Aspirin and baby aspirin
Chest rubs
Children’s medicine, including:
- Cold and allergy medicine
- Fever and pain relievers
- Stomach and digestive aids
Cold and flu medicine
Cold sore treatments
Corn, callus, and wart remover
Cough drops and cough sprays
Cough medicine
Diaper rash cream
Ear drops and ear wax remover
External pain relievers
Eye drops
Feminine care
Hemorrhoid treatment
Laxatives
Lice treatment
Nasal spray
Oral pain relief
Pain relievers
Skin treatments (such as eczema cream)
Sleep aids
Smoking cessation assistance (gum and patches)
Stomach and digestive aids