Dependent care FSA cap was frozen at $5,000 since 1986 while childcare tripled in cost

The dependent care FSA limit remained at $5,000 per household for nearly 40 years, from 1986 through 2025, while average childcare costs rose from roughly $3,000/year to over $14,000/year. That $5,000 cap in 1986 dollars would be $13,700 today, meaning families lost roughly $8,700 in pre-tax savings capacity every year due to legislative inaction. Even the 2025 increase to $7,500 still covers barely half of average infant care costs. This persists because the FSA cap requires an act of Congress to change, and childcare policy consistently loses priority to headline tax issues, so families silently absorbed the erosion for four decades.