Your expense may have been denied due to eligibility issues, missing documentation, or incorrect submission details.
Why?
Benepass reviews every submission according to the rules of your specific benefit program. If an expense doesn’t meet all requirements, we’re unable to approve it.
Below are the most common reasons expenses are denied and what you can do to successfully resubmit.
Common Reasons for Denial
Eligibility
Your purchase isn't eligible under your benefits program. To confirm what is eligible, open your Benepass app or dashboard and look for “What can I buy?” under your benefit. You’ll find approved categories, examples, and merchant guidance.
Receipt information
Even if your purchase is eligible, we may need more information on your receipt to confirm it meets your benefit requirements. A valid receipt must clearly include:
Item or service purchased
Date of purchase
Amount paid
Merchant name
Some benefits also require additional documentation, such as manager approval or company-specific forms. Make sure all required documents are included before you submit.
Service dates
An eligible purchase may be denied due to ineligible service dates - meaning that the purchase was made outside the allowable window for your specific benefit.
This can happen with pre-tax benefits, for purchases made outside of the plan year, or for lifestyle benefits, with purchases made before a benefit was launched or outside of the eligible spending window.
For Dependent Care FSAs, IRS compliance rules require services to be rendered before seeking reimbursement. This means that you'll want to wait until the service dates have passed, then resubmit this expense.
Incorrect benefit
If you are enrolled in multiple benefits, it can be easy to accidentally submit an expense under the wrong benefit. If you don't notice this before your expense is denied, not to worry - simply resubmit it under the correct benefit.
I received an email notice. What does it mean?
Your denial notice will include the reason(s) your expense couldn’t be approved. Below are explanations and the steps you can take to correct the issue.
Denial Reason | How to Fix It |
The amount requested did not match the amount on the receipt | Ensure the receipt attached matches the transaction. If your expense was submitted with an incorrect amount, please delete it and submit a new reimbursement request. |
A receipt is required but was not uploaded | Upload a receipt for this purchase. |
Your receipt was missing the purchase or service date | Upload a receipt that shows the date the purchase was made, as well as a service date, if applicable. |
Your receipt was missing the amount spent | Upload a receipt that clearly shows the amount spent. |
Your receipt was missing the item or service purchased | Upload a receipt that lists all item(s) or service(s) purchased. |
Your receipt was missing the merchant name | Upload a receipt that clearly shows the full name of the merchant where the purchase was made. |
Your receipt was blurry and not clear enough to be read | Upload a clearer image or PDF. |
Your purchase isn't eligible under your benefit's policy | Submit an eligible item or service based on your benefit details in your Benepass account. |
Your receipt did not show the service dates, the type of care provided, the name of the care provider, and the amount incurred | Upload a receipt for an item or service that is eligible, as described in the details for this benefit in your Benepass account. |
A Letter of medical necessity is required but was not uploaded | Upload a valid Letter of Medical Necessity from a qualified provider. |
A service date is required but was not entered | Enter the date(s) you received the service for your purchase. |
The date of service for your purchase was before or after the start of the allowed spending period for your benefit | Enter a service date within the allowed spending period, as described in the details for this transaction in your Benepass account. |
The service date entered did not match the date on the receipt | Update the service date to match the date shown on the receipt. |
A purchase date is required but was not entered | Enter the date the purchase was made. |
The date of purchase was before or after the start of the allowed spending period for your benefit | Enter a purchase date within the allowed spending period, as described in the details for this transaction in your Benepass account. |
The purchase date entered did not match the date on the receipt | Update the purchase date to match the date shown on the receipt. |
Manager approval is required but was not uploaded | Upload proof of manager approval. |
Your record of manager approval did not meet the criteria set by your employer | Upload manager approval that meets the criteria set by your employer. |
Proof of course completion is required but was not uploaded | Upload proof that the course or program was completed. |
Your proof of course completion did not meet the criteria set by your employer | Upload proof of completion that meets your employer’s criteria, as described in the details for this transaction in your Benepass account. |
Attestation is required but was not entered | Add required attestation. |
Your attestation did not meet the criteria set by your employer | Upload an attestation that meets your employer’s criteria. |
A note is required but was not entered | Add a note for this transaction. |
Your note did not meet the criteria set by your employer | Update the note to meet your employer’s requirements. |
After an expense is denied, the funds will be returned to your benefit balance within 4 hours. If you don’t see the funds restored after that time, please reach out to our support team for further assistance.