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Healthcare FSA vs Dependent Care FSA
Hi all! I am a longtime lurker and love reading discussions, just need to get better at participating 
My husband started a healthcare FSA this year and we are contributing the max ($2550). We are pregnant and due in June. After maternity leave, baby will go to daycare. My work offers a dependent care FSA (with the max contribution being $5000). This year we probably wouldn't do the full contribution because daycare costs wouldn't meet that, maybe still $3k. For following years though, can we max out both of these - $2,550 for health FSA (husband's work) and $5,000 for dependent care FSA (my work)? I have found limits online for a healthcare FSA stating husband and wife filing taxes jointly can do $2550 each but nothing about combining the health and dependent care. My HR is not very helpful with this topic either... just looking for some insight and seeing if anyone out there currently does both.
Re: Healthcare FSA vs Dependent Care FSA
A few other things to keep in mind:
Your health care FSA limit is per person. For 2017 I believe the limit is actually $2600. You and your husband can each contribute if both of your employers offer this.
Check to see if you have access to an HSA also. You have to have a high deductible plan to contribute to an HSA currently - note this could change under the new administration. However, the money is yours to keep, unlike an FSA which is use it or lose it. The contribution limits are also higher than an FSA. I've been contributing to my HSA for about 3 years and have had no unplanned medical expenses in that time that were significant. As a result, I have nearly $11K in my HSA right now. I can use it for medical expenses for me, my H, and any future dependents. The definition of "medical expenses" is broad and covers things your insurance may not cover like lasik, cosmetic surgery, orthodontics, infertility treatments, etc.
For the HSA, you get a deduction in your contribution year, and the funds can be invested, grow tax-free, and then be withdrawn at any time after the medical expense is incurred (even 30+ years later). If you can afford to pay your annual deductible out of pocket then the HSA is the perfect supplemental retirement vehicle. It's the only account in which the IRS allows a true double-dip (deduction on the money going in, invest for growth, and pay no taxes on the money coming out).
Note you can't contribute to both an HSA and a health FSA in the same year. It's stupid, but that's the rule.
For the dependent care FSA you can only take money out when you are paying for care so that you can work. If you have to pay for some extra weeks to hold a daycare spot while you are on maternity leave, this does not qualify as a use of dependent care FSA funds. Technically, you also can't use the funds for pay for care while you are on vacation either, though this tends not to matter after the first year since care is so expensive.
But, quick note on the FSA use it or lose it rule - employers do have the option to allow employees to rollover $500 of unused health FSA funds to the next year. It's not a lot, but does provide some wiggle room. Remember that offering the rollover is the employer's choice - so check with your employer if they offer this feature.