Gym Fees as Deductible Medical Expenses

The IRS recently clarified the circumstances under which a taxpayer may deduct gym fees as medical expenses. As background, taxpayers can currently deduct expenses paid for medical care to the extent those expenses exceed 7.5% of their adjusted gross income. Medical care is defined as those amounts paid for the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease, or for the purpose of affecting a structure or function of the body.

In its release, the IRS indicated fees paid to health institutes where the taxpayer exercises are generally personal expenses. However, these expenses may be deductible as medical expenses when a physician prescribes the treatments and provides a statement indicating they are necessary to alleviate a physical or mental defect or illness of the individual receiving the treatments.

Fees an individual pays for participation in a weight loss program as treatment for a specific disease (e.g., obesity or hypertension) that a physician has diagnosed generally are deductible as medical expenses. However, where a taxpayer participates in a weight loss program to improve his or her appearance, general health, and sense of well being, and not for the purpose of curing any specific ailment or disease, the cost is not a deductible medical expense.