Can I Use My FSA or HSA to Pay for Personal Training Sessions?

How to Use Your FSA or HSA to Cover Personal Training Sessions at PureGym

Find out if you are eligible to use your flexible spending or health savings account to pay for a personal trainer.

If your employer offers a flexible spending account (FSA) or Health Savings Accounts (HSA), you’re likely aware that you can apply the funds to pay for common out-of-pocket healthcare expenses — like copays, prescription medicine, and dental treatment. However, there may be many unique products and services eligible for reimbursement you are not aware of. In addition to covering surprisingly eligible expenses like sunscreen and lip balm, many policies allow you to use those pretax funds to purchase personal training sessions under certain circumstances. Read on to learn more about paying for a personal trainer using your FSA or HSA, and discover whether you might be eligible to have your next personal training session covered.

How does an FSA work?

Sometimes called a flexible spending arrangement, a flexible spending account or FSA is a special tax-free spending account. An FSA allows you to contribute a portion of your earnings to cover certain healthcare expenses. One of the key benefits of an FSA is that the money you contribute to your account is not subject to employment or federal income taxes, so regularly contributing to an FSA can significantly reduce your annual tax bill.

FSA enrollment periods typically occur in October or November, during your employer’s open enrollment period. Most FSAs come with a “use it or lose it” stipulation to encourage recommended healthcare consumption. This means you must spend most or all of the money in your FSA by the end of the plan year to avoid losing the funds.

The funds in your FSA can be used towards the payment of eligible dental, vision, medical, and prescription drug expenses for you, your spouse, and eligible dependents. Usually, you’re given a debit card for your FSA that you can use to pay for eligible expenses.

What about an HSA?

Like an FSA, a health savings account (HSA) lets you set aside pretax money for qualified healthcare expenses. You may also receive an HSA debit card to use to cover these eligible costs. However, HSAs encourage long-term spending and are only available to people with a high-deductible health plan that exceeds the IRS’s current minimum deductible amount.

If you qualify for an HSA through your employer, you and your employer can fund the account using pretax contributions. If you open an HSA with a private insurer, you typically deduct your contributions for the year from your taxes when you file.

As with FSAs, open enrollment for HSAs typically falls during October and November. However, unlike the use-it-or-lose-it balance of an FSA, any unused balance from your HSA will roll over into the next year, even if you change employment.

When is personal training considered a qualifying healthcare expense?

Both FSA and HSA plans cover “qualifying healthcare expenses”, including eligible medical, dental, and vision expenses for yourself, your spouse, and eligible dependents. For example, most plans can be used for chiropractic treatment, prescriptions, contact lenses and eyeglasses, and copays at the doctor’s office. They do not typically cover cosmetic surgery, teeth whitening, or holistic treatments performed for general well-being.

As a rule of thumb, qualifying healthcare expenses include the cost of treatment or prevention of disease. That means you may be able to use your FSA or HSA to cover the cost of a personal trainer to treat specific, diagnosed conditions. Examples of qualifying conditions could include stress, back pain, arthritis, diabetes, hypertension, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, anxiety, depression, pain management, cardiovascular disease, arthritis, or obesity.

Talk to your doctor to see if you’re eligible

If you think you have a medical condition that would benefit from a personal training program, talk with your doctor about whether or not it may qualify as eligible. Explain that you have an FSA or HSA and you would like to use your pretax funds towards your fitness program.

If you qualify, your doctor should provide you with a Letter of Medical Necessity. The Letter of Medical Necessity should include the following information:

• Patient identification – This includes the patient’s name, date of birth, the policyholder’s name, policy number, and group number.
• Date of most recent evaluation – The date the patient was last examined by the treating physician.
• Patient’s history and diagnosis  – Information on the patient’s specific physical or mental condition or illness, as well as any information about the patient’s history that is relevant to their condition.
• Recommended treatment – This should also be described in detail and list any equipment, medication, and therapies required.
• Treatment duration – This is the length of treatment required. It should not exceed 12 months.
• Summary – This is a brief recap of the physician’s recommendation.
• Signature – This includes the treating physician’s signature, license number, contact information, and date of issue.
• Supporting literature – Attach any supporting documents, such as supporting lab or test results and progress notes.

Once you are issued a Letter of Medical Necessity, one copy should go on your medical record and another copy sent to your FSA or HSA administrator. Keep a copy of the letter for your own files, too. Then, contact your account administrator to confirm the recommended treatment is eligible for reimbursement.

Keeping track of your personal training expenses

To ensure your personal training sessions are covered by your FSA or HSA, make sure you keep proof of payment from each visit. Proof of payment should include the date of service, type of service, dollar amount, and provider name and address. You may be able to simply pay using your HSA or FSA debit card, or you’ll have to submit your receipts for reimbursement, possibly in batches at the end of each month.

To find out more about paying for personal training with your FSA or HSA, consult your specific account administrator and talk to your doctor. You can also contact your local PureGym to learn more about trainer specialties. Many PureGym personal trainers specialize in areas like mobility, corrective exercise, physical therapy, and weight loss. To find out if our trainers can help you with a specific condition, schedule an in-gym or online personal training consultation with PureGym today.