PPE As A Medical Expense

On March 26, 2021, the IRS announced that amounts paid for personal protective equipment ("PPE") for the primary purpose of preventing the spread of COVID-19 are treated as amounts paid for medical care under Code Section 213(d). PPE includes masks, hand sanitizer, and sanitizing wipes. Amounts paid by a taxpayer for PPE for use by the taxpayer, the taxpayer's spouse, or the taxpayer's dependents are deductible under Code Section 213(a) if the taxpayer's total medical expenses exceed 7.5% of adjusted gross income and the taxpayer is not compensated by insurance or otherwise for those amounts.

PPE expenses also may may be paid from or reimbursed under health FSAs, Archer medical savings accounts, HRAs, or HSAs. If a group health plan's terms do not permit such reimbursement, then the group health plan may be amended retroactive to January 1, 2020, to provide for such reimbursement without losing tax favorable status under Code Section 105(b) or impacting