IRS Notice 2021 -7 (FSA Personal Protective Equipment)

On Friday, March 26, 2021, the IRS issued Announcement 2021-7.

Announcement 2021-7 “notifies taxpayers that amounts paid for personal protective equipment, such as masks, hand sanitizer and sanitizing wipes, for the primary purpose of preventing the spread of COVID-19 are treated as amounts paid for medical care under § 213(d) of the Internal Revenue Code.”  *

The amounts paid for qualified Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), are also eligible to be paid or reimbursed under health flexible spending accounts (health FSAs), health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs), or health savings accounts (HSAs).

Amounts paid for qualified COVID-19 PPE by an individual taxpayer for use by the taxpayer, the taxpayer’s spouse, or the taxpayer’s dependents that are not compensated by insurance, can be deductible on an individual’s tax return (provided that the taxpayer’s total medical expenses exceed 7.5 percent of adjusted gross income).

The full announcement can be viewed on the IRS website here.

*information from IRS.gov announcement