What This Bill Does
This bill changes how the federal tax code treats spending on physical fitness and exercise. It allows people to count money spent on sports and fitness activities as "medical care" expenses for tax purposes, which means they can deduct these costs from their taxes. The bill aims to encourage healthier lifestyles and reduce the financial burden of staying fit.
Who It Affects
People who pay for fitness activities and memberships. Families that want to deduct exercise expenses on their taxes. Fitness facilities and gyms that provide physical activity programs. State and local governments that operate fitness facilities.
Key Provisions
• Money spent on fitness facility memberships, physical activity instruction, and exercise equipment can now be treated as medical care expenses on your taxes (Sec. 3(b)).
• Individual taxpayers can deduct up to $1,000 in qualified fitness expenses per year, while married couples filing jointly or heads of households can deduct up to $2,000 per year (Sec. 3(b)(B)).
• A "fitness facility" must provide instruction in physical exercise, cannot be a private club owned by members, cannot offer golf/hunting/sailing/riding facilities, and must follow all anti-discrimination laws (Sec. 3(b)(C)).
• Single sports equipment items (other than exercise equipment) are limited to $250 per item as a deductible expense (Sec. 3(b)(E)).
• Videos, books, and similar materials count as qualified expenses only if they teach physical exercise or physical activity (Sec. 3(b)(D)).
What Changes
If this bill becomes law, taxpayers can subtract qualified fitness and sports expenses from their taxable income, up to the annual limits. This reduces the amount of income subject to federal taxes.
Important Definitions
• Qualified sports and fitness expenses: Money paid only for participating in physical activities, including gym memberships, exercise instruction, or equipment used exclusively for fitness.
• Fitness facility: A place that provides physical exercise instruction or facilities, is not a members-only private club, does not offer golf/hunting/sailing/riding, and follows all anti-discrimination laws.
Effective Date
The changes apply to tax years beginning after this bill is signed into law (Sec. 3(c)).
I
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION H. R. 1582
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to treat certain amounts
paid for physical activity, fitness, and exercise as amounts paid for
medical care.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 14, 2023
Mr. KELLY of Pennsylvania (for himself, Mr. PANETTA, Mr. LAHOOD, Mr.
BOYLE of Pennsylvania, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Ms. SEWELL, and Mrs. MIL-
LER of Illinois) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Ways and Means
A BILL
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to treat cer-
tain amounts paid for physical activity, fitness, and exer-
cise as amounts paid for medical care.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
3
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Personal Health In-
4
vestment Today Act of 2023’’ or the ‘‘PHIT Act of 2023’’.
5
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•HR 1582 IH
SEC. 2. PURPOSE.
1
The purpose of this Act is to promote health and pre-
2
vent disease, particularly diseases related to being over-
3
weight or obese, by—
4
(1) encouraging healthier lifestyles;
5
(2) providing financial incentives to ease the fi-
6
nancial burden of engaging in healthy behavior; and
7
(3) increasing the ability of individuals and
8
families to participate in physical fitness activities.
9
SEC. 3. CERTAIN AMOUNTS PAID FOR PHYSICAL ACTIVITY,
10
FITNESS,
AND
EXERCISE
TREATED
AS
11
AMOUNTS PAID FOR MEDICAL CARE.
12
(a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (1) of section 213(d)
13
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by strik-
14
ing ‘‘or’’ at the end of subparagraph (C), by striking the
15
period at the end of subparagraph (D) and inserting ‘‘,
16
or’’, and by inserting after subparagraph (D) the following
17
new subparagraph:
18
‘‘(E) for qualified sports and fitness ex-
19
penses.’’.
20
(b) QUALIFIED SPORTS AND FITNESS EXPENSES.—
21
Subsection (d) of section 213 of the Internal Revenue
22
Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the fol-
23
lowing new paragraph:
24
‘‘(12) QUALIFIED
SPORTS
AND
FITNESS
EX-
25
PENSES.—
26
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•HR 1582 IH
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The term ‘qualified
1
sports and fitness expenses’ means amounts
2
paid exclusively for the sole purpose of partici-
3
pating in a physical activity including—
4
‘‘(i) for membership at a fitness facil-
5
ity,
6
‘‘(ii) for participation or instruction in
7
physical exercise or physical activity, or
8
‘‘(iii) for equipment used in a pro-
9
gram (including a self-directed program) of
10
physical exercise or physical activity.
11
‘‘(B) OVERALL DOLLAR LIMITATION.—The
12
aggregate amount treated as qualified sports
13
and fitness expenses with respect to any tax-
14
payer for any taxable year shall not exceed
15
$1,000 ($2,000 in the case of a joint return or
16
a head of household (as defined in section
17
2(b))).
18
‘‘(C) FITNESS FACILITY.—For purposes of
19
subparagraph (A)(i), the term ‘fitness facility’
20
means a facility—
21
‘‘(i) which provides instruction in a
22
program of physical exercise, offers facili-
23
ties for the preservation, maintenance, en-
24
couragement, or development of physical
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•HR 1582 IH
fitness, or serves as the site of such a pro-
1
gram of a State or local government,
2
‘‘(ii) which is not a private club owned
3
and operated by its members,
4
‘‘(iii) which does not offer golf, hunt-
5
ing, sailing, or riding facilities,
6
‘‘(iv) the health or fitness component
7
of which is not incidental to its overall
8
function and purpose, and
9
‘‘(v) which is fully compliant with the
10
State of jurisdiction and Federal anti-dis-
11
crimination laws.
12
‘‘(D) TREATMENT OF EXERCISE VIDEOS,
13
ETC.—Videos, books, and similar materials
14
shall be treated as described in subparagraph
15
(A)(ii) if the content of such materials con-
16
stitutes instruction in a program of physical ex-
17
ercise or physical activity.
18
‘‘(E) LIMITATIONS
RELATED
TO
SPORTS
19
AND FITNESS EQUIPMENT.—Amounts paid for
20
equipment described in subparagraph (A)(iii)
21
shall be treated as qualified sports and fitness
22
expenses only—
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•HR 1582 IH
‘‘(i) if such equipment is utilized ex-
1
clusively for participation in fitness, exer-
2
cise, sport, or other physical activity,
3
‘‘(ii) in the case of amounts paid for
4
apparel or footwear, if such apparel or
5
footwear is of a type that is necessary for,
6
and is not used for any purpose other
7
than, a specific physical activity, and
8
‘‘(iii) in the case of amounts paid for
9
any single item of sports equipment (other
10
than exercise equipment), to the extent
11
such amounts do not exceed $250.
12
‘‘(F) PROGRAMS WHICH INCLUDE COMPO-
13
NENTS OTHER THAN PHYSICAL EXERCISE AND
14
PHYSICAL ACTIVITY.—Rules similar to the rules
15
of paragraph (6) shall apply in the case of any
16
program that includes physical exercise or phys-
17
ical activity and also other components. For
18
purposes of the preceding sentence, travel and
19
accommodations shall be treated as a separate
20
component.’’.
21
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by
22
this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after
23
the date of the enactment of this Act.
24
Æ
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