This month’s Benefits and Me newsletter, shared to our clients by the Allen Insurance benefits division discusses reimbursable PPE expenses, tips for finding medical information and common health insurance terms.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently announced that amounts paid for personal protective equipment (PPE)—such as masks, hand sanitizer and sanitizing wipes—used for the primary purpose of preventing the spread of COVID-19 are deductible expenses for medical care. Because these amounts are expenses for medical care, the amounts paid for PPE are also eligible to be paid or reimbursed under any of the following:
- Health flexible spending arrangements (FSAs)
- Archer medical savings accounts (Archer MSAs)
- Health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs)
- Health savings accounts (HSAs)
However, if an amount is paid or reimbursed under a Health FSA, Archer MSA, HRA, HSA or any other health plan, it will not be considered a deductible medical expense.
