Getting a Tax Deduction and Health Insurance Coverage for your Personal Training
Wondering if you can deduct personal training sessions a taxable deduction? What if you could actually have your insurance cover it? Step one is to use our Online Letter of Medical Necessity Generator. You’ll also find a sample PDF of Letter Medical Necessity to hand to your doctor.
More Personal Trainer Alexandria Resources
The real key to qualifying for insurance and/or getting a taxable deduction is getting a LETTER OF MEDICAL NECESSITY. Health Insurance Companies like Carefirst, Aetna, and Blue Cross have policies in place to help you.
Medical Necessity Defined: A service may be considered medically necessary if the service or benefit will, or is reasonably expected to:
- Prevent the onset of an illness condition, or disability
- Reduce or ameliorate the physical, mental, or developmental effects of an illness, condition or disability.
- Assist the individual to achieve or maintain maximum functional capacity in performing daily activities taking into account both the functional capacity of the individual and those functional capacities that are appropriate for individuals of the same age.
How to Obtain a Letter of Medical Necessity for a Personal Trainer?
Talking to your doctor is the first step. A physician may write you a letter of medical necessity for the services of a personal trainer if he/she believes that it could have a positive benefit for the treatment of a medical condition.
This letter should outline how your medical condition necessitates a personal trainer, and how the treatment will be used to alleviate the issue and how long the treatment will last. If the treatment plan exceeds the current plan year, another Letter of Medical Necessity will have to be provided to the benefits administrator to cover the duration of the treatment. (FSA Store)
Looking for more Personal Trainer Resources? Check out all of the articles and resources we have for the career personal trainer.
Weight-Loss Program
You can include in medical expenses amounts you pay to lose weight if it is a treatment for a specific disease diagnosed by a physician (such as obesity, hypertension, or heart disease).” 1
Personal Trainers
Costs for a personal trainer used merely to improve general health and well-being are ineligible. The service is only covered when recommended by a healthcare professional to treat a medical condition. A physician’s prescription is required.
Health Club Dues
You can’t include in medical expenses health club dues or amounts paid to improve one’s general health or to relieve physical or mental discomfort not related to a particular medical condition. You can’t include in medical expenses the cost of membership in any club organized for business, pleasure, recreation, or other social purpose.” 2
Athletic Apparel and Supplements
In general gym and fitness apparel as well as common bodybuilding supplements are not tax deductible.
Health Conditions That May Be Covered by Insurance
Treatment for these Health Conditions May be Tax Deductible
[icon name=”money” class=”” unprefixed_class=””] Tax Deductions for Personal Training?
Yes, you can deduct the costs for Personal Training in certain instances. Generally, if you qualify for a Letter of Medical Necessity, your costs for obtaining Personal Training will be tax deductible.
Eligible Healthcare Expense Substantiation
All claims will require some form of substantiation, regardless of the items’ eligibility. Acceptable documentation to support your claim could include: receipts, invoices, itemized billing statements from the service provider. They should include: date of service, name of the provider, description of the services provided/goods purchased, and the cost of services. Ineligible documentation generally includes: bank statements, illegible documents, and any documentation that does not clearly indicate all of the above information. For more information: please visit: www.irs.gov
Summary of Tax Deductions for Personal Training
| Flexible Spending Account (FSA) | Limited Care FSA | Dependent Care FSA | Health Savings Account (HSA) | Health Reimbursement Account (HRA) | |
| Eligible with LMN |
X |
X |
X |
||
| Not Eligible |
X |
X |
Example Letter of Medical Necessity
Helpful Tips For Letters of Medical Necessity:
- Cite past successes with the treatment.
- Cite recent medical articles.
- Include letters from consultants including physical or occupational therapists
- Review previous and failed treatments.
- Address the HMO’s suggested treatments.
- Be specific about psychological factors that are relevant to your chosen treatment.
- Provide information you have which a distant administrator may not know.
- Cite conversations with family members or other treating physicians.
Example Letter of Medical Necessity:
Date
Medical Director
Health Plan
Address
Fax:
Regarding: Patient Name; Date of Birth; Insurance ID number
Greetings:
I am writing to request [insert service or equipment request] for my patient [name of patient] who has the following diagnoses relevant to this request: [list diagnoses]. This request is medically necessary for the following reasons: [choose one or more of the reasons]
It will, or is reasonably expected to, prevent the onset of an illness, condition, or disability. [Please provide details]
It will, or is reasonably expected to, reduce or ameliorate the physical, mental, or developmental effects of an illness, injury, or disability. [Please provide details]
It will assist the individual to achieve or maintain maximum functional capacity in performing daily activities, taking into account both the functional capacity of the individual and those functional capacities that are appropriate for individuals of the same age. [Please provide details.]
Please let me know if you require additional information from my records.
Yours truly,
[name and signature]Health Insurance Companies & Resources
CareFirst:
Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield:
Aetna: “Medical necessity is more than being ordered by a doctor. “Medically necessary” means your doctor ordered a product or service for an important medical reason. It might be to help prevent a disease or condition. Or to check if you have one. Or it might be to treat an injury or illness. The product or service:
- Must meet a normal standard for doctors •Must be the right type in the right amount for the right length of time and for the right body part •Must be known to help the particular symptom •Cannot be for the member’s or the doctor’s convenience •Cannot cost more than another service or product that is just as effective.
Innovation Health:
https://www.aetna.com/health-care-professionals/precertification/precertification-lists.html
Kaiser Permanente:
https://providers.kaiserpermanente.org/info_assets/cpp_mas/mas_provman_ch9_Oct2011.pdf
Optima Health:
https://providers.optimahealth.com/medical/Pages/PriorAuthorizationForms.aspx
Piedmont Community Healthcare: Medically Necessary services or Medical Necessity refers to those Covered Services that Piedmont determines are: (1) consistent with the diagnosis and treatment of the Insured’s condition; (2) are appropriate given the circumstances and the symptoms; (3) are provided to treat the condition, illness, disease or injury; (4) are in accordance with standards of good medical practice; (5) are not primarily for the convenience of the Insured or the Provider; and (6) with respect to Inpatient care, are provided to treat a condition requiring acute care as a bed patient. Piedmont will determine the Medical Necessity of a given service or procedure
https://www.pchp.net/index.php/…/1377-2016-ppo-ind-policy-book-final-2.html
Disclaimer: Please consult with your tax adviser to determine your eligibility. Nothing in this communication is intended to constitute legal or tax advice.