HSA Qualified Expenses
Below is a list of expenses that you can use your Health Savings Account funds to pay for.
This list is based on the 2007 HSA rules contained in IRS Publication 969, and the 2007 list of qualified medical expenses contained in IRS Publication 502.
Download IRS Publication 502 here (PDF format)
Download IRS Publication 969 here (PDF format).
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Medical Expenses That Qualify as HSA Funds
Abortion
Your HSA funds can be used to pay for the cost of a legal abortion.
Acupuncture
Alcoholism
Your HSA can be used to pay for costs related to in-patient treatment for alcohol dependence, including the cost of meals and lodging. You can also use it to pay for the cost of transportation to Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, provided you have received medical advice that membership in Alcoholics Anonymous is necessary for the treatment of any disease involving alcohol abuse.
Ambulance Services
Artificial Limbs
Artificial Teeth
Bandages
Birth Control Pills
Braille Books and Magazines
You can use your HSA to pay for the difference in cost between Braille books and magazines and printed books and magazines, provided the books and magazines are purchased for use by a visually impaired person.
Breast Reconstruction Surgery
You can use your HSA to pay for the cost of breast reconstruction surgery following a mastectomy to treat breast cancer.
Capital Expenses
“Capital expenses” include home improvements or special equipment installed in your home, provided their main purpose is medical care. See the Capital Expenses Worksheet in IRS Publication 502 (PDF).
Car
You can use HSA funds to pay for special equipment installed in a car for use by a person with a disability.
Chiropractor Services
Christian Science Practitioners
Contact Lenses
You can use your HSA to pay for contact lenses, as well as materials related to the use of contact lenses
Crutches
Dental Treatment
Diagnostic Devices
You can use your HSA to pay expenses related to diagnosing or treating an illness.
Disabled Dependent Care Expenses
You can use your HSA to pay for medical care related to your dependents. You may also choose to take a tax credit for this care as a work-related expense — but you may not claim both.
Drug Addiction
Your HSA can be used to pay for costs related to in-patient treatment for drug dependence, including the cost of meals and lodging.
Eye Surgery
Eyeglasses
Your HSA can be used to pay for eyeglasses, as well as the cost of eye exams.
Fertility Enhancement Hospital Services
Guide Dog or Other Animal
You can use your HSA to pay the cost of buying, training, and maintaining a guide dog or other animal related to a physical disability.
Health Institute
Your HSA can be used to pay for the cost of treatment at a health institute, provided that treatment has been prescribed by a physician. That physician will need to provide a written statement affirming that the care received was necessary to treat a physical or mental disability or illness.
Hearing Aids
Home Care
Home Improvements
You can use your HSA to pay for home improvements related to medical care. For more information, see “Capital Expenses” in IRS Publication 502 (PDF).
Hospital Services
You can use your HSA to pay for the cost of hospital care, including meals and lodging.
Insurance Premiums
Your HSA funds can only be used to pay insurance premiums for long-term care coverage, health coverage while you receive unemployment benefits, and health continuation coverage received under federal law (such as COBRA coverage). For more information, see “Special rules for insurance premiums” in IRS Publication 969 (PDF).
Laboratory Fees
Lead-Based Paint Removal
You can use your HSA to pay for the cost of removing lead-based paint provided you have a child who has or has had lead poisoning, the paint is peeling, and the paint is within reach of the child.
Learning Disability
Legal Fees
You can use your HSA to pay for the cost of legal fees related to authorizing treatment for a mental illness.
Lifetime Care
You can use your HSA to make part of an advance payment for care in a retirement home. For more information, see “Lifetime Care — Advance Payments” in IRS Publication 502 (PDF).
Long-Term Care
You can use your HSA to pay for long-term care services, as well as the premiums paid for a long-term care insurance policy.
Medical Conferences
You can use your HSA to pay for the cost of attending a medical conference, provided the conference is related to a chronic illness that you, your spouse, or a dependent has. Meals and lodging during the conference can not be paid for by your HSA funds.
Medical Information Plan
You can use your HSA funds to pay for the cost of using an electronic medical system to store and transfer your medical records.
Medical Services
Your HSA funds can be used to pay for medical services provided by a physician or other medical specialist.
Medicines
You can use your HSA funds to pay for the cost of prescription drugs. You can also use your HSA funds to pay for non-prescription (“over-the-counter”) drugs. However, with the exception of insulin, the IRS does not consider non-prescription drugs to be a medical expense that qualifies for a tax deduction. For more information, see “Medicines” in IRS Publication 502 (PDF) and “Qualified medical expenses” in IRS Publication 969 (PDF).
Mentally Retarded, Special Home for
You can use your HSA to pay for the costs of lodging in a special home for a mentally retarded, provided a psychiatrist has recommended such a home to help the mentally retarded individual transition from a mental hospital to community living.
Nursing Home
You can use your HSA to pay for the cost of nursing home care, meals, and lodging, provided the primary reason for being in the nursing home is to receive medical care.
Nursing Services
You can use your HSA to pay for the cost of nursing care, including wages and related expenses. For more information see “Nursing Services” in IRS Publication 502 (PDF).
Operations
You can use your HSA to pay for operations, except for medically unnecessary cosmetic surgery.
Optometrist Services
Osteopath Services
Oxygen
You can use your HSA services to pay for oxygen and related equipment, provided the oxygen is used to treat breathing problems caused by a medical condition.
Prosthesis
Psychiatric Care
Psychoanalysis
Psychologist
Special Education
You can use your HSA to pay for the cost of tutoring a child with learning disabilities caused by a physical or mental impairment, provided such tutoring has been recommended by a doctor.
Sterilization
Stop-Smoking Programs
You can use your HSA to pay for the costs of participating in a smoking-cessation program. Note that you can not use your HSA to pay for non-prescription smoking-cessation drugs, such as nicotine patches or nicotine gum.
Surgery
Telephone
You can use your HSA to pay for the cost of installing special telephone equipment related to a hearing impairment.
Television
You can use your HSA to pay for the cost of installing special television equipment related to a hearing impairment.
Therapy
You can use your HSA to pay for therapy received as part of a medical treatment.
Transplants
You can use your HSA to pay for any expenses related to your being a donor or potential donor of an organ. This includes transportation.
Transportation
You can use your HSA to pay for the cost of transportation related to receiving medical care.
Trips
You can use your HSA to pay for the cost of a trip provided the purpose of that trip is primarily to receive medical care. For more information, see “Trips” and “Lodging” in IRS Publication 502 (PDF).
Vasectomy Services
Vision Correction Surgery
Weight-Loss Programs
You can use your HSA to pay for the cost of a weight-loss program, provided your participation in that program is part of a treatment for a specific medical condition diagnosed by a physician. For more information, see “Weight-Loss Program” in IRS Publication 502 (PDF).
Wheelchair
Wig
You can use your HSA to pay for the cost of a wig, provided a physician has recommended the purchase as beneficial to a patient who has lost their hair as part of a medical condition.
X-rays
The Internal Revenue Service also maintains a list of medical expenses that do not qualify for HSA funds. For more information, refer to IRS Publication 502 (PDF).
Learn more about Health Savings Accounts here.
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