I 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2486 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide that amounts 

paid for foods for special dietary use, dietary supplements, or medical 

foods shall be treated as medical expenses. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 19, 2005 

Mr. BURTON of Indiana (for himself, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. PAUL, Mr. TERRY, 

and Mr. GERLACH) 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 provide 

that amounts paid for foods for special dietary use, dietary supplements, or medical foods shall be treated as 

medical expenses. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act shall be known as the ‘‘Dietary Supplement 

5 Tax Fairness Act of 2005’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds that— 
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1 (1) the inclusion of foods for special dietary 

2 use, dietary supplements, and medical foods in the 

3 deduction for medical expenses does not subject such 

4 items to regulation as drugs, 

5 (2) the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 treats 

6 such items as allowable for the medical expense de7 duction, but only if such items are prescribed drugs, 

8 (3) such items have been shown through re9 search and historical use to be a valuable benefit to 

10 human health, in particular disease prevention and 

11 overall good health, and 

12 (4) children with inborn errors of metabolism, 

13 metabolic disorders, and autism, and all individuals 

14 with diabetes, autoimmune disorders, and chronic in15 flammatory conditions, frequently require daily die16 tary interventions as well as medical interventions to 

17 manage their conditions and such dietary interven18 tions often become a significant economic burden on 

19 such individuals. 

20 SEC. 3. AMOUNTS PAID FOR FOODS FOR SPECIAL DIETARY 

21 USE, DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS, OR MEDICAL 

22 FOODS TREATED AS MEDICAL EXPENSES. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (1) of section 213(d) 

24 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to medical, 

25 dental, etc., expenses) is amended by redesignating sub-
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1 paragraphs (C) and (D) as subparagraphs (D) and (E), 

2 respectively, and by inserting after subparagraph (B) the 

3 following new subparagraph: 

4 ‘‘(C) for foods for special dietary use, die5 tary supplements (as defined in section 201 of 

6 the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act), 

7 and medical foods,’’. 

8 (b) SPECIAL RULE FOR INSURANCE COVERING

9 FOODS FOR SPECIAL DIETARY USE, DIETARY SUPPLE10 MENTS, AND MEDICAL FOODS.—Subsection (d) of section 

11 213 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to 

12 medical, dental, etc., expenses) is amended by adding at 

13 the end the following new paragraph: 

14 ‘‘(12) SPECIAL RULE FOR INSURANCE COV15 ERING FOODS FOR SPECIAL DIETARY USE, DIETARY

16 SUPPLEMENTS, AND MEDICAL FOODS.—Amounts 

17 paid for insurance covering foods and supplements 

18 referred to in paragraph (1)(C) shall be treated as 

19 described in paragraph (1)(E) only if such foods and 

20 supplements comply with applicable good manufac21 turing practices prescribed by the Food and Drug 

22 Administration or with other comparable stand23 ards.’’. 

24 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 
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1 (1) Subparagraph (E) of section 213(d)(1) of 

2 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as redesignated 

3 by subsection (a), is amended by striking ‘‘subpara4 graphs (A) and (B)’’ and inserting ‘‘subparagraphs 

5 (A), (B), and (C)’’. 

6 (2) The last sentence of section 213(d)(1) of 

7 such Code is amended by striking ‘‘subparagraph 

8 (D)’’ and inserting ‘‘subparagraph (E)’’. 

9 (3) Paragraph (6) of section 213(d) of such 

10 Code is amended— 

11 (A) by striking ‘‘and (C)’’ and inserting 

12 ‘‘(C), and (D)’’, and 

13 (B) by striking ‘‘paragraph (1)(D)’’ in 

14 subparagraph (A) and inserting ‘‘paragraph 

15 (1)(E)’’. 

16 (4) Paragraph (7) of section 213(d) of such 

17 Code is amended by striking ‘‘and (C)’’ and insert18 ing ‘‘(C), and (D)’’. 

19 (5) Sections 72(t)(2)(D)(i)(III) and 

20 7702B(a)(4) of such Code are each amended by 

21 striking ‘‘section 213(d)(1)(D)’’ and inserting ‘‘sec22 tion 213(d)(1)(E)’’. 
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1 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

2 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 

3 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

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