II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 844 

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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 18, 2021 

Mr. THUNE (for himself, Mr. MURPHY, Mr. BARRASSO, Mrs. CAPITO, Mr. 

CRAMER, Mr. KING, Ms. MURKOWSKI, Mr. ROUNDS, and Mr. WICKER) 

introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 

Committee on Finance 

A BILL 

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. 

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 may be cited as the ‘‘Personal Health In5 vestment Today Act of 2021’’ or the ‘‘PHIT Act of 2021’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

2 The purpose of this Act is to promote health and pre3 vent disease, particularly diseases related to being over4 weight or obese, by— 

5 (1) encouraging healthier lifestyles; 

6 (2) providing financial incentives to ease the fi7 nancial burden of engaging in healthy behavior; and 

8 (3) increasing the ability of individuals and 

9 families to participate in physical fitness activities. 

10 SEC. 3. CERTAIN AMOUNTS PAID FOR PHYSICAL ACTIVITY, 

11 FITNESS, AND EXERCISE TREATED AS 

12 AMOUNTS PAID FOR MEDICAL CARE. 

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

14 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by strik15 ing ‘‘or’’ at the end of subparagraph (C), by striking the 

16 period at the end of subparagraph (D) and inserting ‘‘, 

17 or’’, and by inserting after subparagraph (D) the following 

18 new subparagraph: 

19 ‘‘(E) for qualified sports and fitness ex20 penses.’’. 

21 (b) QUALIFIED SPORTS AND FITNESS EXPENSES.— 

22 Subsection (d) of section 213 of the Internal Revenue 

23 Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the fol24 lowing new paragraph: 

25 ‘‘(12) QUALIFIED SPORTS AND FITNESS EX26 PENSES.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘qualified 

2 sports and fitness expenses’ means amounts 

3 paid exclusively for the sole purpose of partici4 pating in a physical activity including— 

5 ‘‘(i) for membership at a fitness facil6 ity, 

7 ‘‘(ii) for participation or instruction in 

8 physical exercise or physical activity, or 

9 ‘‘(iii) for equipment used in a pro10 gram (including a self-directed program) of 

11 physical exercise or physical activity. 

12 ‘‘(B) OVERALL DOLLAR LIMITATION.—The 

13 aggregate amount treated as qualified sports 

14 and fitness expenses with respect to any tax15 payer for any taxable year shall not exceed 

16 $1,000 ($2,000 in the case of a joint return or 

17 a head of household (as defined in section 

18 2(b))). 

19 ‘‘(C) FITNESS FACILITY.—For purposes of 

20 subparagraph (A)(i), the term ‘fitness facility’ 

21 means a facility— 

22 ‘‘(i) which provides instruction in a 

23 program of physical exercise, offers facili24 ties for the preservation, maintenance, en25 couragement, or development of physical 


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1 fitness, or serves as the site of such a pro2 gram of a State or local government, 

3 ‘‘(ii) which is not a private club owned 

4 and operated by its members, 

5 ‘‘(iii) which does not offer golf, hunt6 ing, sailing, or riding facilities, 

7 ‘‘(iv) the health or fitness component 

8 of which is not incidental to its overall 

9 function and purpose, and 

10 ‘‘(v) which is fully compliant with the 

11 State of jurisdiction and Federal anti-dis12 crimination laws. 

13 ‘‘(D) TREATMENT OF EXERCISE VIDEOS, 

14 ETC.—Videos, books, and similar materials 

15 shall be treated as described in subparagraph 

16 (A)(ii) if the content of such materials con17 stitutes instruction in a program of physical ex18 ercise or physical activity. 

19 ‘‘(E) LIMITATIONS RELATED TO SPORTS

20 AND FITNESS EQUIPMENT.—Amounts paid for 

21 equipment described in subparagraph (A)(iii) 

22 shall be treated as qualified sports and fitness 

23 expenses only— 


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1 ‘‘(i) if such equipment is utilized ex2 clusively for participation in fitness, exer3 cise, sport, or other physical activity, 

4 ‘‘(ii) in the case of amounts paid for 

5 apparel or footwear, if such apparel or 

6 footwear is of a type that is necessary for, 

7 and is not used for any purpose other 

8 than, a specific physical activity, and 

9 ‘‘(iii) in the case of amounts paid for 

10 any single item of sports equipment (other 

11 than exercise equipment), to the extent 

12 such amounts do not exceed $250. 

13 ‘‘(F) PROGRAMS WHICH INCLUDE COMPO14 NENTS OTHER THAN PHYSICAL EXERCISE AND

15 PHYSICAL ACTIVITY.—Rules similar to the rules 

16 of paragraph (6) shall apply in the case of any 

17 program that includes physical exercise or phys18 ical activity and also other components. For 

19 purposes of the preceding sentence, travel and 

20 accommodations shall be treated as a separate 

21 component.’’. 

22 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

23 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 

24 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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