I 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1545
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to treat expenses for certain 
meal replacement and dietary supplement products that qualify for FDA-
approved health claims as expenses for medical care. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 12, 2005
Mr. CANNON 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 treat ex-
penses for certain meal replacement and dietary supple-
ment products that qualify for FDA-approved health 
claims as expenses for medical care.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act shall be known as the ‘‘Dietary Supplement 
and Healthy Meal Replacement Tax Parity Act of 2005’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds that—
(1) improving the health status of United 
States citizens ranks as a top national priority of the 
Federal Government; 
(2) the importance of nutrition and the benefits 
of dietary supplements and low-fat meal replacement 
products to health promotion and disease prevention 
have been documented increasingly in scientific stud-
ies; 
(3) preventive health measures, including edu-
cation, good nutrition, and moderate exercise, plus 
appropriate use of nutritional supplements, will limit 
the incidence of chronic diseases and reduce long-
term health care expenditures; 
(4) promotion of good health and nutrition im-
proves and extends lives while reducing health care 
expenditures; 
(5) reduction in health care expenditures is of 
paramount importance to the future economic well-
being of the country; 
(6) consumers should be empowered to make 
informed choices about preventive health care pro-
grams based on data from scientific studies of health 
benefits related to particular dietary supplements; 
and
(7) Federal tax policy that promotes the con-
sumer’s access to safe dietary supplements and 
healthy meal replacement products is necessary in 
order to decrease exorbitant and ever-increasing 
health care costs and to promote wellness. 
SEC. 3. AMOUNTS PAID FOR CERTAIN DIETARY SUPPLE-
MENTS AND MEAL REPLACEMENTS TREATED 
AS MEDICAL EXPENSES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (1) of section 213(d) 
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to medical, 
dental, etc., expenses) is amended by redesignating sub-
paragraphs (C) and (D) as subparagraphs (E) and (F), 
respectively, and by inserting after subparagraph (B) the 
following new subparagraphs: 
‘‘(C) for dietary supplements that are per-
mitted under section 403(r)(5)(D) of the Fed-
eral Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to bear la-
beling making a claim described in such section 
(relating to health claims), 
‘‘(D) for meal replacement products that—
‘‘(i) are permitted under section 
403(r)(3) of the Federal Food, Drug, and 
Cosmetic Act to bear labeling making a 
claim described in such section (relating to 
health claims), and
‘‘(ii) may under section 403 of such 
Act bear labeling providing that the prod-
ucts are low fat and are a good source of 
protein, fiber, and multiple essential vita-
mins and minerals,’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—
(1) Subparagraph (F) of section 213(d)(1) of 
such Code, as redesignated by subsection (a), is 
amended by striking ‘‘subparagraphs (A) and (B)’’ 
and inserting ‘‘subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C)’’. 
(2) The last sentence of section 213(d)(1) of 
such Code is amended by striking ‘‘subparagraph 
(D)’’ and inserting ‘‘subparagraph (F)’’. 
(3) Paragraph (6) of section 213(d) of such 
Code is amended—
(A) by striking ‘‘and (C)’’ and inserting 
‘‘and (E)’’, and 
(B) by striking ‘‘paragraph (1)(D)’’ in 
subparagraph (A) and inserting ‘‘paragraph 
(1)(F)’’. 
(4) Paragraph (7) of section 213(d) of such 
Code is amended by striking ‘‘and (C)’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘and (E)’’. 
(5) 
Sections 
72(t)(2)(D)(i)(III) 
and 
7702B(a)(4) of such Code are each amended by
striking ‘‘section 213(d)(1)(D)’’ and inserting ‘‘sec-
tion 213(d)(1)(F)’’. 
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 
the date of enactment of this Act.
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