Massage therapy can be a qualified medical expense, if a physician recommends it with a written prescription. The IRS rules states that medical care expenses must be primarily to ease or prevent a physical or mental ailment. Examples of illnesses that qualify include frozen shoulder, piriformis syndrome (commonly referred to as sciatica) stress, back and neck pain, arthritis, diabetes, fibromyalgia, anxiety, depression and pain management.
What you need first
To set up massage as a qualifying expense, go to your primary doctor and tell them you have an FSA or HSA and you'd like to use some of your funds toward massage for treatment or prevention of your ailment or medical complaint.
Your physician will need to provide the following information on a prescription form:
1. The medical necessity: why you need massage therapy (example: to relieve back pain)
2. The frequency they recommend: number of sessions per month (example: minimum of two sessions per month)
3. The duration: length of treatment (example: 12 months)
Soulstone has a prescription form you can download and take to your physician. Create an account to access our forms.
Once you have obtained the prescription, file it away in case you are ever asked to back up the expense. Bring in or email a copy to info.soulstone@gmail.com and bring your FlexCard (if you have one) to pay for your session or membership.
If you do not have a FlexCard, simply pay for your massages or memberships and turn in your itemized insurance receipt for reimbursement. An insurance receipt is available upon request and will be emailed to you within 24 hours. Note that you cannot include tips.
Planning for Next Year set aside funds for massage
In your financial planning, don't forget to include the cost of your massage visits in the total amount. You also can set aside money for massage therapy for a spouse, if he or she has a qualifying medical condition. For each person, your possible savings could be $33 a month or more in taxes! And who couldn’t use that!
I invite you to call or email if you need assistance or want me to discuss your treatments with your doctor.