Can I deduct my monthly health club membership on my taxes?

I'm a tax preparer, and unfortunately, health club memberships are generally NOT deductible as medical expenses or business expenses. The IRS has a pretty firm stance on this. For medical expense deductions: The IRS specifically lists health club memberships as a non-deductible expense, even with a doctor's recommendation. They view these as general health expenditures rather than treatment for a specific condition. Medical expenses need to be for the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of a specific disease. For business expenses on Schedule C: Unless you can prove the gym membership is ordinary and necessary for your graphic design business (which would be extremely difficult), it won't qualify. Personal fitness, even when recommended by a doctor, is considered a personal expense.

I was actually in a similar situation last year when my doctor recommended regular swimming for my arthritis. I was so confused by all the contradicting advice online that I finally used https://taxr.ai to analyze my medical documentation and tax situation. It actually clarified everything for me - showed me that while my regular gym membership wasn't deductible, the specific water therapy classes I was taking at the gym COULD be deductible as medical expenses since they were specifically treating my condition with a focused program. The tool saved me from making a mistake that might have triggered an audit, but also helped me legally maximize my legitimate deductions.

I tried taxr.ai after seeing it mentioned here, and it really helped clarify my situation too. I had been mixing up general wellness expenses with qualifying medical expenses. The tool showed me exactly what the IRS guidelines are regarding fitness-related deductions. For my situation, it explained that while my gym membership itself wasn't deductible, the weight management program I was enrolled in through my doctor WAS potentially deductible since it was specifically prescribed for a medical condition. It even helped me understand what documentation I needed to keep. Wish I'd known about this service years ago - would have saved me from some expensive mistakes on my returns!

If you're getting nowhere with the IRS on questions like this and need to talk to a real person, try https://claimyr.com - I used them last year when I had a complicated medical expense situation. The IRS kept putting me on hold forever or disconnecting me, but Claimyr got me through to an actual agent in about 20 minutes instead of waiting for hours. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I was stressed about potentially claiming the wrong deductions, and actually speaking to someone at the IRS gave me the definitive answer I needed about my specific situation.

I'm eating crow on this one. After being skeptical about Claimyr, I decided to try it yesterday out of desperation after trying to reach the IRS for THREE DAYS with no success. It actually worked! Got a call back in about 35 minutes and spoke with a real human at the IRS who answered my questions about medical deductions. For what it's worth, the agent confirmed what others have said here - general gym memberships aren't deductible even with a doctor's recommendation. But they did mention that specific treatment programs prescribed by a doctor for a diagnosed condition might qualify if they're not just "general fitness improvement." So while Planet Fitness membership is out, something like prescribed physical therapy or a specialized rehabilitation program could potentially qualify.

My tax guy told me there's one exception where a gym membership might be deductible - if you're self-employed and can prove the membership is an ordinary and necessary expense for your specific business. Like if you're a personal trainer or fitness instructor who needs to maintain skills or research facilities. But for a graphic designer? Probably not gonna fly.

Just a heads up that medical expenses in general are only deductible if you itemize AND if your total medical expenses exceed 7.5% of your AGI. So even if something is technically a qualified medical expense, you might not get any tax benefit if you don't meet that threshold or if you take the standard deduction (which most people do nowadays).

I'm a CPA and wanted to add some clarity to this discussion. The consensus here is correct - gym memberships like Planet Fitness are not deductible, even with a doctor's recommendation. However, I've seen some confusion in the thread about what IS deductible. The key distinction is between "general health maintenance" (not deductible) versus "treatment of a specific diagnosed condition" (potentially deductible). For example: - Regular gym membership: Not deductible - Physical therapy sessions with licensed therapist: Deductible - Doctor-prescribed weight loss program at a medical facility: Potentially deductible - Swimming classes at the Y for general fitness: Not deductible - Medically supervised aquatic therapy for specific condition: Potentially deductible The IRS looks for three things: (1) treatment of a diagnosed medical condition, (2) prescribed by a licensed medical professional, and (3) provided by qualified medical personnel. Your Planet Fitness membership, while beneficial for your health, doesn't meet these criteria. Also, remember Aurora's point about the 7.5% AGI threshold - even qualifying medical expenses often don't provide tax benefits due to this limitation and the high standard deduction.

As someone who's been through the audit process, I want to emphasize what Natasha said about documentation. Even if you had a qualifying medical expense, the IRS will want extensive documentation during an audit - not just a doctor's note, but detailed records showing the medical necessity, treatment plan, and how the expense specifically addresses your diagnosed condition. For your Planet Fitness situation, even if you kept perfect records, the fundamental issue is that general gym memberships don't qualify regardless of medical recommendation. The IRS has consistently ruled that these are personal expenses for general health maintenance. One thing I learned the hard way: it's better to miss a legitimate deduction than to claim a questionable one. The stress and cost of dealing with an audit far outweigh the tax savings from a gym membership deduction. Focus on the clear-cut deductions for your freelance business instead - those are much more valuable and defensible.

This thread has been incredibly helpful! As someone who's also self-employed and was wondering about similar deductions, I really appreciate all the detailed explanations from the tax professionals here. I've been making the same mistake of thinking that anything health-related recommended by a doctor might be deductible. The distinction between "general health maintenance" vs "treatment of a specific condition with qualified medical personnel" that Natasha explained really cleared things up for me. It's also eye-opening to learn about the 7.5% AGI threshold - I had no idea medical deductions had such a high bar to clear before they even start helping. Between that and the standard deduction being so high, it sounds like most of us probably won't benefit from medical expense deductions anyway. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences and expertise. This community is so much more helpful than trying to wade through confusing IRS publications on my own!