There Are Ways to Spend Your FSA or HSA on a Smartwatch
U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently touted his plan to have all Americans using wearable technology within the next four years. That vision is woefully misguided at best. Still, while wearables are no substitute for real healthcare, understanding how to use your FSA/HSA funds for fitness trackers has never been more important. The reality is that, yes, you can use those pre-tax health dollars for fitness trackers and smartwatches, but it’s not as easy as the marketing suggests.
How to Use FSA/HSA Funds to Buy Wearables
According to the FSA Store , if the device is needed to treat or monitor a specific medical condition (not just general well-being), it can be purchased using healthcare funds.
There’s a catch, though. You need a Letter of Medical Necessity (LMN) . The IRS has ruled that fitness trackers and other devices of this type are used to maintain “general health” and are only medically necessary under specific circumstances. Your LMN is essentially a doctor’s note required to classify certain purchases as qualified medical expenses under IRS rules, certifying that the device will be used to treat a legitimate medical condition, such as obesity or heart disease. If you provide the LMN to your benefits administrator, it will likely be covered.
Some health tracking devices are eligible without an LMN because they’re clearly necessary: Think glucose meters, fertility trackers, or blood pressure cuffs. On the other hand, you might have a hard time getting an FSA administrator to approve a new Fitbit . Smartwatches that are designed for tracking or simply promote overall health and well-being don’t quite meet the threshold to qualify for purchase with pre-tax dollars. That said, you might be surprised at what types of devices are actually eligible for an HSA/FSA — assuming you can get your hands on an LMN.
When it comes to securing your LMN, you may not even have to make an appointment with a doctor , thanks to third-party players like Truemed. When you browse sites like Coros or Amazfit , you’ll see a “Pay with Truemed” option when you check out. Then, as Truemed explains , you’ll be asked to answer a few questions about your health status and matched with a provider to determine your eligibility. If you qualify, you’ll receive an LMN that will allow you to use your HSA or FSA funds to complete your purchase — all without having to see your primary care doctor.
Fitness Trackers You Can Buy With HSA/FSA Funds
Here are some of the major brands that offer HSA/FSA compliant fitness trackers.
Garmin
Unfortunately, Garmin watches are not eligible for HSA/FSA. However, the following products are eligible for HSA/FSA purchase:
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Smart Blood Pressure Monitor Index BPM
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Smart scale Index S2
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Heart rate monitor HRM-Fit for women
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Heart Rate Monitor HRM-Pro Plus
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HRM-Dual Real Time Heart Rate Monitor
You can filter by HSA/FSA criteria and view all matching Garmin products here .
Koros
Coros offers FSA/HSA compliance for all of its watches and heart rate monitors through a partnership with Truemed.
Amazfit
Amazfit recently released the Helio Strap, the third of three rumored Whoop-style trackers to be officially announced.
Amazfit is another brand that partners with Truemed, which means that, like Coros above, you may find it easier to get an LMN to support your need for a smartwatch, sleep tracker, stress monitor, or other screenless fitness tracker. For example, here are some of the eligible FSA/HSA products from Amazfit:
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Helio Strap Fitness Tracker Without Screen
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Fitness tracker without a screen Helio Ring
You can filter by HSA/FSA criteria and view more Amazfit options here .
Oops
While Whoop doesn’t accept direct FSA/HSA payments at checkout, you can claim reimbursement for their 12-month subscription, the Whoop 4.0 Battery Pack, and the Whoop 5.0 Wireless Power Bank and Basic Charger. Whoop’s focus on strain and recovery data can help support claims of medical necessity. There are several ways to claim/reimburse — see them all here .
Superman
Designed to track deep health biomarkers like heart rate variability (HRV), sleep stages, and recovery patterns, Ultrahuman’s Ring AIR is marketed as HSA/FSA-compatible, along with the Voyager Ring Charger and Cardio AdaptabilityPowerPlug .
Ultrahuman partners with payment processors Sika and Flex . However, according to the Ultrahuman website , their smart rings offer continuous health data that is always FSA/HSA compliant, meaning no LMN is required to purchase.
Whitings
Withings markets its smartwatches as FSA/HSA eligible, highlighting medical features like ECG monitoring and sleep tracking. Its approach leans heavily on the medical side, which could strengthen the LMN rationale. Eligible watches include:
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Smart scales Body Scan
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BPM connect blood pressure monitor
Filter by HSA/FSA criteria and view more Withings options here .
Summary
FSA/HSA eligibility for wearables is real, but limited. Some employer FSA administrators may scrutinize wearable purchases more closely. Companies like Coros are the most transparent about facilitating required medical advice, while others push eligibility without clearly explaining the LMN barrier. For consumers, this means budgeting not only for the device, but also for the health advice and documentation process needed to justify the purchase. Still, the promise of using pre-tax medical dollars for wearables is real.
And remember, the most important aspect of purchasing with HSA funds is record keeping. Be sure to save every receipt — and LMN — for every HSA purchase you make.