Can a gym membership be written off as a business expense?
slinky789 asked:
My husband teaches fire and emergency training and as part of his job, he must be in shape. May his gym membership be written off as a business expense? For that matter, can anyone’s be written off?
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My husband teaches fire and emergency training and as part of his job, he must be in shape. May his gym membership be written off as a business expense? For that matter, can anyone’s be written off?
See your 2008 Updated Credit Report here
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Tags:Business Expense,Gym Membership,JobRelated posts
Filed under: United States on July 3rd, 2009
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Health Club Dues
You cannot include in medical expenses health club dues, or amounts paid to improve one’s general health or to relieve physical or mental discomfort not related to a particular medical condition.
You cannot include in medical expenses the cost of membership in any club organized for business, pleasure, recreation, or other social purpose.
Publication 502
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If you need to work out as a condition of your employment, and facilities are not available at the workplace, then you can write it off. If this is not the case, then it is not a legitimate claim.
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Not only can this not be claimed as a medical deduction, it cannot be claimed as an Employee Business Expense or miscellaneous dediction either. IRS Pub 529 is quite explicit on this:
“Health Spa Expenses
You cannot deduct health spa expenses, even if there is a job requirement to stay in excellent physical condition, such as might be required of a law enforcement officer.”