There Are Ways to Spend Your FSA or HSA on a Smartwatch
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U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. recently touted his agenda to get all Americans using a wearable within the next four years. This vision is sorely misguided, at best. Still, although wearables are no replacement for actual healthcare, understanding how to leverage your FSA/HSA funds for fitness trackers has never been more relevant. The reality is that yes, you can use these pre-tax health dollars for fitness trackers and smartwatches—but it's not as straightforward as the marketing suggests.
How to use your FSA/HSA funds to buy wearables
According to the FSA store, if a device is necessary for treating or monitoring a specific medical condition (and not just general wellness), it could be eligible to purchase with your health dollars.
There is a catch, though. You need a Letter of Medical Necessity (LMN). The IRS has ruled that fitness trackers and other devices of their type are used to promote one's "general health" and are only medically necessary under special circumstances. Your LMN is basically a doctor's note required to classify certain purchases as qualified medical expenses under IRS guidelines, proving that the device will be used to treat a legitimate medical condition, such as obesity or a heart condition. As long as you submit an LMN to your benefits administrator, it will most likely be covered.
Some health-tracking devices are eligible without an LMN because they're clearly essential: Think glucose monitors, fertility trackers, or blood pressure cuffs. On the flip side, you might have a tough time getting your FSA administrator to approve a new Fitbit. Smartwatches that are meant to track or simply contribute to general health and overall well-being don’t quite meet the threshold to qualify for purchase with pre-tax dollars. That being said, you might be surprised at what kinds of devices are indeed HSA/FSA eligible—assuming you get your hands on an LMN.
When it comes to securing your LMN, you might not even need to make a doctor's appointment, thanks to third-party players like Truemed. When you browse sites like Coros or Amazfit, you'll see the option to “Pay With Truemed” at checkout. From there, as Truemed explains it, you'll be asked you a few questions about your health circumstances, and you’ll be matched with a provider to determine your eligibility. If you qualify, you’ll get an LMN that will allow you to use your HSA or FSA funds to complete your purchase—all without ever having to meet with your primary doctor.
The fitness trackers you can buy with HSA/FSA funds
Here are some of the major brands offering HSA/FSA eligible fitness trackers.
Garmin
Sadly, no Garmin watches are HSA/FSA-eligible. Still, the following products are eligible for an HSA/FSA purchase:
Index BPM smart blood pressure monitor
Index S2 smart scale
HRM-Fit heart rate monitor for women
HRM-Pro Plus heart rate monitor
HRM-Dual real-time heart rate monitor
You can filter by HSA/FSA eligibility and browse all eligible Garmin items here.
Coros
Coros offers FSA/HSA eligibility for all their watches and heart rate monitors through their partnership with Truemed.
Amazfit
Amazfit recently launched its Helio Strap, the third of the three once-rumored Whoop-like trackers to be officially announced.
Amazfit is another brand partnered with Truemed, meaning that like with Coros above, it might be easier for you to get that LMN proving your need for a smartwatch, sleep tracker, stress monitor, or other screen-less fitness band. For instance, here are some of Amazfit's FSA/HSA eligible items:
Helio Strap screen-free fitness tracker
Helio Ring screen-free fitness tracker
You can filter by HSA/FSA eligibility and browse more Amazfit options here.
Whoop
While Whoop does not accept direct FSA/HSA payments at checkout, you can submit reimbursement claims for their 12-month subscription, Whoop 4.0 battery pack, and Whoop 5.0 wireless power pack and basic charger. Whoop's focus on strain and recovery data may help support medical necessity claims. There are several ways to file a claim/submit a reimbursement—see them all here.
Ultrahuman
Ultrahuman's Ring AIR—designed to track deep health biomarker like heart rate variability (HRV), sleep stages, and recovery patterns—is marketed as HSA/FSA eligible, along with their Voyager Ring Charger and Cardio Adaptability PowerPlug.
Ultrahuman is partnered with payment processors Sika and Flex. However, according to Ultrahuman's site, their smart rings offer continuous health data that is always FSA/HSA eligible, meaning there’s no need for an LMN to purchase.
Withings
Withings positions their smartwatches as FSA/HSA eligible, emphasizing medical features like ECG monitoring and sleep tracking. Their approach leans heavily on the medical device angle, which may strengthen LMN justifications. Eligible watches include:
Body Scan smart scale
BPM connect blood pressure monitor
Filter by HSA/FSA eligibility and browse more Withings options here.
The bottom line
FSA/HSA eligibility for wearables is real but restrictive. Some employers' FSA administrators may scrutinize wearable purchases more closely. Companies like Coros are most transparent about facilitating the required medical consultation, while others market eligibility without clearly explaining the LMN barrier. For consumers, this means budgeting not just for the device, but for the healthcare consultation and documentation process required to justify the purchase. Still, the promise of using pre-tax health dollars for wearables is real.
And remember, the most important aspect of shopping with HSA funds is record-keeping. Make sure to keep every receipt—and LMN—for every HSA purchase you make.