Tax Break: IRS Allows Breast Pumps As Deductible Medical Expense

breastpump.jpgThe Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently reversed course and announced that breast pumps and other lactation supplies will now be considered a tax-deductible medical expense.  This will allow employees to use money stored in their Flexible Spending Account (FSA) to purchase breast pumps on a pre-tax basis without the hassle of a prescription.

The ruling, issued on February 10, overrides the IRS’s previous stance that considered breast pumps as “feeding equipment” and not “medical devices.”  By categorizing breast pumps as medical devices, the new Affordable Care Act prohibition on the use of FSA money for over-the-counter drugs without a prescription will not apply to breast pumps.  Therefore, there is no need for employees to have a prescription in order to be reimbursed the cost under a FSA as long as they have enough pre-tax dollars in their account. 

Employees will also be able to take a deduction on their taxes at the end of the year, provided they have reached the monetary threshold for medical costs required to take a deduction.  The change came as a result of identical letters from 11 U.S. Senators and 34 Representatives from the House of Representatives, who expressed dismay at the IRS’s ruling that “breastfeeding does not provide enough health benefits to qualify as a medical care expense.”  In urging the IRS to reconsider, the letters stated:

[T]he growing body of medical evidence show[s] that breastfeeding has proven health benefits for both mothers and babies. Extensive medical research has demonstrated that breast milk goes beyond nutrition and contains antibodies, anti-infective agents, and immunoglobulins that prevent disease. This is critically important since a newborn’s immune system is not fully developed and cannot produce these immunological benefits, nor are they available through supplements or infant formulas.

Mothers who return to work while their infants are still nursing require a breast pump to maintain their milk supply.  Often, however, the cost of such equipment is prohibitive.  Single-user double-breast electric pumps range in price from $200 - $380, and hospital grade pumps run upwards toward $1,200.  Therefore, the IRS’s decision to treat breast pumps as a tax-deductible medical expense and to exempt them from the heightened restrictions on FSA reimbursements acts as one less deterrent to mothers continuing to breastfeed after they return to work.  The IRS’s reversal is also consistent with last year’s amendments to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), passed as part of the Affordable Care Act, which provide additional support for breastfeeding mothers.  Specifically, all employers that are covered by the FLSA are now required to provide rest breaks and space for employees who are nursing mothers to express breast milk, with potentially some limited exceptions for employers with less than 50 employees.

As a result of the new ruling, employers and insurance companies may want to consider including breast pumps as an example of a medical device (which can be deducted from an FSA) in any lists they provide to employees or in presentations given to employees.  It would also be helpful to include this information in the following:

  • In any information provided to their newly pregnant mothers (such as leave of absence paperwork) or to employees who receive information as a result of a spouse/domestic partner becoming pregnant;
  • In comprehensive lactation program packets, such as where breast pumps are discounted through corporate insurance programs;
  • In packets regarding “healthy pregnancy programs;” and/or
  • In handouts in lactation accommodation rooms.

Mendy Mattingly authored this entry.

Information contained in this publication is intended for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or opinion, nor is it a substitute for the professional judgment of an attorney.