[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1679 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1679

  To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to treat certain amounts 
 paid for physical activity, fitness, and exercise as amounts paid for 
                             medical care.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 12, 2019

  Mr. Kind (for himself and Mr. Kelly of Pennsylvania) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to treat certain amounts 
 paid for physical activity, fitness, and exercise as amounts paid for 
                             medical care.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Personal Health Investment Today Act 
of 2019'' or the ``PHIT Act of 2019''.

SEC. 2. PURPOSE.

    The purpose of this Act is to promote health and prevent disease, 
particularly diseases related to being overweight or obese, by--
            (1) encouraging healthier lifestyles;
            (2) providing financial incentives to ease the financial 
        burden of engaging in healthy behavior; and
            (3) increasing the ability of individuals and families to 
        participate in physical fitness activities.

SEC. 3. CERTAIN AMOUNTS PAID FOR PHYSICAL ACTIVITY, FITNESS, AND 
              EXERCISE TREATED AS AMOUNTS PAID FOR MEDICAL CARE.

    (a) In General.--Paragraph (1) of section 213(d) of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking ``or'' at the end of 
subparagraph (C), by striking the period at the end of subparagraph (D) 
and inserting ``, or'', and by inserting after subparagraph (D) the 
following new subparagraph:
                    ``(E) for qualified sports and fitness expenses.''.
    (b) Qualified Sports and Fitness Expenses.--Subsection (d) of 
section 213 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding 
at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(12) Qualified sports and fitness expenses.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The term `qualified sports and 
                fitness expenses' means amounts paid exclusively for 
                the sole purpose of participating in a physical 
                activity including--
                            ``(i) for membership at a fitness facility,
                            ``(ii) for participation or instruction in 
                        physical exercise or physical activity, or
                            ``(iii) for equipment used in a program 
                        (including a self-directed program) of physical 
                        exercise or physical activity.
                    ``(B) Overall dollar limitation.--The aggregate 
                amount treated as qualified sports and fitness expenses 
                with respect to any taxpayer for any taxable year shall 
                not exceed $1,000 ($2,000 in the case of a joint return 
                or a head of household (as defined in section 2(b))).
                    ``(C) Fitness facility.--For purposes of 
                subparagraph (A)(i), the term `fitness facility' means 
                a facility--
                            ``(i) which provides instruction in a 
                        program of physical exercise, offers facilities 
                        for the preservation, maintenance, 
                        encouragement, or development of physical 
                        fitness, or serves as the site of such a 
                        program of a State or local government,
                            ``(ii) which is not a private club owned 
                        and operated by its members,
                            ``(iii) which does not offer golf, hunting, 
                        sailing, or riding facilities,
                            ``(iv) the health or fitness component of 
                        which is not incidental to its overall function 
                        and purpose, and
                            ``(v) which is fully compliant with the 
                        State of jurisdiction and Federal anti-
                        discrimination laws.
                    ``(D) Treatment of exercise videos, etc.--Videos, 
                books, and similar materials shall be treated as 
                described in subparagraph (A)(ii) if the content of 
                such materials constitutes instruction in a program of 
                physical exercise or physical activity.
                    ``(E) Limitations related to sports and fitness 
                equipment.--Amounts paid for equipment described in 
                subparagraph (A)(iii) shall be treated as qualified 
                sports and fitness expenses only--
                            ``(i) if such equipment is utilized 
                        exclusively for participation in fitness, 
                        exercise, sport, or other physical activity,
                            ``(ii) in the case of amounts paid for 
                        apparel or footwear, if such apparel or 
                        footwear is of a type that is necessary for, 
                        and is not used for any purpose other than, a 
                        specific physical activity, and
                            ``(iii) in the case of amounts paid for any 
                        single item of sports equipment (other than 
                        exercise equipment), to the extent such amounts 
                        do not exceed $250.
                    ``(F) Programs which include components other than 
                physical exercise and physical activity.--Rules similar 
                to the rules of paragraph (6) shall apply in the case 
                of any program that includes physical exercise or 
                physical activity and also other components. For 
                purposes of the preceding sentence, travel and 
                accommodations shall be treated as a separate 
                component.''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply to taxable years beginning after the date of the enactment of 
this Act.
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