The IRS recently issued an announcement clarifying that the purchase of personal protective equipment (PPE), such as masks, hand sanitizer and sanitizing wipes, for the primary purpose of preventing the spread of coronavirus are deductible medical expenses.
Taxpayers can treat PPE purchases as amounts paid for medical care under section 213(d) of the Internal Revenue Code.
The amounts paid for PPE are also eligible for reimbursement under health flexible spending arrangements (health FSAs), Archer medical savings accounts (Archer MSAs), health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs) or health savings accounts (HSAs).