SIMERPU RESEARCH · SOURCE RECAP
Frequently asked questions about medical expenses related to nutrition, wellness and general health
SIMERPU recap and commentary: Mardy Gould
Opened — main text retrieved
Quick recap
Explains when exams, therapy, nutritional counseling, weight-loss programs and similar costs qualify as medical expenses. Distinguishes disease treatment from general health purposes.
SIMERPU’s viewpoint
The FAQs offer concrete examples for thinking about medical purpose. SIMERPU would use them to connect a service description to its actual use, documentation and payment, while keeping the separate payroll-arrangement analysis visible. They are useful educational background for evaluating a service menu, rather than approval of a particular vendor.
What this source contributes
The examples help readers examine how the purpose of an expense affects its characterization.
What remains unanswered
The FAQs do not validate a named program or explain every element of a proposed payroll-return arrangement.
Mardy Gould’s take
A service menu is only the beginning of the explanation. I would ask how the employee uses the service, what the relevant expense is and how it connects to the payment. These examples are useful because they encourage specific questions instead of treating every item marketed as wellness as the same thing.
Questions I would bring to the conversation
1. What purpose does the particular service serve?
2. What expense does the employee incur?
3. How does the proposed payment reimburse that expense?
Mardy Gould · Co-Founder, SIMERPU →
What would change our assessment?
Additional facts about purpose, expense and reimbursement could change the assessment of an item; a vendor label alone would not.
Read the original source
The original author and publisher are credited below. Continue to their article, document or source page for the complete context.
Original Author: Internal Revenue Service
Publisher: IRS
Original Publication Date: 2023-03-17 (FAQ additions)
Read this alongside…
Each connection has a specific purpose. Compare the sources’ facts, positions and publication dates as you read.
IRS alert: Beware of companies misrepresenting nutrition, wellness and general health expenses as medical care for FSAs, HSAs, HRAs and MSAs
IRS
Source position: Neutral / explanatory
See the related IRS warning about general-health expense claims.
Read the SIMERPU recap →
26 CFR §1.105-2 — Amounts expended for medical care
eCFR / Office of the Federal Register
Source position: Neutral / explanatory
Read the separate regulation on amounts paid to reimburse medical expenses.
Read the SIMERPU recap →
Wellness and the Tax Law
Georgia Law Review
Source position: Neutral / explanatory
Compare the practical examples with scholarship about the policy boundary.
Read the SIMERPU recap →
Keep learning with SIMERPU
Build your understanding with learning resources, the free Professional Roadmap and our approach to reviewing sources.
About this source
Original Updated Date: Not separately verified
Source Type: Government — public guidance
Model Discussed: medical expenses under section 213 of the Internal Revenue Code
Position: Neutral / explanatory
Period: Recent — 2023–2026
Retrieved: October 31, 2026
Research and date notes
Individual questions carry “added March 17, 2023.” Broader §213(d) context, not approval of a SIMERP vendor.
Each record identifies the material retrieved. SIMERPU’s viewpoint and Mardy Gould’s take are editorial commentary; the source-position label describes the original source’s stance. Read the original and its qualifications when evaluating a particular arrangement.
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