Why You Can’t Use Your Health Savings for These 5 Common Items
By Catherine Reed | Originally posted on Inkl
HSAs feel like a cheat code until a receipt gets questioned and you realize “health-related” isn’t the same as “HSA-eligible.” A lot of people are hearing about an HSA overhaul for 2026 and assuming it changes what you can buy, but most of the confusion comes from eligibility expansions, not a brand-new shopping list of items. The rules still hinge on whether something is a qualified medical expense under IRS standards, not whether it looks like wellness. If you use HSA funds on ineligible purchases, you can trigger taxes and potential penalties, which turns a “smart” move into an expensive one. Here are five everyday items people try to swipe with an HSA that still commonly do not qualify unless very specific conditions apply.
1. Gym Memberships and Fitness Classes (Even After the HSA Overhaul)
Gym fees usually feel like health spending, but they’re typically considered general wellness and not a qualified medical expense. Even if the workout helps you, the IRS standard generally requires medical care, not preventive lifestyle spending. If you’re hearing the HSA overhaul made fitness automatically eligible, slow down, because that’s a common myth that spreads when policy headlines get simplified. In rare cases, a structured program can qualify when it’s tied to treating a specific diagnosed condition and properly documented, but the default is still “not eligible.” Your safer play is to keep gym costs in your regular budget and use HSA dollars for clearly qualified care instead.
2. Daily Vitamins, Supplements, and “Immune Boosters”
Most everyday vitamins and supplements are treated as general health items, which usually makes them ineligible. People assume “doctor recommended” equals eligible, but recommendations are not the same as treating a diagnosed medical condition with documentation. If you’re taking a supplement as part of a specific treatment plan, you may need supporting paperwork to justify it as a medical expense. This matters in 2026 because the HSA overhaul chatter can nudge people into swiping the HSA card for things that still do not meet the standard. When in doubt, separate “wellness routine” purchases from true medical expenses to avoid a nasty surprise later.
3. Toiletries and Personal Hygiene Basics
Toothpaste, shampoo, deodorant, soap, and similar items are usually considered personal hygiene, not medical care. The packaging might sit near “health” products, but the category is still typically non-reimbursable. Some people get tripped up because certain OTC health items are eligible while personal care items next to them are not. If you’ve been assuming the HSA overhaul changes this line, it generally does not, because the distinction is about medical necessity and classification, not convenience. A quick habit that helps is to treat drugstore-style “toiletries” as off-limits unless you can clearly explain the medical purpose.