Tax break for gym memberships—but only if you earn enough to claim it

What it does

This bill allows individuals to deduct up to $1,000 per year ($2,000 for joint filers) in qualified fitness and exercise expenses—gym memberships, fitness classes, exercise equipment, and instructional materials—from their taxable income, treating them as medical expenses under the tax code. The bill aims to incentivize healthier lifestyles by reducing the after-tax cost of fitness participation.

Why we flagged it

The bill's core mechanism is a tax deduction—a reduction in taxable income for qualifying fitness expenses. It is framed as a health-promotion measure but functions as a tax expenditure (foregone federal revenue) that subsidizes fitness participation for taxpayers.

What the text implies

• The deduction is only valuable to taxpayers with sufficient income and tax liability to benefit from it; low-income households and those who do not itemize receive no benefit, making this a regressive subsidy of fitness spending.
• Fitness facility operators and equipment manufacturers stand to benefit from increased demand driven by the tax incentive, creating a secondary market-side benefit not explicitly stated in the bill's purpose.
• The $1,000 annual cap is modest relative to annual fitness costs (gym memberships typically $50–200/month), meaning the tax benefit covers only a portion of typical spending and may not materially change participation behavior for cost-sensitive populations.
• The bill's definition of 'fitness facility' explicitly excludes private clubs and facilities offering golf, hunting, sailing, or riding, narrowing the scope to mass-market gyms and non-profit fitness programs, which may limit access in rural or underserved areas.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

The bill provides a real tax benefit to people who pay for fitness activities, lowering their effective cost and potentially encouraging healthier behavior. However, the benefit is regressive: it flows primarily to higher-income households (who pay taxes and can afford fitness memberships), while lower-income households that do not itemize deductions or earn too little to benefit from tax deductions receive no help. The $1,000 cap is modest and does not offset the structural inequality.

Who stands to gain

• fitness facility operators and chains
• exercise equipment manufacturers
• fitness instruction providers
• higher-income taxpayers (primary tax benefit recipients)

Named in the bill

Internal Revenue Code Section 213, IRS, fitness facility operators, exercise equipment manufacturers, state and local governments, 501(c)(3) organizations

Where it stands

29 cosponsors: 18 Republicans, 11 Democrats.

• Mar 26, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• Mar 26, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Ways and Means · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

6 lobbying clients named this bill on 8 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $670,821 in lobbying spend. A filing names 10 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.

More lobbying clients named this bill than 82% of bills with at least one filing.

Mike Kelly, the sponsor, reported $955,974 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• Medical Device Manufacturers Association — $300,000 on 1 filing
• College of American Pathologists — $154,425 on 1 filing
• Healthcare Institute of New Jersey — $86,396 on 2 filings
• National Athletic Trainers Association — $60,000 on 2 filings
• Planet Fitness, Inc. — $60,000 on 1 filing

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 19, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.