Are Massage Chairs HSA/FSA Eligible? Yes, Here's How!

Why massage chairs qualify for HSA/FSA

A massage chair brings mechanical massage into your home: rollers work along the back, while some models add air compression, heat or foot massage. If a provider recommends that massage for a health condition you're managing, your Letter of Medical Necessity (LMN) is where they say so.

IRS Publication 502 includes the costs of “diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease” in its definition of medical expenses. In your letter, a licensed provider ties the chair to your condition, which is how it meets that definition and becomes HSA/FSA eligible.

The purchase covered here is a home massage chair. Booking sessions with a massage therapist instead? Those have their own massage therapy eligibility guide, and our massagers guide covers smaller handheld, neck, back and foot devices.

Do massage chairs help with back pain?

Massage chairs can help reduce low-back pain. In a randomized trial of 56 people published in Medicine, both the massage-chair group and the physiotherapy group improved in pain and disability over three weeks. The physiotherapy group improved more.

For massage in general, a 2015 Cochrane review of 25 trials involving 3,096 participants found short-term improvements in pain and function compared with inactive controls for subacute and chronic low-back pain.

The American College of Physicians' 2017 guideline recommends massage among the non-drug options for acute and subacute low-back pain. That means back pain that has lasted up to 12 weeks.

Which conditions can support a massage-chair LMN?

Low-back pain, neck and shoulder pain, and fibromyalgia are some of the common conditions a provider can document for a massage chair. Your letter ties the chair to the symptoms you're managing, like persistent back pain or painful muscle tension around your shoulders.

• Chronic low-back pain. A chair's back rollers let you get mechanical massage at home. NCCIH reports that a 2016 Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality evaluation of 20 studies found evidence that massage was helpful for chronic low-back pain.
• Neck and shoulder pain. A chair with an upper-back and neck program can be part of what your provider recommends. NCCIH says massage therapy may be helpful for neck or shoulder pain. A 2023 Heliyon trial enrolled 60 office workers and found improvements in pain and neck disability when a chair's pulsed electromagnetic field neck program was added to physical treatments.
• Fibromyalgia. If your provider recommends home massage for widespread muscle pain, a chair lets you get it sitting down. NCCIH says massage therapy may help some fibromyalgia symptoms when continued for long enough.

A massage chair also qualifies for other health conditions, as long as your provider documents its medical purpose for yours in your LMN.

How to get a Letter of Medical Necessity for a massage chair

You have two ways to get a Letter of Medical Necessity connecting a massage chair to your health condition:

• Through Crates, typically in under 24 hours. Start with a short online health assessment that takes about 2 to 3 minutes. A licensed provider reviews it, and if you qualify, your letter is issued for the massage chair. Your LMN renews each year and stays valid for 12 months at a time.
• Through your own doctor, a few days to a few weeks. If you already see a provider for your health condition, book a visit and ask whether a massage chair fits your care. If it does, ask for a signed, dated letter explaining how it helps manage your condition. Expect a possible copay for that appointment.

How to buy a massage chair with HSA/FSA funds

Pick the chair and store you like, online or in a showroom, then get your HSA/FSA money back in three steps:

1. Get your Letter of Medical Necessity first. Use either route above.
2. Buy the massage chair anywhere. Pay with your personal card, online or in store, and keep the itemized receipt showing the chair and amount paid.
3. Get your funds back. Use one-click reimbursement to have Crates file the claim for your chair, or upload the letter and receipt yourself; for an HSA purchase, keep both documents with your tax records.

Publication 969 has the timing rules: buy after your HSA is open, or during your FSA's coverage period. For a comparison of the accounts, read our HSA vs. FSA guide.

Which massage chairs are HSA/FSA eligible?

Zero-gravity, full-body and shiatsu massage chairs qualify with an LMN for a specific health condition. Pick whichever style you like: your letter's medical reason decides eligibility, not the label. The labels describe how a chair is built or how it massages, and one model can carry several of them.

For example, one chair can have reclining positions, adjustable rollers and heat together. A full-body design describes the areas it reaches; the zero-gravity label describes how it reclines.

Massage-chair brands

Osaki makes home chairs with features such as adjustable rollers, air compression and reclining positions. Its chairs qualify the same way, with an LMN:

Any brand works the same way when your provider recommends its massage chair for your condition. You can buy from the maker or another retailer.

Want something smaller? A massage gun is a different purchase, and our massage-gun eligibility guide covers it. If you are choosing appointments instead of home equipment, our Massage Envy guide covers that service.

How much can you save on a massage chair?

Paying with pre-tax money can mean up to 30% in savings, and on a purchase this size, that adds up. Picture a $3,000 chair and a combined tax rate of about 30%: you save $900 in taxes, so the chair effectively costs you $2,100. The combined rate can include federal income tax, state income tax and payroll taxes where applicable.

The retailer still charges $3,000. Reimbursement comes out of your own account; the tax advantages on that money are where you save.

Each column multiplies the purchase price by the illustrated tax rate:

These prices are examples, not current offers. Publication 969 describes the accounts' tax advantages; your own number depends on your taxes and how money goes into your account. Provider or LMN fees are separate.