Coronavirus Stimulus Lets You Save on Feminine Care

The coronavirus stimulus package, designed to provide emergency funds for individuals, businesses, and the healthcare industry, is changing feminine care spending. How? According to the legislation, feminine products can now be deducted from health savings accounts as a medical expense. This lets people pay for period products on non-taxed income.

This is an amazing step in the movement to end the "tampon tax" and give everyone access to the products they need once a month.

Disclaimer: To learn more about COVID-19, speak with your doctor. For up-to-date information on the pandemic, see the CDC website and consult local authorities.

The Coronavirus Stimulus and Menstrual Cups

The legislation has passed in the House and Senate, as of late March, 2020. It allows people to deduct feminine products, including menstrual cups, pads, tampons, and sponges from their health savings accounts. As health savings accounts contain funds transferred pre-taxation, this allows people to purchase their menstrual cup with non-taxed income, a huge win for feminine care advocates.

The legislation applies to both health savings accounts and flexible spending accounts. Before, you could not use these accounts for feminine care products.

The $2 Trillion Stimulus Package 

The stimulus package represents the federal government's larger attempt to revive the economy during the COVID-19 pandemic. This means helping out struggling small businesses, individuals, and larger companies especially affected by the crisis, including airlines. More specifically, it includes:

• $397 billion in small business (under 500 employees) loans
• $50 billion for passenger airlines
• $150 billion in loans for state and local governments
• Relief for hard-hit industries

In other words, classifying feminine products as a health-savings deductible expense is only one small part of the federal government's efforts to limit the economic impact of COVID-19 on individuals and businesses alike.