No, an HSA does not cover pets. The IRS lists veterinary fees as a non-qualified medical expense, so money pulled from a Health Savings Account to pay for your dog’s checkup, your cat’s surgery, or pet insurance premiums is treated as a taxable withdrawal and hit with an additional penalty. The only meaningful exception involves trained service animals for people with disabilities.
Why Vet Bills Don’t Qualify
HSA-eligible expenses are defined by IRS Publication 502, which covers medical and dental costs for humans. The publication defines medical expenses as costs for “the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease” that are “primarily to alleviate or prevent a physical or mental disability or illness” in a person. Veterinary fees appear on the publication’s explicit list of expenses that are not includible.1IRS. Publication 502, Medical and Dental Expenses Your pet is not your dependent for tax purposes, no matter how much they depend on you.
The rule sweeps in every category of pet care: exams, vaccinations, dental cleanings, spay and neuter procedures, surgeries, prescription medications, and pet insurance premiums. None of them qualify under current law.
What It Costs If You Use HSA Money on Your Pet Anyway
Spending HSA funds on a non-qualified expense triggers two hits. The withdrawal gets added back to your gross income for the year, so you owe regular income tax on it. On top of that, you pay an additional 20% penalty.2IRS. Publication 969, Health Savings Accounts and Other Tax-Favored Health Plans Pull $1,000 for an emergency vet visit while sitting in the 22% bracket, and you’d owe roughly $220 in income tax plus a $200 penalty. That’s $420 of the $1,000 gone to the IRS.
Two wrinkles are worth knowing. The 20% penalty disappears at age 65: after that, you can withdraw HSA funds for any purpose without the surcharge, though you still owe income tax on non-medical withdrawals.3HSA Store. Non-Qualified Withdrawal With a Penalty And if you can show “clear and convincing” evidence that a non-qualified withdrawal was an honest mistake, you may be able to return the money to your HSA and avoid the penalty.4DataPath. HSA Distribution Penalty
The Service Animal Exception
One narrow category of animal-related costs is HSA-eligible. IRS Publication 502 states that taxpayers “can include in medical expenses the costs of buying, training, and maintaining a guide dog or other service animal to assist a visually impaired or hearing disabled person or a person with other physical disabilities.”5IRS. Publication 502, Medical and Dental Expenses Qualifying maintenance costs include “food, grooming, and veterinary care” needed to keep the animal healthy enough to perform its duties.6IRS. Guide Dog or Other Service Animal
To qualify, the animal must be individually trained to perform specific tasks for someone with a disability, and a Letter of Medical Necessity from a licensed health professional is generally required for reimbursement.7Lively. Service Animal IRS guidance also recognizes psychiatric service animals that perform tasks like reminding a person with mental illness to take medications or calming someone with PTSD during an anxiety attack.8IRS. Fact Sheet for Service Animals for Taxpayers With Disabilities
Emotional support animals do not qualify. The distinguishing factor is training: a service animal is individually trained to do work or perform tasks tied to a disability, while an emotional support animal provides comfort through companionship alone. Because emotional support animals lack task-specific training, the IRS treats their expenses like any other pet expense.
Legislation That Would Change the Rule
Members of Congress have repeatedly introduced bills to make pet expenses HSA-eligible, most recently the People and Animals Well-being (PAW) Act. Representatives Claudia Tenney of New York and Deborah Ross of North Carolina reintroduced the bill on March 21, 2025.9dvm360. PAW Act Reintroduced to Congress It would amend Internal Revenue Code Section 213(d) to allow pet owners to spend up to $1,000 per year from an HSA or FSA on veterinary care or pet health insurance premiums. It would also remove the dollar cap for service animal expenses and update the IRS definition of “service animal” to cover animals trained for both physical and mental disabilities.10Congresswoman Claudia Tenney. Congresswoman Tenney Reintroduces PAW Act
The bill has been endorsed by the American Veterinary Medical Association, the Human Animal Bond Research Institute, and MetLife.11AVMA. Congress Considers Bill Helping Costs of Veterinary Care, Pet Insurance Legislative progress has not followed. The PAW Act has been introduced in multiple sessions, including as H.R. 9508 in the 118th Congress and as H.R. 1842 and H.R. 5669 in the 119th, without advancing past committee.12Congress.gov. H.R. 1842, PAW Act of 2025 There is no indication of a hearing or vote in the current Congress.
Congress did expand HSA rules elsewhere through the “One, Big, Beautiful Bill,” with provisions effective in 2026 that make bronze and catastrophic health plans HSA-compatible, permanently allow telehealth before the deductible, and add direct primary care fees as eligible expenses.13IRS. Treasury, IRS Provide Guidance on New Tax Benefits for Health Savings Account Participants Pet and veterinary provisions were not included.14Lively. OBBB HSA Guide
Other Ways to Pay for Vet Care
Since the HSA door is closed for pets, a few other options exist for budgeting and financing.
Pet Insurance
By the end of 2024, 7.03 million pets were insured across North America, a 12.2% increase over the prior year, with total written premiums surpassing $5.2 billion.15NAPHIA. Industry Data Average monthly premiums for accident-and-illness plans run about $62 for dogs and $32 for cats. Some insurers also offer wellness add-ons that reimburse routine care. Figo, for example, sells optional “Powerup” tiers that provide fixed reimbursements for vaccines, dental cleanings, and wellness exams, with no waiting period.16Figo Pet Insurance. All About Powerups
Veterinary Financing
For larger or unexpected bills, veterinary-specific financing can spread costs over time. CareCredit, issued by Synchrony Bank, is accepted at over 285,000 locations and offers promotional financing for veterinary care including emergencies, surgeries, and routine visits.17CareCredit. Veterinary Financing Scratchpay offers loans from $200 to $10,000 with terms of 12 to 36 months and APRs ranging from 0% to 36%, with no hard credit check at the eligibility stage. It’s available through more than 16,000 veterinary hospitals.18Scratchpay. Product Lending
Wellness Plans
Standalone wellness plans from companies like Wagmo work more like a dedicated pet health budget than insurance against catastrophic costs. They reimburse set amounts for preventive care such as office visits, vaccines, grooming, flea and tick medications, and routine bloodwork. Plans have no waiting period and no age restrictions, and claims are typically processed within 24 hours.19Wagmo. Pet Wellness Plans Some employers offer pet benefits as part of voluntary benefits packages, and in one 2025 survey, 85% of respondents said they wanted pet-related benefits from their employer.20Pet Benefit Solutions. Pet Health Insurance Industry Reaches Major Milestone