Tax relief can be claimed on the cost of health expenses at your standard rate of tax of 20%. These can be your own health expenses, those of a family member or any individual’s, as long as you paid for them.
What expenses qualify for tax relief?
To qualify for relief, your health care must be carried out, or advised, by a registered practitioner such as a doctor or a dentist. Examples of qualifying health expenses are payment for:
- doctor’s and consultant’s services
- routine and maternity care for women during pregnancy
- services in hospitals or treatment facilities such as clinics, where the services are either: provided by a practitioner or diagnostic procedures recommended by a practitioner
- in-vitro fertilization (IVF)
- acupuncture (only where provided by a practitioner)
- non-routine dental care
- treatment from a psychologist or psychotherapist where either: the psychologist or psychotherapist is a practitioner or you are referred for a diagnostic procedure by a psychiatrist
- additional expenses of health care for a child: suffering from a life-threatening illness or permanent disability or who needs speech and language therapy or educational psychological assessment
- nursing home and additional nursing care expenses. (Tax relief on nursing home expenses are given at your highest rate of tax – up to 40%)
You can also claim relief on the following if you are prescribed, referred or advised to, by a practitioner:
- Drugs and medicines.
- Orthoptic or similar treatment (treatment for squints and eye movement disorders).
- Physiotherapy or similar treatment (such as an osteopath or bone setter).
- Podiatry or chiropody costs.
- Special diet expenses for coeliacs and diabetics
- Cost of purchasing, maintaining and repairing medical, surgical, dental or nursing appliances. This includes hearing aids (There are conditions that apply to the purchase of these items).
Health expenses specifically excluded from relief:
You cannot claim relief on:
- Routine dental care.
- Routine ophthalmic (eye) care, such as eye tests.
- Cosmetic surgery or procedures, such as rhinoplasty, breast augmentation or Botox treatment. (Relief may be available where the surgery corrects a health issue, such as breathing difficulties.)
- Guide and assistance dog costs.
It is important to note that you cannot claim relief for any amounts that you have already received, or will receive from:
- any policy of insurance
- a public or local authority (e.g. HSE)
- any other source, such as a compensationpayment.
How to make a claim if you are a PAYE taxpayer
The quickest and easiest way is using our online service myAccount to complete a Form 12. You can do this by following these steps:
- sign into myAccount
- click on ‘Review your tax’ link in PAYE Services
- select the Form 12 for the year you wish to claim for
- in the ‘Tax Credits & Reliefs’ page select ‘Health Expenses’ and add it as a tax credit.
If you are jointly assessed, it is the assessable spouse or nominated civil partner who needs to apply. The vast majority of people who claim this relief online receive their tax refund, if due, in five working days.
How to make a claim if you are self-assessed
You can complete the health expenses section on your annual Form 11.
You must keep a record of the receipts for six years once you have claimed for these expenses. You do not need to send your receipts to Revenue (this includes Med 2 forms) when submitting a claim, but if Revenue check your claim, you may be asked to show the receipts to them.
You don’t need to keep paper copies. You can use the Receipt Tracker on RevApp to store digital copies (scanned or image) of receipts on your device or in the Revenue cloud storage. The receipt images you upload must be legible.
More information can be found at https://www.revenue.ie/en/personal-tax-credits-reliefs-and-exemptions/health-and-age/health-expenses/index.aspx
If you are unsure what expenses qualify for relief or need assistance in submitting a claim please contact us at info@mccarraconnolly.ie