ConsumerValue: Tax Reliefs and Tax Credits
3. Health / Medical Expenses Relief
You may claim tax relief on certain unreimbursed medical expenses incurred by you for yourself and/or your qualifying dependants.
You cannot claim relief for any expenditure, which has been or will be reimbursed, for example by Quinn-healthcare, the VHI, VIVAS Health, the Health Service Executive or where a compensation payment is made or will be made.
Most medical expenses, with the exception of routine dental and ophthalmic care, qualify for relief.
Expenses you can claim
You can claim medical expenses incurred by you:
- On your own behalf
- On behalf of a dependant. (A dependant is any relative of yours orany other person who at any time during the year of claim is aged 65 years or over or who is permanently incapacitated by reason of mental or physical infirmity.)
- On behalf of a relative
A relative is defined as:
- Husband, wife, ancestor, lineal descendant, brother or sister
- Mother or father of your spouse
- Brother or sister of your spouse
- Spouse of your son or daughter
- Your child, Any other child, who in the year of the claim, is in your custody and maintained at your expense and under 18 years of age, or if over 18 years of age, is receiving full-time education
There is no need to submit receipts with your claim, but only expenditure for which you hold receipts can be claimed. If you are claiming dental expenses a completed Form Med 2 should be obtained from your dental practitioner.
These receipts and Form Med 2 (PDF, 107KB) must be retained for a period of six years, as you may be asked to produce them if your claim is chosen for detailed examination.
Expenditure which qualifies for relief
This expenditure includes:
- Costs of doctors and consultants fees
- Items/treatments prescribed by a doctor/consultant (see below)
- Maintenance or treatment in a hospital or an approved nursing home
- Costs of speech and language therapy carried out by a speech and language therapist for a qualifying child
- Transport by ambulance
- Costs of educational psychological assessments carried out by an educational psychologist for a qualifying child
- Certain items of expenditure in respect of a child suffering from a serious life threatening illness
- Kidney patients' expenses (up to a maximum amount depending on whether the patient uses hospital dialysis, home dialysis or CAPD)
- Specialised dental treatment - see below
- Routine maternity care
- In-vitro fertilisation
The following, where prescribed by a doctor, qualify for medical expenses relief:
- Drugs and medicines
- Diagnostic procedures
- Orthoptic or similar treatment
- Hearing aids
- Orthopaedic bed/chair
- Wheelchair/wheelchair lift (no relief is due for alteration to the building to facilitate a lift)
- Glucometer machine for a diabetic
- Engaging a qualified nurse in the case of a serious illness
- Physiotherapy or similar treatment
- Cost of a computer "where it is necessary to alleviate communication problems of a severely handicapped person"
- Cost of gluten-free food for coeliacs. As this condition is generally ongoing, a letter (instead of prescriptions) from a doctor stating that the individual is a coeliac sufferer is acceptable
Receipts from supermarkets in addition to receipts from chemists are acceptable.
Where qualifying health care is only available outside Ireland, reasonable travelling and accommodation expenses can also be claimed. In such cases the expenses of one person accompanying the patient may also be allowed where the condition of the patient requires it.
Dental treatment
Dental treatments which qualify for relief:
- Bridgework
- Crowns
- Tip Replacing
- Veneers/Rembrant Type Etched Fillings
- Gold Inlays
- Gold Posts
- Orthodontic Treatment
- Periodontal treatment
- Root Planing - a treatment of periodontal (gum) disease.
- Currettage and Debridement - part of root planing.
- Gum Flaps - a gum treatment.
- Chrome Cobalt Splint - if used in connection with periodontal treatment. (If it contains teeth, relief is not allowable).
- Dental implants following treatment of periodontal (gum) disease, which included bone grafting and bone augmentation.
- Surgical Extraction of Impacted Wisdom Teeth
Relief is allowable when undertaken in a hospital, or by a dentist in a dental surgery.
Certification from the hospital/dentist will be required to obtain tax relief. The removal of teeth in any other circumstances does not qualify.
Tax relief is not available for the cost of scaling, extraction and filling of teeth and the provision and repair of artificial teeth and dentures. It is also not available for the cost of sight testing, provision and maintenance of spectacles and contact lenses.