Tax Relief on Medical and Dental Expenses in Ireland

You can claim income tax relief of 20% on most medical and dental expenses you pay for yourself and your family. That includes GP visits, consultants, prescriptions and many dental treatments — and the relief is claimed back at the end of the tax year.

What qualifies for relief?

• GP and consultant visits, and hospital treatment.
• Diagnostic procedures and ambulance transport.
• Prescribed drugs and medicines from a pharmacist.
• Maternity care, IVF and certain fertility treatments.
• Physiotherapy, speech and language therapy, and occupational therapy (when referred).
• Dental crowns, veneers, gold posts, root canal treatment, orthodontic treatment, periodontal treatment and wisdom tooth extraction.
• Hearing aids, wheelchairs, and orthopaedic beds and chairs.

What does not qualify?

• Routine dental check-ups and scale-and-polish.
• Routine eye tests and the cost of glasses or contact lenses.
• Over-the-counter medicines that were not prescribed.
• Cosmetic procedures.

How to claim

You claim the relief on your annual tax return — Form 11 if you are self-employed, or through Revenue's myAccount if you are a PAYE worker. Keep your receipts; for prescriptions, the receipt should show the medicine and the pharmacy details. You can generally backdate a claim for up to four years.

Medical expenses relief is one of the most commonly missed claims in Ireland. If you have paid for medical or dental treatment, talk to Bradán Accountants — we will make sure you claim everything you are entitled to.

Sources

• Revenue.ie – Medical expenses relief
• Citizens Information – Tax relief on medical expenses