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Tax Rebates

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 8 September 2020

Tuesday, 8 September 2020

Questions (260)

Cathal Crowe

Question:

260. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Finance if the level of tax rebate for dental treatment will be re-examined with a view to being increased to make it easier on parents and adult patients to meet the costs of the necessary service [21431/20]

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Written answers

Section 469 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 provides for relief at the standard rate of income tax (currently 20%) on certain health expenses incurred in the provision of health care. The provision of tax relief at the standard rate ensures that all taxpayers are treated equally regardless of whether they pay tax at the standard or higher rate.

For the purposes of the section “Health Care” is defined as the “prevention, diagnosis, alleviation or treatment of an ailment, injury, infirmity, defect or disability” but excluding routine ophthalmic treatment, routine dental treatment and unnecessary cosmetic surgery.

Therefore, in current legislation, an individual can claim tax relief in respect of non-routine dental care provided by a registered practitioner. While non-routine dental treatment is not defined in legislation, a non-exhaustive list of relevant procedures is available on the Revenue website at: http://www.revenue.ie/en/personal-tax-credits-reliefs-and-exemptions/health-and-age/health-expenses/dental-expenses.aspx

These include major interventions such as periodontal treatment for gum disease and orthodontic treatment.

Routine dental treatment is defined as “the extraction, scaling and filling of teeth and the provision and repairing of artificial teeth or dentures”.

The exclusion of expenses incurred in respect of routine dental treatment has been in place since the relief’s inception in 1967. The rationale is that health expenses relief is broadly intended to provide assistance through the tax system in respect of significant or exceptional health expenses, but excluding those of a routine nature or minor nature.

There are no plans to change these arrangements at this time. However, the Deputy will be aware that in recent years there has been an increase in the level of dental benefits available through the social insurance system administered by the Department of Employment Affairs & Social Protection.

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