Louise O'Reilly
Question:229. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Finance if he plans to introduce tax relief for the purchase and repair of a medical product (details supplied). [48373/22]
View answerTuesday, 4 October 2022
Questions (229)
Written answers
Section 469 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 (TCA 1997) provides for relief at the standard rate of income tax (currently 20%) on qualifying health expenses incurred in the provision of health care.
For the purposes of the section “health care” means prevention, diagnosis, alleviation or treatment of an ailment, injury, infirmity, defect or disability, and includes care received by a woman in respect of a pregnancy other than routine maternity care, but does not include routine ophthalmic treatment or routine dental treatment.
I am advised by Revenue that “routine dental expenses” are defined as “the extraction, scaling and filling of teeth and the provision and repairing of artificial teeth or dentures”. These items are excluded from relief even if there is an underlying medical condition which gives rise to the dental treatment, or if the treatment in a particular case is considered to be of a non-routine nature.
Non-routine dental treatment generally includes major interventions including, but not limited to, endodontics (root canal treatment), periodontal treatment for gum disease and orthodontic treatment
The rationale behind income tax relief for health expenses is broadly intended to provide assistance for those expenses of a significant or exceptional nature. The exclusion of expenses incurred in respect of routine dental treatment has been in place since the relief’s inception in 1967 and I am satisfied that the legislation as drafted and implemented provides sufficient flexibility for expenses that should qualify. There are no plans to change these arrangements at this time.
Further guidance on claiming tax relief for qualifying health expenses can be found in section 13 of Tax and Duty Manual Part 15-01-12, which can be accessed using the following link: www.revenue.ie/en/tax-professionals/tdm/income-tax-capital-gains-tax-corporation-tax/part-15/15-01-12.pdf