Medical and healthcare expenses can be deducted at 19% from your tax return. Here’s what procedure to follow, what expenses are included and how much the tax discount can amount to.
The medical and health care expenses which take place during the year can be deducted from one’s own taxes, for an amount equal to 19% of the expenditure. It is also possible to do it in 2023, when completing the tax return. The procedures to follow may vary depending on the type of expense incurred and who paid for it.
How much is the deduction for medical expenses?
The deduction is triggered above a certain threshold, set at 129.11 euros. This is a sort of fixed fee that must be paid in full, while the following charges apply 19% deduction. For people with disabilities, on the other hand, some expenses are deductible (always at 19%) immediately, without the need to reach the threshold of 129.11 euros. This is, for example, the money spent to buy artificial limbs for walking, or for transport by ambulance.
What medical expenses are included in the tax rebate
The list of medical expenses that can be included in the deduction is quite extensive. There complete list can be found in official standards on the compilation of model 730, and among other things includes: services rendered by a general practitioner (including services rendered for homeopathic medicine visits and treatments), the purchase or rental of health prostheses, analyses, radioscopic investigations, research and applications, as well as surgical and specialist services. In some cases, the deduction applies even for expenses paid in cashi.e.: the purchase of medicines or medical devices, and healthcare services rendered by public facilities or private facilities accredited to the National Health Service.
How to request the deduction in your tax return
As mentioned, the medical expenses that you want to deduct must be included in the 730 model, i.e. the tax return. Expenses that may be included in the deduction are automatically included in the pre-filled tax returnwhich will be available on the Revenue Agency website from 30 April 2023.
The expenses must be indicated in the declaration relating to the year in which they were made, and you must have the documents to prove them: “talking” receipts, tax receipts and invoices. Proof of payment is not required. For possible tax inspections, these documents must be kept for the following five years. The same rules apply to medical expenses incurred abroad: if the documents are in a foreign language, a translation is required which, in the cases of English, French, German and Spanish, can be done directly by the taxpayer.
Only expenses within the limit of the gross annual tax can be deducted, and any additional deductions cannot be accumulated for subsequent years. It is also possible to include among the tax discounts the expenses that are made for dependent family membersi.e. those with a gross income below 2,840.51 euros, or below 4 thousand euros for children under 24. to do even if the family members in question are not fiscally dependent.
The deduction can be divided into four annual installments the same, in some cases. This can only be done if the total amount exceeds 15,493.71 euros. Also in this case, the first 129.11 must be excluded from the calculation, because they are part of the deductible which must be paid in full. The choice of requesting the deduction in installments or in a single solution must be made when the tax return is presented, and it is irrevocable.
