If you buy special food for a medical condition, the taxman will give you tax relief on it
Only 38% of adults are aware of the tax relief for special food as a result of a medical condition.
If you have coeliac disease or have to buy special food as a result of a medical condition, the taxman will give you tax relief on it.
According to a recent survey from Taxback, most of us do not know this. Six in 10 people are unaware they can get 20% tax relief on the cost of certain food products bought as a result of dietary requirements linked to a medical condition.
The Coeliac Society Of Ireland estimates the number of people suffering from coeliac disease in Ireland is 76,500. It also maintains a further 400,000 of us are gluten intolerant.
However, according to the survey, only 38% of adults are aware of the relief, while the majority (62%) have never heard of it.
Marian Ryan of Taxback points out the food types in question can be very expensive.
“For families on low incomes and those grappling with the cost-of-living crisis, treating coeliac disease through a strict gluten-free diet can be financially stressful — and so the tax relief available to them would make a huge difference.
"Sadly, in light of the poor awareness of this relief uncovered in our survey, there are likely many people who are losing out on it. Those who are eligible for this relief should be sure to claim what they are due.”
Coeliac disease is estimated to affect up to 76,500 in Ireland today, while only 17% of these people are actually diagnosed. That leaves 62,250 people living with undiagnosed coeliac disease.
So how do you go about claiming the relief? First, you must provide Revenue with a letter from your doctor stating your medical condition and your specific dietary requirements.
From that point on, you will need to start keeping receipts for gluten-free food, as they will be needed to claim relief. These receipts can be from supermarkets, health stores and other shops.
If you are registered with a supermarket’s loyalty scheme, you may be able to get a listing of all the gluten-free foods you have bought from the supermarket over the course of a year — as long as those products were scanned using your loyalty card.
You can then use your card any time you are buying groceries for a hassle-free way of recording expenditure of these types of foods. This is assuming you are okay sharing your consumer data with the supermarket.
To be eligible for the relief, you need to be purchasing these foods on the advice of a doctor as a result of a diagnosis. The purchase of gluten-free products as a lifestyle choice or for other non-medical reasons does not make you eligible for tax relief on these foods.
“Living day-to-day with a medical condition, allergy or a food intolerance can be hugely draining,” says Marian Ryan. “The additional expenses, such as food, which people face as a result of such conditions is another challenge they are faced with.
"So it’s important that more efforts are made to make people aware they can get tax relief for any special dietary foods they have to buy.”
This relief is, of course, one of many that go unclaimed all the time. If you have been to the doctor in the last four years, you can claim back 20% of those costs too.
It is not just doctor bills either — this kind of relief is also available for a wide range of medical expenses: consultant fees, employing a nurse at home, maternity care, IVF, speech and language therapy for children…the list goes on. Physiotherapy, podiatry and all kind of prescribed medications are also covered.
Don’t worry if you have not kept receipts. Your doctor and pharmacy may have a record of your GP visits and prescriptions.
You cannot claim tax back for expenses that have already been refunded by another agency — a public authority, an insurance policy or through compensation, for example.
If you have private health insurance, you can claim tax relief on the portion of those qualifying expenses not covered by your insurer.
While you cannot get tax back for routine dental treatment — procedures like extractions, fillings and cleaning — you can get relief for less common procedures: crowns, tip replacing and orthodontic treatment. You will find a full list at the revenue.ie website.
Nursing homes are, of course, very expensive, costing upwards of €1,000 per week. These fees are paid in a variety of ways, including through the Fair Deal scheme.
Operated by the HSE, the scheme aims to provide financial support to people who need long-term nursing home care. Under Fair Deal, you make a contribution towards the cost of the care and, if your assessed contribution is less than the amount of the fees, the HSE will pay the rest.
While you can claim tax relief on the contribution you make, you cannot claim any relief on the contribution made by the HSE.
It can frequently happen that nursing home costs end up being borne by family members.
Everyone who contributes is entitled to claim, and the refunds due can be significant. Full payment of fees for a nursing home starts at €50,000 a year at least, so even tax relief at the lower rate would entitle the payer to €10,000.
We also know those who pay third-level tuition fees are missing out on very significant refunds. Tax relief is granted at the standard rate of tax, currently 20%, and there is a limit of €7,000 per course on which you can claim relief.
There is also a ‘disregard amount’, which stands at €3,000 for a full-time course and €1,500 for a part-time course. This figure is deducted from your total qualifying fees — but it is only taken away once a year, no matter how many students you are claiming for.
You can choose to claim relief on your tuition fee instalments either in the tax year the academic year began or in the tax year in which you paid the instalment.
Note too that while you can claim relief on the student contribution, there are some third-level fees — administration fees for example — for which you cannot claim.
If you have changed jobs during the year, or if your employment record is punctuated by periods of unemployment, there could well be tax reliefs due to you.
Similarly, if you or your spouse has been made redundant during the tax year, you might not be getting the full benefit of the transferability of allowances.
Take the time to sit down and review your affairs and make sure everything is in order and up to date.
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