Taxes Consolidation Act, 1997 (Number 39 of 1997)
469 Relief for health expenses.
[ITA67 s195B(3) and (6); FA67 s12(1), (2)(a) and (c), (3), (4) and (5)(a) and (b); FA69 s7; FA72 s9; FA80 s19 and Sch1 PtIII par2; FA86 s5; FA93 s10(1); FA94 s8; FA97 s146(1) and Sch9 PtI par2]
(1) In this section—
[17]>
“dependant”, in relation to an individual, means—
(a) where the individual is a married person who for the year of assessment is allowed [2]>a deduction mentioned in section 461(a)<[2][2]>relief under section 461(2) as an individual referred to in paragraph (a)(i) of the definition of “specified amount” in subsection (1) of that section<[2], the spouse of the individual,
(b) any person in respect of whom the individual is allowed for the year of assessment [3]>a deduction<[3][3]>relief<[3] [7]>under section 465 or 466, and<[7][7]>under section 465,<[7]
(c) a child who for the year of assessment—
(i) (I) is under the age of 16 years, or
(II) if over the age of [1]>16 years<[1][1]>18 years<[1] at the commencement of the year of assessment, is receiving full-time instruction at any university, college, school or other educational establishment, and
(ii) is a child of the individual or, not being such a child, is in the custody of the individual and is maintained by the individual at the individual’s own expense for the whole or part of the [8]>year of assessment;<[8][8]>year of assessment, and<[8]
[9]>
(d) any other person being—
(i) a relative of the individual, or of the individual’s spouse, who is incapacitated by old age or infirmity from maintaining himself or herself,
(ii) the widowed father or widowed mother of the individual or of the individual’s spouse, whether incapacitated or not, or
(iii) a son or daughter of the individual who resides with the individual and on whose services the individual, by reason of old age or infirmity, is compelled to depend;
<[9]
<[17]
[28]>
[17]>
“dependant” in relation to an individual, means—
(a) a relative of the individual, and
(b) any other person being—
(i) an individual who, at any time during the year of assessment, is of the age of 65 years or over, or
(ii) an individual who is permanently incapacitated by reason of mental or physical infirmity,
<[17]
<[28]
[31]>
“appropriate percentage”, in relation to a year of assessment, means a percentage equal to the standard rate of tax for that year;
<[31]
[41]>
[10]>
“educational psychologist” means a person who is entered on a register maintained by the Minister for Education and Science for the purposes of this section in accordance with guidelines set down by that Minister with the consent of the Minister for Finance;
<[10]
<[41]
[41]>
“educational psychologist” means a psychologist who has expertise in the education of students;
<[41]
[34]>
“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 [11]>other than routine maternity care<[11], but does not include routine ophthalmic treatment or routine dental treatment;
<[34]
[34]>
“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, but does not include—
(a) routine ophthalmic treatment,
(b) routine dental treatment, or
(c) cosmetic surgery or similar procedures, unless the surgery or procedure is necessary to ameliorate a physical deformity arising from, or directly related to, a congenital abnormality, a personal injury or a disfiguring disease;
<[34]
“health expenses” means expenses in respect of the provision of health care, being expenses representing the cost of—
(a) the services of a practitioner,
(b) diagnostic procedures carried out on the advice of a practitioner,
[35]>
(c) maintenance or treatment in a hospital,
<[35]
[35]>
(c) maintenance or treatment necessarily incurred in connection with the services or procedures referred to in paragraph (a) or (b),
<[35]
(d) drugs or medicines supplied on the prescription of a practitioner,
(e) the supply, maintenance or repair of any medical, surgical, dental or nursing appliance used on the advice of a practitioner,
(f) physiotherapy or similar treatment prescribed by a practitioner,
(g) orthoptic or similar treatment prescribed by a practitioner, [18]>or<[18]
(h) transport by [19]>ambulance;<[19][19]>ambulance, or<[19]
[23]>
[12]>
(i) as respects a dependant of the individual referred to in paragraphs (b) and (c) of the definition of “dependant” either or both—
(I) educational psychological assessment carried out by an educational psychologist, and
(II) speech and language therapy carried out by a speech and language therapist;
<[12]
<[23]
[23]>
(i) as respects a [27]>dependant of the individual referred to in paragraphs (a) and (b)(ii) of the definition of “dependant”<[27][27]>person<[27] who for the year of assessment—
(a) is under the age of 18 years, or
(b) if over the age of 18 years, at the commencement of the year of assessment, is receiving full-time instruction at any university, college, school or other educational establishment,
either or both—
(i) educational psychological assessment carried out by an educational psychologist, and
(ii) speech and language therapy carried out by a speech and language therapist;
<[23]
[36]>
“hospital” means—
(a) any institution which is provided and maintained by [24]>a health board<[24][24]>the Health Service Executive<[24] for the provision of services pursuant to the [25]>Health Acts, 1947 to 1996<[25][25]>Health Acts 1947 to 2004<[25],
(b) any institution in which services are provided on behalf of [24]>a health board<[24][24]>the Health Service Executive<[24] pursuant to the [25]>Health Acts, 1947 to 1996<[25][25]>Health Acts 1947 to 2004<[25],
(c) any hospital, nursing home, maternity home or other institution approved of for the purposes of this section by the Minister for Finance after consultation with the Minister for Health and Children;
<[36]
“practitioner” means any person who is—
(a) registered in the register established under [37]>section 26 of the Medical Practitioners Act, 1978<[37][37]>section 43 of the Medical Practitioners Act 2007<[37],
(b) registered in the register established under section 26 of the Dentists Act, 1985, or,
(c) in relation to health care provided outside the State, entitled under the laws of the country in which the care is provided to [26]>practise<[26][26]>practice<[26] medicine or dentistry there;
[28]>
“qualified person”, in relation to an individual, means the individual personally or any dependant of the individual;
[21]>
“relative”, in relation to an individual, means—
(a) husband, wife, ancestor, lineal descendant, brother or sister,
(b) mother or father of the individual’s spouse,
(c) brother or sister of the individual’s spouse,
(d) spouse of the individual’s son or daughter, and
(e) a child, not being a child of the individual, who for the year of assessment—
(i) is in the custody of the individual and is maintained by the individual at the individual’s own expense for the whole or part of the year of assessment, and
(ii)(I) is under the age of 18 years, or
(II) if over the age of 18 years, at the commencement of the year of assessment, is receiving full-time instruction at any university, college, school or other educational establishment;
<[21]
<[28]
“routine dental treatment” means the extraction, scaling and filling of teeth and the provision and repairing of artificial teeth or dentures;
[13]>
“routine maternity care” means—
(a) care received by a woman in respect of a pregnancy otherwise than as a patient maintained in a hospital, or
(b) care received by a woman in respect of a pregnancy as a patient maintained in hospital where the total length of the period or periods during which she is so maintained is not more than 14 days or during the first 14 days of such maintenance where the total length of such period or periods is more than 14 days;
<[13]
“routine ophthalmic treatment” means sight testing and advice as to the use of spectacles or contact lenses and the provision and repairing of spectacles or [20]>contact lenses.<[20][20]>contact lenses;<[20]
[32]>
“specified amount”, in relation to a year of assessment, means the amount of expenditure which qualifies for income tax relief in accordance with this section;
<[32]
[42]>
[14]>
“speech and language therapist” means a person approved of for the purposes of this section by the Minister for Health and Children in accordance with guidelines set down by that Minister with the consent of the Minister for Finance.
<[14]
<[42]
[29]>
(2) (a) Subject to this section, where an individual for a year of assessment proves that in the year of assessment he or she defrayed health expenses incurred for the provision of health care for any one qualified person and the amount of which in the aggregate exceeds [5]>[5]>€125<[5][15]>£74<[15], the individual shall be entitled, for the purpose of ascertaining the amount of the income on which he or she is to be charged to income tax, to have a deduction of the amount of the excess made from his or her total income.[15]>£100<[15]<[5]
(b) Where an individual proves that in the year of assessment he or she defrayed health expenses incurred for the provision of health care for qualified persons and which amount in the aggregate to more than [6]>[6]>€250<[6][16]>£148<[16], the individual shall be entitled, for the purpose of ascertaining the amount of the income on which he or she is to be charged to income tax, to have a deduction of the amount by which the aggregate of the health expenses so computed exceeds [16]>£200<[16]<[6][16]>£200<[16][16]>£148<[16] made from his or her total income, and such deduction shall be in substitution for and not in addition to a deduction under paragraph (a).
<[29]
[33]>
[29]>
(2) Subject to this section, where an individual for a year of assessment proves that in the year of assessment he or she defrayed health expenses incurred for the provision of health care, the individual shall be entitled, for the purpose of ascertaining the amount of the income on which he or she is to be charged to income tax, to have a deduction made from his or her total income of the amount proved to have been so defrayed.
<[29]
<[33]
[38]>
[33]>
(2) Subject to this section, where an individual for a year of assessment proves that in the year of assessment he or she defrayed health expenses incurred for the provision of health care, the income tax to be charged on the individual, other than in accordance with section 16(2) for that year of assessment shall be reduced by the lesser of—
(a) the amount equal to the appropriate percentage of the specified amount, and
(b) the amount which reduces that income tax to nil,
but, where an individual proves that he or she defrayed health expenses incurred for the provision of health care in the nature of maintenance or treatment in a nursing home, the individual shall be entitled for the purpose of ascertaining the amount of the income on which he or she is to be charged to income tax, to have a deduction made from his or her total income of the amount proved to have been so defrayed.
<[33]
<[38]
[38]>
(2) (a) Subject to this section, where an individual for a year of assessment proves that in the year of assessment he or she defrayed health expenses incurred for the provision of health care, the income tax to be charged on the individual, other than in accordance with section 16(2), for that year of assessment shall be reduced by the lesser of—
(i) the amount equal to the appropriate percentage of the specified amount, and
(ii) the amount which reduces that income tax to nil,
but, where an individual proves that he or she defrayed health expenses incurred for the provision of health care in the nature of maintenance or treatment in a nursing home, other than a nursing home which does not provide access to 24 hour nursing care on-site, the individual shall be entitled for the purpose of ascertaining the amount of the income on which he or she is to be charged to income tax, to have a deduction made from his or her total income of the amount proved to have been so defrayed.
(b) For the purposes of this section any contribution made by an individual in defraying expenses incurred in respect of nursing home fees where such an individual is entitled to or has received State support (within the meaning of section 3(1) of the Nursing Homes Support Scheme Act 2009) shall be treated as health expenses qualifying for relief under this section.
(c) Financial support (within the meaning of the Nursing Homes Support Scheme Act 2009) shall not be treated as health expenses for the purposes of this section.
<[38]
(3) For the purposes of this section—
(a)
[40]>
(i) any expenses defrayed by a married man in a year of assessment shall be deemed to have been defrayed by his wife if for the year of assessment she is to be treated under the Income Tax Acts as living with him and she is assessed to tax in accordance with section 1017, or<[40]
[40]>
(i) any expenses defrayed by a married man in a year of assessment shall be deemed to have been defrayed by his wife if for the year of assessment she is to be treated under the Income Tax Acts as living with him and she is assessed to tax in accordance with section 1017,<[40]
[40]>
(ii) any expenses defrayed by a married woman in a year of assessment shall be deemed to have been defrayed by her husband if for the year of assessment she is to be treated under the Income Tax Acts as living with him and he is assessed to tax in accordance with section 1017,
<[40]
[40]>
(ii) any expenses defrayed by a married woman in a year of assessment shall be deemed to have been defrayed by her husband if for the year of assessment she is to be treated under the Income Tax Acts as living with him and he is assessed to tax in accordance with section 1017, or
(iii) any expenses defrayed by a civil partner in a year of assessment shall be deemed to have been defrayed by his or her civil partner if for the year of assessment the first-mentioned civil partner is to be treated under the Income Tax Acts as living with his or her civil partner and is assessed to tax in accordance with section 1031C,
<[40]
(b) any expenses defrayed out of the estate of a deceased person by his or her executor or administrator shall be deemed to have been defrayed by the deceased person immediately before his or her death, and
(c) expenses shall be regarded as not having been defrayed in so far as any sum in respect of, or by reference to, the health care to which they relate has been, or is to be, received, directly or indirectly, by the individual or the individual’s estate, or by any dependant of the individual or such dependant’s estate, from any public or local authority or under any contract of insurance or by means of compensation or otherwise.
[4]>
(4) Subsections (4) to (6) of section 465 shall, with any necessary modifications, apply for the purposes of determining whether relief is to be granted under this section as they apply in determining whether a deduction is to be allowed under that section; but, where the child’s income exceeds the amount specified in subsection (5) of that section, relief under this section shall not be allowed.
<[4]
[22]>
[4]>
(4) Subsections (5) to (7) of section 465 shall, with any necessary modifications, apply for the purposes of determining whether relief is to be granted under this section as they apply in determining whether relief is to be allowed under that section; but, where the child’s income exceeds the amount specified in subsection (6) of that section, relief under this section shall not be allowed.
<[4]
<[22]
(5) In making a claim for a deduction under this section, an individual who, after the end of the year of assessment for which the claim is made, has defrayed or is deemed to have defrayed any expenses relating to health care provided in that year may elect that all deductions to be allowed to him or her under this section for that year and for subsequent years of assessment shall be determined as if those expenses had been defrayed at the time when the health care to which they relate was provided.
(6) Notwithstanding sections 458(2) and 459(2)—
(a) any claim for a deduction under this section—
(i) shall be made in such form as the Revenue Commissioners may from time to time prescribe, and
(ii) shall be accompanied by such statements in writing as regards any class of expenses by reference to which the deduction is claimed, including statements by persons to whom payments were made, as may be indicated by the prescribed form as being required as regard expenses of that class, and
(b) in all cases relief from tax consequent on the allowance of a deduction under this section shall be given by means of repayment.
[30]>
(7) Where relief is given under this section to any individual in respect of an amount used to defray health expenses, relief shall not be given under any other provision of the Income Tax Acts to that individual in respect of that amount.
<[30]
[39]>
(8) (a) Where the Minister for Finance determines that expenses, or a class of expenses, representing the cost of anything referred to in paragraphs (a) to (i) in the definition of “health expenses” in subsection (1) has been or may be incurred in the provision of health care which in the opinion of the Minister for Finance is inappropriate having regard to public policy, then the Minister may by order prescribe those expenses, or class of expenses, as not being eligible for relief under this section.
(b) The Minister for Finance shall not make an order under paragraph (a) unless he or she has consulted with the Minister for Health and Children and such appropriately qualified persons, bodies or institutions (if any), which in the opinion of the Minister for Finance or the Minister for Health and Children should be consulted.
(c) Every order made by the Minister for Finance under paragraph (a) shall be laid before Dáil Éireann as soon as may be after it is made and, if a resolution annulling the order is passed by Dáil Éireann within the next 21 days on which Dáil Éireann has sat after the order is laid before it, the order shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.
<[39]
[7]
Substituted by FA01 s8(a)(i). Applies as respects the year of assessment 2001 and subsequent years of assessment.
[8]
Substituted by FA01 s8(a)(ii). Applies as respects the year of assessment 2001 and subsequent years of assessment.
[9]
Inserted by FA01 s8(a)(iii). Applies as respects the year of assessment 2001 and subsequent years of assessment.
[10]
Inserted by FA01 s8(b). Applies as respects the year of assessment 2001 and subsequent years of assessment.
[11]
Deleted by FA01 s8(c). Applies as respects the year of assessment 2001 and subsequent years of assessment.
[12]
Inserted by FA01 s8(d). Applies as respects the year of assessment 2001 and subsequent years of assessment.
[13]
Deleted by FA01 s8(e). Applies as respects the year of assessment 2001 and subsequent years of assessment.
[14]
Inserted by FA01 s8(f). Applies as respects the year of assessment 2001 and subsequent years of assessment.
[15]
Substituted by FA01 sched2(22)(a). Shall apply only as respects the year of assessment 2001.
[16]
Substituted by FA01 sched2(22)(b). Shall apply only as respects the year of assessment 2001.
[17]
Substituted by FA02 s9(a)(i). Applies as respects the year of assessment 2002 and subsequent years of assessment.
[18]
Deleted by FA02 s9(a)(ii)(I). Applies as respects the year of assessment 2002 and subsequent years of assessment.
[19]
Substituted by FA02 s9(a)(ii)(II). Applies as respects the year of assessment 2002 and subsequent years of assessment.
[20]
Substituted by FA02 s9(a)(iii). Applies as respects the year of assessment 2002 and subsequent years of assessment.
[21]
Inserted by FA02 s9(a)(iv). Applies as respects the year of assessment 2002 and subsequent years of assessment.
[22]
Deleted by FA02 s9(b). Applies as respects the year of assessment 2002 and subsequent years of assessment.
[27]
Substituted by FA07 s9(1)(b)(i)(I). Applies as respects the year of assessment 2007 and subsequent years of assessment.
[28]
Deleted by FA07 s9(1)(b)(i)(II). Applies as respects the year of assessment 2007 and subsequent years of assessment.
[29]
Substituted by FA07 s9(1)(b)(ii). Applies as respects the year of assessment 2007 and subsequent years of assessment.
[30]
Inserted by FA07 s9(1)(b)(iii). Applies as respects the year of assessment 2007 and subsequent years of assessment.
[31]
Inserted by F(No.2)A08 s8(a)(i). Applies as respects the year of assessment 2009 and subsequent years of assessment.
[32]
Inserted by F(No.2)A08 s8(a)(ii). Applies as respects the year of assessment 2009 and subsequent years of assessment.
[33]
Substituted by F(No.2)A08 s8(b). Applies as respects the year of assessment 2009 and subsequent years of assessment.
[34]
Substituted by FA10 s6(1)(a). This section shall have effect for the year of assessment 2010 and subsequent years.
[35]
Substituted by FA10 s6(1)(b). This section shall have effect for the year of assessment 2010 and subsequent years.
[36]
Deleted by FA10 s6(1)(c). This section shall have effect for the year of assessment 2010 and subsequent years.
[37]
Substituted by FA10 s6(1)(d). This section shall have effect for the year of assessment 2010 and subsequent years.
[38]
Substituted by FA10 s6(1)(e). This section shall have effect for the year of assessment 2010 and subsequent years.
[39]
Inserted by FA10 s6(1)(f). This section shall have effect for the year of assessment 2010 and subsequent years.