Medical insurance premiums

If you pay medical insurance directly to an approved insurer, tax relief is available.

Qualifying medical insurance policies can be for:

• health insurance
• dental insurance
• health and dental insurance combined.

You do not need to claim the tax relief from Revenue. The relief is given as a discount on the cost of the policy, regardless of who the policy is for. This is known as tax relief at source (TRS).

Relief available

The relief available depends on whether the policy is for an adult or a child.

Adult policy

Relief available is equal to the lesser of either:

• 20% of the cost of the policy
• 20% of €1,000 (equal to a credit of €200).

Child policy

Relief available is equal to the lesser of either:

• 20% of the cost of the policy
• 20% of €500 (equal to a credit of €100).

For the purposes of this relief, a child is any individual under 21 years of age.

Policies paid by employers (as a benefit-in-kind)

Your employer may choose to pay medical insurance to an approved insurer for you or your family as a benefit-in-kind. If they do, you will:

• be taxed on the gross value of the policy or policies
• need to claim medical insurance tax relief from Revenue as it was not given at source.

Use myAccount to claim the credit(s) if your employer pays medical insurance relief for you or your family. You can make a claim during the year or after the year has ended.

Making a claim during the year:

• click the 'Manage your tax' link in PAYE Services
• select 'Claim tax credits'
• select 'Medical Insurance Relief' under the category 'Health'.

For 2019 and subsequent years:

• sign into myAccount
• click on 'Review your tax 2019-2022' link in PAYE Services
• request 'Statement of Liability'
• click on 'Complete Income Tax Return'
• in the 'Tax Credits & Reliefs' page select 'Health' and 'Medical Insurance Relief'
• complete and submit the form. 

You must provide the following information:

• the date the policy started
• who is covered on the policy and their ages
• a breakdown of the cost of the policy for each person
• the amount paid by your employer.

If your employer only pays a percentage of your policy cost the relief you can claim from us is restricted to that percentage. This is because the portion of the policy you pay yourself directly will have been discounted.

A list of approved health insurers is available on the Health Insurance Authority  website.