If you pay medical / dental expenses that are not covered by the State or by private health insurance, you can claim tax back on some of those expenses. This includes the costs associated with certain dental care & procedures.
Tax Relief at Source
Tax relief is also available for premiums paid for health insurance. You do not need to claim the relief – it is given as a reduction in the amount of the insurance premium you pay. This is known as Tax Relief at Source (TRS).
In certain situations, Tax Relief at Source does not apply, for example, in cases where an employer pays for medical insurance premiums on behalf of an employee. This would be treated as a Benefit in Kind and tax (PAYE, PRSI and USC) is due on the total amount.
This means that an employee will not get Tax Relief at Source on the insurance premium and so the employee can make a claim directly to Revenue. The Revenue Commissioners give examples of how tax relief is applied where medical insurance premiums are paid directly by employers and these can be found on the Revenue website.
How much tax relief can you claim back on dental expenses?
Tax relief on qualifying dental expenses is given at the rate of 20% of the qualifying dental expenses you have incurred, up with a limit of €1,000 per adult and €500 per child in a calendar year. A child is someone under 21 years of age that a child premium has been paid for.
Which Dental Expenses Are Tax Deductible?
Routine dental care
You cannot claim relief for routine dental care. This includes:
• Normal dental fillings
• Dental hygiene visits, scaling or cleaning
• Tooth extractions
• providing or repairing artificial teeth or dentures.
Non-routine dental treatments
You can claim relief for non-routine dental care. This includes:
• Crowns (all types)
• Veneers or etched fillings
• Tip replacing
• Gold posts or fibreglass posts
• Inlays
• Root Canal – endodontics treatment
• Periodontal treatment for gum disease such as:
• root planing
• chrome cobalt splints (but not if it contains teeth)
• implants
• orthodontic treatment (braces and connected treatments)
• surgical extraction of impacted wisdom teeth
• bridgework (enamel-retained bridge or a tooth-supported bridge).
Is it possible to claim tax relief on dental work done outside Ireland?
In cases where you receive dental treatment abroad, for example if you needed specialised treatment while travelling, you can claim tax back on the treatment.
You do not have to prove that you could not have received the same treatment at home or that there was an urgency to the situation & no solution was available locally.
The only stipulation is that the dental surgeon is legally practicing dentistry in the location where the treatment took place under the relevant countries laws.
Travel expenses are not permitted in claims made for qualifying dental procedures outside of Ireland. You must have the dentist complete a Form Med 2 for your claim.
What is a Med 2 form for?
The Med 2 Form is not actually a claim form. The Med 2 Form is a receipt for your dental expenses. You don’t have to send your Med 2 to Revenue. It should be kept for your own records. Revenue may request you to provide it if they need to check your claim.
Where can I find the Med 2 Form?
How to claim dental expenses with Med 2 Form
You do not need to do anything about tax relief for health insurance because the credits are granted automatically at source and included in the amount you pay.
You must apply separately for dental expenses relief. You can only claim for expenses if you have receipts to prove your claim. For dental expenses, you dentist should complete Form Med 2 (pdf) for you to use as a receipt.
Med 2 form – Where to send
An important point to note is that the Med 2 Form is a receipt for your dental expenses. It is not the claim form. You do not need to send your Med 2 to Revenue. You should keep it in your records. Revenue may ask you to provide it if they need to check your claim.
To claim tax relief on non-routine dental expenses you must:
• include the relevant amount in your health expenses claim under the Non-Routine heading
• have a Form Med 2 completed by your dentist.
Your dentist will normally give a Med 2 to you after your treatment. If you receive treatment over more than one year, the dental clinic should complete a separate Med 2 Form for each year.
Claiming Tax Relief from Revenue
You can claim tax relief online using Revenue’s myAccount service.
Revenue’s myAccount service includes a receipts tracker service which allows you to store your receipt details online.
If you use this service, you can claim tax relief under the Real Time Credit service. This means that you can claim for health expenses and nursing home expenses when you pay them and get increased tax credits in your next payroll payment from your employer.
You can make a Real Time Credit claim using myAccount. If you don’t use the receipt tracker, you must keep your medical receipts for 6 years because Revenue may investigate your claim.
Dentists near me:
About OB Dental
Make your oral health a priority at OB Dental where expert dental care meets affordability in Limerick city. Led by Jacqueline O’Brien, OB Dental offers the highest quality general & cosmetic dentistry services for the entire family.
We offer routine check-ups, dental hygienist & cleaning, fillings, dental implants, crowns, dental bridges, veneers, teeth whitening, dentures, and more. Our clinic is amongst the most comprehensive dental services in Limerick, established in 1969.
We are a proud local Limerick business and our commitment to modern dentistry sets us apart. Contact us today or book an appointment online.
