How the tax office recognizes medical expenses
Extraordinary burdens: What the tax office really wants to see
Many people think: “I was ill, I bought medication, I’ll just deduct that from my tax bill.” Unfortunately, it’s not quite that simple. If you want to claim medical expenses for tax purposes, you have to provide concrete evidence, not only of the payment process, but also of the inevitability of the expenses.
But what does that actually mean? And what’s new with the e-prescription?
Inevitability – what is it anyway?
The tax office only accepts medical expenses as so-called extraordinary expenses if they are medically necessary, i.e. “inevitable”. This means that you did not pay the costs voluntarily, but they were necessary to restore or maintain your health.
In order to prove this, you need certain evidence:
- A prescription from a doctor or alternative practitioner is sufficient for medication, remedies or aids.
- For cures or psychotherapy, you also need an official medical certificate or a certificate from the medical service.
- For visit costs, the attending physician must certify that your presence was medically helpful.
New: What counts for e-prescriptions
With digital prescriptions, tax documentation is also becoming more digital. According to current administrative opinion, a receipt from the pharmacy or an online invoice is now sufficient for e-prescriptions. However, it is important to note that these receipts must contain certain information.
Checklist for your receipt:
- Your name
- The type of service (e.g. medication name)
- The amount or co-payment amount
- The recipe type
Good to know: The tax office is still accommodating for the year 2024. If your name is missing on the receipt, this will not (yet) be objected to.
Example from practice
Imagine you receive a digital prescription for an antibiotic and pick it up at the pharmacy. You pay an additional €12. In order to be able to deduct these expenses from your tax return, you not only need the receipt, but it must also be clearly recognizable that it is a prescribed medicine, ideally it should also say so on the receipt.
However, if you simply bought the medication on your own, without a prescription, it is usually not recognized as an extraordinary expense.
Our tip
Keep all receipts relating to medical expenses well organized, whether paper or digital.
Ideally, use a filing system with the following categories:
- Medication & prescriptions
- Medical and therapy costs
- Travel costs (e.g. to the clinic)
- Expert opinions or certificates
This means you have everything to hand in an emergency and can save money on tax. Get advice and find out how to declare your medical expenses cleverly for tax purposes.
