Last reviewed July 2026. General guidance, not personalised advice. For your situation, book a free consultation.

Medical costs add up — and many people forget they can claim some of it back. In Ireland you can claim 20% tax relief on qualifying, unreimbursed health expenses. There's no minimum, and you can go back four years.

What you can claim

  • GP, consultant and hospital fees
  • Prescribed medicines, physiotherapy, podiatry and orthotics
  • Maternity care and IVF/fertility treatment
  • Diagnostic procedures and ambulance transport
  • Prescribed psychology/psychotherapy and, where prescribed, acupuncture
  • Certain special diabetic and coeliac foods, hearing aids and kidney-patient costs

Care must be carried out or advised by a registered practitioner. Only claim what you actually paid — not amounts reimbursed by an insurer or the HSE.

There's no minimum claim, and you can go back over the last four tax years.

Nursing-home relief at up to 40%

Nursing-home expenses are treated more generously — relief is given at your marginal rate, so up to 40%, provided the home offers 24-hour on-site nursing care.

Dental (Form Med 2)

Routine work — fillings, cleaning, extractions, dentures — doesn't qualify. Non-routine treatment does: crowns, veneers, root canals, orthodontics, implants and gum-disease treatment. Your dentist completes a Form Med 2, which you keep as your receipt (you don't send it to Revenue unless asked).

What doesn't qualify

  • Routine dental and routine eye tests
  • Cosmetic surgery, unless it corrects a health issue
  • Anything reimbursed by insurance or a State scheme

How to claim

Claim through Revenue myAccount (PAYE Services → health expenses) or on your Income Tax Return; the self-employed claim via ROS Form 11. The old Med 1 form is gone — you claim directly on the return. Keep receipts for six years (the Receipts Tracker in myAccount makes this easy). Online refunds usually arrive within about a week.

Want us to sweep up four years of unclaimed relief for you? Get in touch.

Sources: Revenue.ie health expenses, dental expenses, nursing-home and "how to claim" guidance.