Health care costs, whether for necessary treatments, medications or therapies, can often run into money. In Switzerland, however, taxpayers have the option of deducting self-paid medical expenses from their taxes. In this blog post, you will learn everything you need to know about this topic.
Which medical expenses can be deducted?
The costs of medical treatments and services that are not covered by health insurance or other insurances can be deducted from taxes. These include, for example:
- Doctor and hospital treatments
- medicines and remedies
- dental expenses
- Therapies and rehabilitation measures
- Medical aids (e.g. glasses, hearing aids, etc.)
- Psychotherapy costs
Conditions for the deduction of self-paid medical expenses
In order for health care costs to be tax deductible, certain conditions must be met.
Exceeding the reasonable burden:
In order to deduct self-paid health care costs from taxes, it is important to understand the reasonable burden limit. This limit indicates the percentage of taxable income that must be borne by the individual before medical expenses can be claimed as a tax deduction. The reasonable burden limit is usually a percentage of taxable income and can vary by canton. If the self-borne health costs exceed this percentage, the amount in excess can be deducted from the tax.
Costs must be substantiated:
Self-paid medical expenses must be verifiable. Therefore, collect all bills and receipts and keep them in a safe place. Tip: submit all invoices to your health insurance company. At the end of the tax year, you will receive a tax statement from the health insurance company showing all self-paid medical expenses. This tax statement is usually sufficient as a receipt for your tax return.
No duplicate insurance:
Expenses that are already covered by health insurance or another insurance plan cannot be claimed as self-paid medical expenses. Duplicate payments for insurance covering the same benefits are not taken into account.
