By Business & Finance 
Taxback.com has revealed fewer than one in five people say they claim back medical expenses every year.
The tax relief on medical expenses was introduced in 1967 and while it was reduced from a person’s marginal rate of tax to 20% in 2009, experts at Taxback.com say that it’s still a very lucrative tax relief.
Christine Keily, head of Direct Taxes with Taxback.com, explained: “Most people incur medical expenses throughout the year. Trips to the doctor’s surgery become commonplace for a lot of families over the years and every trip can cost someone anywhere from €40 to €70.”
The survey found that anywhere up to about 60% of people have never claimed. Of the 60%, 20% say they’d like to but don’t for certain reasons – one of which is the fact that they say the process is too complex and time-consuming.
Keily continued: “I can understand why people might think this – anything to do with tax and form-filling tends to make people’s eyes glaze over! But in reality this is one of the most straightforward things you’ll ever do in terms of ‘personal admin’ – easier than shopping online I would say.”
She added: “Last year refunds on medical expenses cost the Revenue €145.9m but we would guess that if everyone claimed their entitlements this figure could be doubled.”
