The 20% relief at source on private medical insurance premiums.
Total relief
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Adult relief
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Child relief
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Net premium
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Relief you already get without lifting a finger
Tax relief on private health insurance is unusual in Ireland because you never claim it. It is given at source, meaning your insurer has already taken 20 percent off the eligible premium before quoting you a price. The figure on your renewal letter is the net cost, with the relief baked in. Revenue then reimburses the insurer. So unlike medical expenses, where you fill in a Med 1 and wait for a refund, health insurance relief is automatic and silent. This calculator shows you exactly how much of that quiet 20 percent you are getting, and where the caps stop it.
The caps that bite on dearer plans
The relief is not unlimited. It is restricted to the first 1,000 euro of premium per adult and the first 500 euro per child. So the most relief any adult can attract is 200 euro, and the most for a child is 100 euro. If your adult policy costs more than 1,000 euro, and many do, the excess above that ceiling gets no relief at all. This is the detail people miss when they assume 20 percent comes off the whole premium. On a plan well above the cap, the effective relief rate is a good deal lower than 20 percent.
It is worth seeing how quickly that erodes. On a 1,800 euro adult plan the relief is still only 200 euro, because it is locked to the first 1,000 euro of premium. That works out at an effective 11 percent off, not 20 percent, and the gap widens the dearer the plan. Knowing the cap is fixed in euro rather than as a true percentage helps you judge whether a richer policy is genuinely worth the extra cost.
A family of four on a €3,800 policy
Take two adults at 1,400 euro each and two children at 500 euro each, a total premium of 3,800 euro. Each adult premium is above the 1,000 euro cap, so relief is calculated on 1,000 euro per adult, giving 200 euro each. Each child premium is at the 500 euro cap, giving 100 euro each. The total relief is 600 euro, so the family effectively pays 3,200 euro.
| Member | Premium | Eligible | Relief |
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The chart sets the 3,800 euro gross premium beside the 600 euro of relief and the 3,200 euro you actually pay.
Where this relief stops and Med 1 begins
Two reliefs often get muddled. Health insurance relief covers the premium you pay an insurer, and it is automatic at source as described above. Medical expenses relief is a different thing entirely: it covers money you spend out of your own pocket on doctors, consultants, prescriptions, and certain other costs not reimbursed by anyone. That one you do claim, at 20 percent, through your tax return or myAccount, and you should keep receipts. A useful tip for employees: if your employer pays your health insurance as a benefit in kind, the company gets the tax relief at source, so you cannot also claim it. You may, however, be entitled to claim relief separately for the benefit-in-kind value, which is worth checking with Revenue.
Does the relief change if I pay monthly rather than annually?
No. The relief is based on the eligible premium for the policy, not on how you spread the payments. Paying in twelve instalments rather than one lump sum makes no difference to the 20 percent at source or to the per-person caps, though some insurers add a small charge for paying monthly.
Is a cash plan or dental-only policy eligible?
Tax relief at source applies to authorised in-patient health insurance contracts. Standalone cash plans and dental-only or travel policies generally do not qualify for the at-source relief, so do not assume every health-related policy attracts the 20 percent. Check whether your contract is an authorised medical insurance policy before counting on the relief.