Rates last updated: 22 October 2026 · How we verify
Medical Insurance Relief in Ireland: How It Works and When to Claim It
Health insurance in Ireland comes with tax relief built in. If you pay your own premium, your insurer has already applied it. If your employer pays, nobody applies it for you, and it's one of the refunds expats most often leave unclaimed.
- 20% of your health insurance premium, on up to €1,000 per adult and €500 per child under 21: at most €200 per adult and €100 per child a year.
- If you pay the premium yourself, the insurer deducts it from the price and there's nothing to claim.
- If your employer pays, you're taxed on the full premium and claim the relief in myAccount, for this year and four back (tax refund calculator).
What is medical insurance relief?
- Tax relief at 20% on a health or dental insurance premium, on the lower of the premium or a cap of €1,000 per adult and €500 per child.
- A child is anyone under 21.
- Revenue sets out the rate and caps on its relief from 1 January 2026 page.
| Person on the policy | Maximum relief a year |
|---|---|
| Adult: 20% of the premium, up to €1,000 | €200 |
| Child under 21: 20% of the premium, up to €500 | €100 |
- The cap is per person, not per policy. A family policy covering two adults and two children can attract up to €600 of relief a year: €200 for each adult and €100 for each child, if each premium reaches the cap. Source: Revenue, TRS from 1 January 2026.
- A cheap premium gets relief on what it costs. A child premium of €350 gets 20% of €350, which is €70, not the full €100. Relief is always on the lower of the actual premium and the cap.
- A child means under 21 for this relief. That's the age Revenue uses for the €500 cap, on its Tax Relief at Source page. It doesn't depend on whether the child is in college or what your insurer calls its child rate.
- It's separate from medical expenses relief. Premium relief covers what you pay for the policy. Bills you pay that the insurer doesn't refund can get a further 20% through medical expenses relief, as long as you claim only the part you carried. The Medical Expenses calculator shows what that is worth.
Do you need to claim it if you pay your own premium?
- No: the insurer takes the relief off the price at source, which is called Tax Relief at Source (TRS).
- A €1,600 adult premium costs you €1,400, and Revenue reimburses the €200 to the insurer.
- You don't claim anything, as Revenue's "if you pay" page confirms.
- Adult policy at €1,600 a year. Relief is 20% of the €1,000 cap, which is €200, so you pay the insurer €1,400. The insurer then claims the €200 back from Revenue, so you get the full benefit without filing anything.
- Child policy at €350 a year. The premium is under the €500 cap, so relief is 20% of €350, which is €70, and you pay €280. A child premium of €500 or more gets the full €100.
- Don't add it to your tax return. Because the discount is already in the price, claiming Medical Insurance Relief in myAccount for a policy you paid yourself would double the relief. The myAccount claim is for premiums your employer paid.
What happens when your employer pays your health insurance?
- You're taxed on the full gross premium as a benefit in kind, and the relief only reaches you if you claim it in myAccount.
- Your employer pays the insurer the net premium and passes the relief to Revenue rather than keeping it.
- You pay income tax, USC and PRSI on the gross amount (Revenue, "if your employer pays").
- The employer doesn't keep the discount. Revenue's guidance (Tax and Duty Manual Part 15-01-14) says the employer pays the policy net of relief and pays the relief over to Revenue. So the €200 an adult premium attracts sits with Revenue until you claim it.
- You're taxed on the gross premium. On a €1,750 adult premium your payslip shows €1,750 of notional pay over the year, not €1,550. Check the figure: our payslip guide shows where benefits in kind appear.
- If you pay part of the premium, you claim the rest. In Revenue's example a €1,500 policy is paid 75% by the employer and 25% by the employee. The employee gets €50 at source on their share and claims the other €150 (TDM 15-01-14, example 5).
- Your claim can't exceed what your employer paid. Revenue limits the relief to the amount your employer paid, so a part-year policy or a partly paid premium gives a smaller claim. Source: Revenue, how to claim.
Worked example: an employer-paid family policy
- A family policy costing €3,920 for two adults and a nine-year-old attracts €484 of relief.
- Your employer adds €3,920 to your taxable pay, and the €484 comes back only when you add Medical Insurance Relief in myAccount.
Your employer pays the full premium for 2026 on a policy covering you (€1,750), your partner (€1,750) and your nine-year-old child (€420). The gross premium is €3,920, and you haven't claimed anything:
| 2026 | Amount |
|---|---|
| You: €1,750, capped at €1,000 | €1,000 |
| Your partner: €1,750, capped at €1,000 | €1,000 |
| Child: €420, under the €500 cap | €420 |
| Premium that gets relief | €2,420 |
| Relief: €2,420 × 20% | €484 |
Your employer pays the insurer €3,920 − €484 = €3,436 and pays the €484 to Revenue. Your payslip adds the full €3,920 as a benefit in kind; if you pay tax at 40%, that's €1,568 of income tax before USC and PRSI. Adding Medical Insurance Relief for 2026 gives you the €484 back, either through your tax credits this year or as a refund once the year has ended.
Each earlier open year is a separate claim on that year's return. For 2025 and earlier, the rate on a policy could be below 20% (see the next section), so ask your insurer for the rate that applied rather than assuming €484 a year. Estimate your other credits with the tax refund calculator.
What changed on 1 January 2026?
- From 2026, Revenue applies the full 20% to every policy that provides medical cover; dental cover can still get less than 20%.
- Up to 2025, a policy that also covered benefits outside the relief, such as routine dental care, could get a lower "blended" rate set by the insurer.
- Revenue announced the change in eBrief 207/25.
- 2026 onwards, medical cover: 20% on the lower of premium or cap. Revenue notes most medical premiums exceed the caps, so the relief is usually the full €200 per adult and €100 per child. It describes this as an administrative practice that can change (TRS from 1 January 2026).
- 2025 and earlier: possibly less than 20%. Under the old rules a blended rate below 20% could apply, based on figures your insurer gave Revenue. When you claim an employer-paid premium for 2022 to 2025, your insurer can tell you the rate (TRS up to 31 December 2025).
- Dental policies: still possibly less than 20%. Only dental cover that qualifies for health expenses relief counts. Where a dental policy also covers routine treatment such as check-ups and cleanings, a rate below 20% may apply, and the insurer can tell you which.
What about a policy from abroad?
- Relief at source comes from insurers on the Irish Register of Health Benefits Undertakings.
- Insurers authorised elsewhere in the EU also count, but only for a policy you took out while living in another EU country.
- With any other insurer, ask whether it applies Irish TRS before you count on the relief (TDM 15-01-14).
- You kept your home-country EU policy after moving. If you took it out while resident in another EU member state, the insurer can fall within Revenue's definition of an authorised insurer. Ask it whether it applies the Irish relief, and keep its answer with your records.
- You switched to an Irish insurer on arrival. The relief is in the price from your first premium if you pay it yourself. If your new employer pays, claim from the first year it did, even if that year was only a few months.
- Your employer's international group plan. Whether relief applies depends on the insurer behind the plan, not on where your employer is based. Your HR or payroll team can confirm whether the policy is with an Irish-registered insurer and what was paid.
How to claim medical insurance relief in myAccount
- In myAccount: under "Manage your tax for the current year" for this year, and on each past year's return (Revenue, how to claim).
- In 2026 you can claim 2022 to 2025, and 2022 closes on 31 December 2026.
- Our Tax Back service can file the four years for you and checks the other credits at the same time.
- Current year: sign in to myAccount, open PAYE Services, select "Manage your tax for the current year", then Add new credits. Under Health, choose Medical Insurance Relief. Your tax credits increase and the relief comes through your pay.
- Past years: in PAYE Services select "Review your tax for the previous 4 years", request a Statement of Liability for the year, then Complete Income Tax Return. On the Tax Credits & Reliefs page choose Health, then Medical Insurance Relief.
- Self-assessed? If you file a Form 11, claim the relief on that return in ROS instead. Revenue's guidance allows the claim on either return.
What Revenue asks for:
- The date the policy started. For a policy that began part-way through a year, the premium, and so the relief, is only what was paid in that year.
- Who the policy covers and their ages. Ages decide whether each person gets the €1,000 adult cap or the €500 child cap, so a child who turned 21 in the year needs checking.
- A breakdown of the premium for each person. Your insurer can give you this; the caps apply person by person, so a single policy total isn't enough.
- What your employer paid. Payroll can confirm it, and the gross premium usually appears as a benefit in kind on your payslips. The relief can't be more than this amount.
The four-year rule and the steps for adding several claims to one year are in our step-by-step refund guide and our Form 12 guide. With 2022 closing at the end of December, see the 2022 deadline guide.
Related reading
Questions we get asked
Do I need to claim medical insurance relief if I pay my own health insurance?
No. Your insurer applies the relief at source as a discount on the premium, so a €1,600 adult policy costs you €1,400. Claiming it again in myAccount would double the relief. The claim is only for premiums your employer paid.
My employer pays my health insurance. Can I claim tax relief?
Yes. You're taxed on the gross premium as a benefit in kind, and the relief your employer passed to Revenue comes back to you only if you add Medical Insurance Relief in myAccount. It's worth up to €200 per adult and €100 per child under 21 for each year.
How many years back can I claim medical insurance relief?
Four years, plus the current year. In 2026 you can claim 2022 to 2025 on each year's return, and 2022 closes on 31 December 2026. For 2025 and earlier the rate could be below 20% if the policy had a blended rate, so ask your insurer.
How much is medical insurance relief worth?
20% of the premium, on up to €1,000 per adult and €500 per child under 21. That's a maximum of €200 per adult and €100 per child a year; a child premium of €420 gets €84.
Can I claim medical insurance relief and medical expenses relief?
Yes, they're separate. Premium relief covers the cost of the policy. Medical expenses relief gives 20% back on qualifying bills you paid that the insurer didn't refund, so you claim only the part you carried.