Which medical expenses can I deduct on my tax return?

Health costs, whether for necessary treatments, medications, or therapies, can often become quite expensive. In Switzerland, however, taxpayers have the option to deduct self-borne medical expenses from their taxes. In this blog post, you will learn everything important about this topic.

Which medical expenses can be deducted?

The costs for medical treatments and services that are not covered by health insurance or other insurance providers can be deducted from taxes. This includes, for example:

-      Doctor and hospital treatments

-      Medications and remedies

-      Dental costs

-      Therapies and rehabilitation measures

-      Medical aids (e.g., glasses, hearing aids, etc.)

-      Costs for psychotherapy

Requirements for deducting self-borne medical expenses

In order for health costs to be deducted from taxes, certain requirements must be met.

Exceeding the acceptable burden: To be able to deduct self-borne health costs from taxes, it is important to understand the acceptable burden threshold. This threshold indicates what percentage of taxable income must be borne by the individual before medical costs can be claimed for tax purposes. The amount of the acceptable burden threshold is usually a percentage of taxable income and may vary depending on the canton. If self-borne health costs exceed this percentage, the amount above can be deducted from taxes.

Expenses must be documented: Self-borne medical expenses must be verifiable. Therefore, collect all invoices and receipts and keep them well organized. Tip: submit all invoices to your health insurance. At the end of the tax year, you will receive a tax statement from the health insurance that lists all self-borne medical expenses. This tax statement generally suffices as proof for the tax declaration.

No double insurance: Expenses that are already covered by health insurance or another insurance provider cannot be claimed as self-borne medical costs. Double payments for insurances that cover the same services will not be considered.