Costs deductable

Relief for your vision – and your tax return

Laser eye treatment is tax deductible: Costs for eradicating or alleviating an illness may be stated as an extraordinary burden in the tax return. Defective vision - whether short or far-sightedness – is classified as an illness whose treatment is considered as remedial treatment. This can be read about in a decision by the Koblenz Regional Tax Office of June 22, 2006, on page 2284 A – St. 32 3, which shows that the tax officers accept laser eye treatment as an extraordinary burden (even if no medical certificate has been issued by an ophthalmologist).

However, the tax relief is quite different. The own share that patients have to bear by themselves varies from tax office to tax office. Basically, if the patient has to shoulder a high extraordinary burden in the fiscal year, the laser eye treatment is presumably deductible. Please bear in mind that this information is based on experience and cannot be considered as a binding statement in the sense of tax advice. This information does not replace tax advice.