med 1 form -reclaiming tax for health expenses

I had a lot of trouble with my leg during the year and spent quite a lot of money on a physio/acupunturist. he prescribed a gel and said I should take glucosomine tablets. so i thought I would be able to claim some tax back. so I see that you can only claim for a physio if you were referred to one by a doctor . and you can only claim for medication if it was prescribed - I presume by a doctor (or indeed a physio that you were reffered to by a doctor in the first place if you get my drift.) I never went near an actual doctor. So would I be right in saying there is no point in claiming for any of these expenses?????
( And my leg is grand now by the way! Doctor or no Doctor)

Sounds like you self referred to a physio - in which case, no i dont think you can claim. You could ask the physiotherapist. Was it a registered physiotherapist or a physical therapist or what? (just because you mention acupuncture was it some cross breed of sports medicine/pain relief type person?)
Im not sure what the Med 1 form means by referred by a doctor, last time I was referred to a physiotherapist (by an orthopediac surgeon - not just a GP), he just said 'this is her name, go there' - there was no letter for me to hand in to get the appointment.

Was the stuff prescribed over the counter medication or was it on a proper prescription? I know Glucosamine is not a prescription medication, but whatever the gel was, if its over the counter, then no.

You should be able to claim for physio fees but not the medication as it is non-prescription

you can claim for physio if referred to by doctor.

I reffered myself.... and he is not registered. ( He is one of those "cross breeds" you mention.) and the gel is over the counter. This is what happens when you insist on having "alternative" forms of treatment. Still my leg is better. Life is good! Thanks for your replies.

slightly off topic, I was told on the phone by one of the health insurers that I can claim for medical expenses from the tax office first and then claim from the health insurer ???THis lady said this has been happening for years.

I always understood I could only claim from one source, not both. AFAIK I need originals for the Tax office and presumably originals for health insurer.

Is this right or am I just being slightly naive ?

PyritePete said:

slightly off topic, I was told on the phone by one of the health insurers that I can claim for medical expenses from the tax office first and then claim from the health insurer ???THis lady said this has been happening for years.

I always understood I could only claim from one source, not both. AFAIK I need originals for the Tax office and presumably originals for health insurer.

Is this right or am I just being slightly naive ?

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As far as I was aware it's the exact opposite, i.e. you cannot claim from the Tax Office and from the health insurer. It may be true, as this lady said, that this has been happening for years, but it's not 'allowed' as far as I know. You don't need originals for the tax office initially as they don't require receipts. It would only be necessary to show your receipts if they decided to check up on you I think.

The last two posters are both partly right. You cannot claim the same expense twice.

However, if you pay €55 to a GP, and your health insurance pays €30 per visit then, you can claim a tax credit on the remaining €25 which you were not reimbursed.

You DO need to keep your receipts when you make a Med1 claim, as you might be auditted.

But, the receipt from the health insurer is acceptable to the Revenue.

So, you send your original receipts to the health insurer.
You claim a tax credit for the extra,and keep all receipts and the claim paperwork from
the health insurer.

There is a key post in this topic, in the key posts at the top of the taxation page

karlitob said:

Hi I'm a physio.

You do not need a referral from a doctor to attend a physio. We are autonomous professionals. So you can claim for physio on the MEd1 form.

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The Revenue Commisioners rules clearly state that physio fees can only be claimed if prescribed by a Dr.

However, my referral for physio by the Dr. was verbal, which is probably quite normal, so I don't know what proof that an auditor would demand that you had been prescribed Physio.

I asked the Doctor if I could have a referral letter if I needed it for Revenue and he said you, but he'd never been asked for one before.