Medical Aid Tax Credit Calculator
See how much tax your medical aid saves you each month, and what you could claim back on your tax return for medical costs you paid yourself.
What you type is saved on this device only and isn’t sent anywhere. SARS works out the final amount on assessment.
A guide to help you plan, not official advice. SARS makes the final decision. Figures last checked against official sources on .
How it works
The monthly credit uses SARS’s medical tax credit rates. The extra credit for your own costs follows SARS’s additional medical expenses tax credit rules:
- 65 or older, or a disability (you, your spouse or your child): 33.3% of your contributions above three times your yearly monthly credits, plus 33.3% of costs you paid yourself.
- Everyone else: 25% of the amount by which (contributions above four times your yearly credits, plus costs you paid yourself) is more than 7.5% of your taxable income.
Credits can’t take your tax below zero. Tax is worked out with SARS’s rates of tax for individuals. To see your monthly take-home pay with these credits, use the salary after tax calculator.
Figures last checked against official sources on .
Questions
How much is the medical aid tax credit?
For the 2026/27 tax year it’s R376 a month for you, R376 for your first dependant and R254 for each other dependant on the medical aid. For 2025/26 it was R364, R364 and R246. Your employer takes it off the tax on your payslip each month.
Can I claim back medical costs I paid myself?
Yes, through the additional medical expenses tax credit on your tax return. If you’re under 65 with no disability in the family, only costs above 7.5% of your taxable income count, so most people need large costs to benefit. If you’re 65 or older, or you, your spouse or your child has a disability, more of your costs count and there’s no 7.5% threshold.
What counts as a qualifying medical expense?
Costs your medical aid didn’t pay back, for services and medicine from registered practitioners such as doctors, dentists, physiotherapists and optometrists, hospital stays, home nursing by registered nurses, and prescribed medicine from a pharmacy. Keep the receipts.
Is the credit paid out to me if I don’t pay tax?
No. Medical credits reduce the tax you pay but can’t take it below zero, and unused credits don’t carry over to the next year.