6B. Additional medical expenses tax credit
Category: Section 6B (ITA) – Additional medical expenses tax credit
Section 6B
Section 6B inserted by section 7 of Act 22 of 2012 effective on 1 March 2014.
“Child” definition of section 6B of ITA
(1) For the purposes of this section-
‘child’ means a person’s child or child of his or her spouse who was alive during any portion of the year of assessment, and who on the last day of the year of assessment-
(a) was unmarried and was not or would not, had he or she lived, have been-
(i) over the age of 18 years;
(ii) over the age of 21 years and was wholly or partially dependent for maintenance upon the person and has not become liable fo the payment of normal tax in respect of such year; or
(iii) over the age of 26 years and was wholly or partially dependent for maintenance upon the person and has not become liable for the payment of normal tax in respect of such year and was a full-time student at an educational institution of a public character; or
(b) in the case of any other child, was incapacitated by a disability from maintaining himself or herself and was wholly or partially dependent for maintenance upon the person and has not become liable for the payment of normal tax in respect of that year;
“Dependent” definition of section 6B of ITA
‘dependant’ means-
(a) a person’s spouse;
(b) a person’s child and the child of his or her spouse;
(c) any other member of a person’s family in respect of whom he or she is liable for family care and support; or
[Paragraph (c) amended by section 6 of Act 23 of 2018 effective on 17 January 2019]
(d) any other person who is recognised as a dependant of that person in terms of the rules of a medical scheme or fund contemplated in section 6A(2)(a) (i) or (ii),
at the time the fees contemplated in section 6A(2)(a) were paid, the amounts contemplated in paragraph (a) and (b) of the definition of ‘qualifying medical expenses’ were paid or the expenditure contemplated in paragraph (c) of that definition was incurred and paid;
“Disability” definition of section 6B of ITA
‘disability’ means a moderate to severe limitation of any person’s ability to function or perform daily activities as a result of a physical, sensory, communication, intellectual or mental impairment, if the limitation-
(a) has lasted or has a prognosis of lasting more than a year; and
(b) is diagnosed by a duly registered medical practitioner in accordance with criteria prescribed by the Commissioner;
“Qualifying medical expenses” definition of section 6B of ITA
‘qualifying medical expenses’ means-
(a) any amounts (other than amounts recoverable by a person or his or her spouse) which were paid by the person during the year of assessment to any duly registered-
(i) medical practitioner, dentist, optometrist, homeopath, naturopath, osteopath, herbalist, physiotherapist, chiropractor or orthopedist for professional services rendered or medicines supplied to the person or any dependant of the person;
(ii) nursing home or hospital or any duly registered or enrolled nurse, midwife or nursing assistant (or to any nursing agency in respect of the services of such a nurse, midwife or nursing assistant) in respect of the illness or confinement of the person or any dependant of the person; or
(iii) pharmacist for medicines supplied on the prescription of any person mentioned in subparagraph (i) for the person or any dependant of the person;
(b) any amounts (other than amounts recoverable by a person or his or her spouse) which were paid by the person during the year of assessment in respect of expenditure incurred outside the Republic on services rendered or medicines supplied to the person or any dependant of the person, and which are substantially similar to the services and medicines contemplated in paragraph (a); and
(c) any expenditure that is prescribed by the Commissioner (other than expenditure recoverable by a person or his or her spouse) necessarily incurred and paid by the person during the year of assessment in consequence of any physical impairment or disability suffered by the person or any dependant of the person.
Subsection 2, 3, 4 of section 6B of ITA
(2) In determining the normal tax payable by any natural person there must be deducted an amount, to be known as the additional medical scheme fees tax credit, equal to the sum of the amounts allowed to that natural person by way of rebates under subsection (3).
[Subsection (2) substituted by section 9 of Act 15 of 2016 effective on 19 January 2017]
(3) The amount of the additional medical expenses tax credit must be-
(a) where the person is entitled to a rebate under section 6(2)(b),the aggregate of-
(i) 33,3 per cent of so much of the amount of the fees paid by the person to a medical scheme or fund contemplated in section 6A(2)(a) as exceeds three times the amount of the medical scheme fees tax credit to which that person is entitled under section 6A(2)(b); and
(ii) 33,3 per cent of the amount of qualifying medical expenses paid by the person;
(b) where the person, his or her spouse or his or her child is a person with a disability, the aggregate of-
(i) 33,3 per cent of so much of the amount of the fees paid by the person to a medical scheme or fund contemplated in section 6A(2)(a) as exceeds three times the amount of the medical scheme fees tax credit to which that person is entitled under section 6A(2)(b); and
(ii) 33,3 per cent of the amount of qualifying medical expenses paid by the person; or
(c) in any other case, if the aggregate of-
(i) the amount of the fees paid by the person to a medical scheme or fund contemplated in section 6A(2)(a) as exceeds four times the amount of the medical scheme fees tax credit to which that person is entitled under section 6A(2)(b); and
(ii) the amount of qualifying medical expenses paid by the person,
exceeds 7,5 per cent of the person’s taxable income (excluding any retirement fund lump sum benefit, retirement fund lump sum withdrawal benefit and severance benefit), 25 per cent of the excess.
[Paragraph (c) substituted by section 3 of Act 43 of 2014 effective on 1 March 2014]
(4) For the purposes of this section, any amount contemplated in subsection (3) or the definition of ‘qualifying medical expenses’ that has been paid by-
(a) the estate of a deceased person is deemed to have been paid by the person on the day before his or her death; or
(b) an employer of the person is, to the extent that the amount has been included in the income of that person as a taxable benefit in terms of the Seventh Schedule, deemed to have been paid by that person.
(5)
(a) The Minister may announce in the national annual budget contemplated in section 27(1) of the Public Finance Management Act, that, with effect from a date or dates mentioned in that announcement, the amounts allowed to a natural person by way of rebates under subsection (3) will be altered to the extent mentioned in the announcement.
(b) If the Minister makes an announcement of an alteration contemplated in paragraph (a), that alteration comes into effect on the date or dates determined by the Minister in that announcement and continues to apply for a period of 12 months from that date or those dates subject to Parliament passing legislation giving effect to that announcement within that period of 12 months.
[Subsection (5) added by section 6 of Act 23 of 2018 effective on 17 January 2019]