Health Insurance (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009

• Permanent Page URL

Age-related relief for health insurance premiums.

22.— The Act of 1997 is amended by inserting the following section after section 470A:

“470B.— (1) In this section—

‘ age-related tax credit ’ has the same meaning as in subsection (4);

‘ authorised insurer ’ means any undertaking (not being a restricted membership undertaking) entered in The Register of Health Benefits Undertakings, lawfully carrying on such business of medical insurance referred to in the definition of ‘ relevant con tract ’ but, in relation to an individual, also means any undertaking (not being a restricted membership undertaking) authorised pursuant to Council Directive No. 73/239/EEC of 24 July 1973 ¹ , Council Directive No. 88/357/EEC of 22 June 1988 ² , and Council Directive No. 92/49/EEC of 18 June 1992 ³ , where such a contract was effected with the individual when the individual was not resident in the State but was resident in another Member State of the European Communities;

‘ employee ’ and ‘ employer ’ have the same meanings, respectively, as in section 983;

‘ excluded contract of insurance ’ means—

(a) a contract of insurance which comes within the meaning of paragraph (d) of the definition of ‘ health insurance contract ’ in section 2(1) of the Health Insurance Act 1994 , or

(b) a contract of insurance relating solely to charges for public hospital in-patient services made under the Health (In-Patient Charges) Regulations 1987 ( S.I. No. 116 of 1987 );

‘ in-patient indemnity payment ’ has the same meaning as in section 2(1) of the Health Insurance Act 1994 ;

‘ insured person ’, in relation to a relevant contract, means an individual, the spouse of the individual, or the children or other dependents of the individual or of the spouse of the individual, in respect of whom the relevant contract provides specifically, whether in conjunction with other benefits or not, for the reimbursement or discharge, in whole or in part, of actual health expenses (within the meaning of section 469);

‘ PPS Number ’, in relation to an individual, means that individual’s Personal Public Service Number within the meaning of section 262 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 ;

‘ relevant contract ’ means a contract of insurance (not being an excluded contract of insurance) which provides for the making of in-patient indemnity payments under the contract and which, in relation to an individual, the spouse of the individual, or the children or other dependents of the individual or of the spouse of the individual, provides specifically, whether in conjunction with other benefits or not, for the reimbursement or discharge, in whole or in part, of actual health expenses (within the meaning of section 469), being a contract of medical insurance;

‘ relevant year of assessment ’ means—

(a) subject to paragraph (b), the year of assessment 2009, 2010 or 2011,

(b) where a payment made to an authorised insurer is a monthly or other instalment towards the payment of the total annual premium due under a relevant contract, and the payment of such an instalment becomes due and is made in the year of assessment 2012, the year of assessment 2012;

‘ relievable amount ’, in relation to a payment to an authorised insurer under a relevant contract, means—

(a) where the payment covers no benefits other than such reimbursement or discharge as is referred to in the definition of ‘relevant contract’, an amount equal to the full amount of the payment, or

(b) where the payment covers benefits other than such reimbursement or discharge as is referred to in that definition, an amount equal to so much of the payment as is referable to such reimbursement or discharge;

‘ restricted membership undertaking ’ has the same meaning as in section 2(1) of the Health Insurance Act 1994 .

(2) This section applies to a payment made to an authorised insurer under a relevant contract renewed or entered into on or after 1 January 2009 but before 1 January 2012 where the payment qualifies for relief under section 470(2).

(3) Notwithstanding section 470(4), relief due under this section shall be given in addition to relief given under section 470.

(4) Subject to subsections (5) and (6), where for a relevant year of assessment, an individual or, if the individual is a married person assessed to tax in accordance with section 1017, the individual’s spouse, makes a payment to an authorised insurer under a relevant contract and—

(a) the payment is in respect of a premium due under the relevant contract and the relevant contract was renewed or entered into on or after 1 January 2009 but before 1 January 2012, and

(b) the payment or part of the payment, as the case may be, is attributable to an insured person, and only to an insured person, who is aged 50 years or over on the date the relevant contract is renewed or entered into, as the case may be,

then the individual shall, for the relevant year of assessment, in respect of so much of the relievable amount of the payment or part of the payment, as the case may be, as is attributable to an insured person referred to in paragraph (b), be entitled to a credit (referred to in this section as ‘age-related tax credit’) equal to the lower of—

(i) the amount specified in the second column of the Table to this subsection corresponding to the class of insured person mentioned in the first column of that Table or, where the payment made to the authorised insurer is a monthly or other instalment towards the payment of the total annual premium due under the relevant contract, an amount equal to the amount so specified divided by the total number of instalments to be made to pay such total annual premium, and

(ii) an amount which reduces the income tax to be charged on the individual for the relevant year of assessment, other than in accordance with section 16(2), to nil.

(5) (a) The amount of age-related tax credit given for a relevant year of assessment in respect of an insured person shall not exceed the amount of the payment made to an authorised insurer under a relevant contract in respect of the insured person for the relevant year of assessment.

(b) Where an individual makes a payment to an authorised insurer that entitles the individual to an age-related tax credit or age-related tax credits, as the case may be, for the year of assessment 2012, the aggregate amount of the age-related tax credit given to the individual in respect of an insured person or insured persons, as the case may be, for that year and the year of assessment 2011 shall not exceed the age-related tax credit or age-related tax credits, as the case may be, that the individual would have been entitled to if the total annual premium due under the relevant contract in respect of the insured person or insured persons, as the case may be, had been paid in the year of assessment 2011.

(c) Where, for any relevant year of assessment, an employer makes a payment of emoluments to an employee consisting of a perquisite in the form of a payment to an authorised insurer under a relevant contract, and—

(i) the payment qualifies for relief under this section for that relevant year of assessment, and

(ii) the aggregate of the age-related tax credit or age-related tax credits, as the case may be, and relief under section 470 due in respect of the payment exceeds the amount of the income tax chargeable, in accordance with sections 112 and 112A, in respect of the perquisite (in this paragraph referred to as ‘ the excess ’),

the excess may not reduce the income tax chargeable on any other income of the employee for that year of assessment or, if the employee is a married person assessed to tax in accordance with section 1017, the income tax chargeable on any income of the employee’s spouse for that year of assessment.

(6) (a) Where an individual makes a payment to an authorised insurer that entitles the individual to an age-related tax credit or age-related tax credits, as the case may be, for a relevant year of assessment, the individual shall be entitled to deduct and retain out of it—

(i) if the payment made is the total annual premium due under the relevant contract concerned for the relevant year of assessment, an amount equal to the total amount of the age-related tax credit or age-related tax credits, as the case may be,

(ii) if the payment made is a monthly or other instalment towards the payment of the total annual premium due under the relevant contract concerned for the relevant year of assessment, an amount equal to the total amount of the age-related tax credit or age-related tax credits, as the case may be, to which the individual would be entitled if all of that total annual premium were paid divided by the total number of such instalments to be made to pay that total annual premium.

(b) An authorised insurer to which a payment referred to in paragraph (a) is made—

(i) shall accept the amount paid, after the deduction of the age-related tax credit or age-related tax credits, as the case may be, in discharge of the individual’s liability to the same extent as if the deduction had not been made, and

(ii) may, on making a claim in accordance with regulations, recover from the Revenue Commissioners an amount equal to the amount deducted.

(c) Where an individual makes a payment referred to in paragraph (a) in respect of a premium due under a contract renewed or entered into on or after 1 January 2009 but before the passing of the Health Insurance (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009, the individual shall be deemed to have deducted and retained out of the payment an amount equal to the amount of the age-related tax credit or age-related tax credits, as the case may be, that the individual is entitled to under this section in respect of that payment.

(d) An amount that an individual is entitled to deduct and retain out of a payment referred to in paragraph (a) shall be in addition to the amount that the individual is entitled to deduct and retain out of the payment in accordance with section 470(3).

(7) (a) The Revenue Commissioners shall make regulations providing generally for the administration of this section and those regulations may, in particular and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, include provision—

(i) that a claim under subsection (6)(b)(ii) by an authorised insurer, which has registered with the Revenue Commissioners for the purposes of making such a claim, shall—

(I) be made in such form and manner,

(II) be made at such time,

(III) be accompanied by such documents, and

(IV) be accompanied by such information as respects the amount of premiums paid under relevant contracts in respect of insured persons aged 50 years or over in a relevant year of assessment and the number of such individuals within each class,

as provided for in the regulations,

(ii) for the making of annual information returns by authorised insurers, in such form (including electronic form) and manner as may be provided for in the regulations, and containing specified details in relation to—

(I) each individual making payments, to which this section applies, to such insurers under relevant contracts in a relevant year of assessment,

(II) each insured person aged 50 years or over, in respect of whom such payments were made in the relevant year of assessment, including—

(A) the name of the insured person,

(B) the date of birth of the insured person, and

(C) the PPS Number of the insured person,

(III) the total amount of premiums paid by the individual under a relevant contract in respect of an insured person aged 50 years or over in a relevant year of assessment, and

(IV) the total amount deducted under subsection (6)(a) by the individual making the payments in the relevant year of assessment concerned,

and

(iii) for the furnishing of any other information that the Revenue Commissioners may reasonably require for the purposes of the regulations.

(b) Every regulation made under this section shall be laid before Dáil Éireann as soon as may be after it is made and, if a resolution annulling the regulation is passed by Dáil Éireann within the next 21 days on which Dáil Éireann has sat after the regulation is laid before it, the regulation shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.

(8) (a) Where any amount is paid to an authorised insurer by the Revenue Commissioners as an amount recoverable by virtue of subsection (6)(b) but is an amount to which the authorised insurer is not entitled, that amount shall be repaid by the authorised insurer.

(b) There shall be made such assessments, adjustments or set-offs as may be required for securing repayment of the amount referred to in paragraph (a) and the provisions of the Income Tax Acts relating to the assessment, collection and recovery of income tax shall, in so far as they are applicable and with necessary modification, apply in relation to the recovery of such amount.”.

¹OJ No. L228 of 16 August 1973, p.3

²OJ No. L172 of 4 July 1988, p.1

³OJ No. L228 of 11 August 1992, p.1