SteuerGo FAQs

(2022) What can I declare as convalescence costs in the tax return?

Expenses incurred for a convalescence treatment or rehabilitation measure can be entered in your tax return as extraordinary burdens. However, the expenses must be medically necessary. For this, you need a public health officer's certificate. If the Medical Service of your health insurance company has already checked the necessity and the treatment is co-financed by the insurance company, an additional certificate is not required. The certificate or check must be issued before the start of the treatment.

The treatment must be carried out under medical supervision. An exception is a climate treatment, where a positive effect is achieved through the favourable climate, and no supervising doctor is required.

A prerequisite for a children's treatment is usually the accommodation of the child in a children's home.

You can deduct all health-related expenses that are not reimbursed by the health insurance as treatment costs.

Treatment costs may include:

• Doctor's fees,
• Fees for medical certificates or attestations,
• Medications or other remedies,
• Baths or other treatments,
• Local spa tax,
• Travel to and from the location, and
• Accommodation and meals.

However, meal costs are not fully recognised and must be reduced by a so-called household saving of 20 percent.

For the accompanying person of a child undergoing treatment, travel and accommodation costs can also be deducted, as well as for a helpless elderly person. However, the doctor must certify the necessity of the accompaniment. For a severely disabled person with a registered need for accompaniment in their ID, an additional certificate is not required.

As travel expenses for the journey to and from the location, only the costs for public transport are generally recognised. To have the costs for travelling by private car recognised, you must prove that travel by bus or train was not reasonable for health reasons, for example, due to mobility issues.

The certificate must contain sufficiently specific information about the spa location in accordance with § 64 para. 1 sentence 1 no. 2a EStDV. The statement "in a tropical climate" alone is not sufficient to determine the spa location. The certificate must show that the taxpayer is ill and that a stay at a specific spa location is medically indicated for a certain period. The public health officer must specify in their statement where exactly a climate treatment is medically indicated due to the existing illnesses (FG Münster, judgement of 23.2.2022, 7 K 2261/20 E).