Can I deduct supplementary health insurance from tax in Germany?
In short
Yes, you can deduct supplementary health insurance in Germany in theory, but for almost everyone in public health insurance it saves EUR 0. Top-up policies count as other insurance expenses with a cap of EUR 1,900 for employees and EUR 2,800 for the self-employed. Your compulsory health and long-term care contributions fill that cap from a gross salary of about EUR 1,600 a month.
Legal limits and contribution rates to check your own numbers, as of 2026.
Example
Typical range
Cap for other insurance expenses, employees and civil servants
EUR 1,900 a year
Cap for self-employed without employer contribution
EUR 2,800 a year
Public health insurance rate 2026
14.6 percent plus an average additional rate of 2.9 percent
Outpatient top-up plan, age 26
about EUR 8 to 33 a month
Benefit in kind limit via employer
EUR 50 a month
As of October 2026.
Basic contributions in the table are calculated from the 2026 rates,
with the 4 percent sick pay reduction for employees;
figures for the self-employed and pensioners are rounded guide values.
Your tax adviser (Steuerberater) checks your case;
we obtain a suitable supplementary health insurance quote.
Worked example
Employee, EUR 42,000 gross, one child, top-up policy EUR 20 a month
How the tax office treats supplementary health insurance in a typical case.
Health insurance, employee share 8.75 percent
EUR 3,675
4 percent reduction for sick pay
minus EUR 147
Long-term care insurance, share 1.8 percent
EUR 756
Basic contributions in total
EUR 4,284, above the EUR 1,900 cap
Supplementary health insurance, 12 × EUR 20
EUR 240, not deductible
The EUR 4,284 basic contributions are fully deductible; the EUR 240 for the top-up policy bring no tax benefit.
Why the deduction usually comes to nothing
The tax office (Finanzamt) uses two pots. Basic contributions to public health and long-term care insurance are always fully deductible. Supplementary health insurance (Krankenzusatzversicherung) goes into the second pot, together with liability, accident and unemployment insurance.
That second pot has a joint cap of EUR 1,900 a year, or EUR 2,800 for the self-employed without an employer contribution. The law also says that if your basic contributions are already higher than the cap, supplementary health insurance cannot be deducted at all. There is no partial deduction.
Your situation
Basic contributions a year
Effect of the top-up policy
Employee, EUR 42,000 gross, one child
about EUR 4,280
none, EUR 1,900 cap exceeded
Self-employed, minimum public contribution
about EUR 3,240
none, EUR 2,800 cap exceeded
Pensioner, EUR 1,000 pension a month
about EUR 1,480
up to about EUR 420 of top-up premium counts
Pensioner, EUR 1,500 pension a month
about EUR 2,220
none
When a deduction does work
Room for supplementary health insurance only remains if your own basic contributions are below EUR 1,900. That mainly affects small pensions and low incomes. In exactly those cases there is often no income tax to reduce, so the deduction changes nothing.
Married couples filing jointly add up their caps, but also their basic contributions. If one partner earns a normal salary, the joint EUR 3,800 is usually full anyway.
The employer route
Supplementary health insurance paid by your employer as company health insurance (betriebliche Krankenversicherung) is more tax efficient. Set up as a benefit in kind (Sachbezug), it stays free of tax and social security as long as all benefits in kind together stay at or below EUR 50 a month.
Fuel vouchers, a job ticket or similar perks share this limit. Go one euro over and the whole amount becomes taxable. Ask HR what is already counted against the EUR 50.
Bills you pay yourself and reimbursements
What you pay yourself for glasses, dental work or alternative practitioners can count as extraordinary expenses (außergewöhnliche Belastungen). It only has an effect above a reasonable burden of 1 to 7 percent of your income, depending on income and children.
Whatever your supplementary health insurance reimburses no longer counts as your burden. You do not pay tax on the reimbursement itself.
When you can skip the paperwork
If you are employed and earn more than about EUR 1,600 gross a month, entering supplementary health insurance in your German tax return will not save a cent. It does no harm, the Finanzamt does the maths itself.
Choose your top-up policy for its cover and price, not for a tax benefit you will not get.
Step by step
Read your basic health and care contributions from the annual wage tax certificate (Lohnsteuerbescheinigung).
Compare them with EUR 1,900, or EUR 2,800 if you are self-employed without a subsidy.
If they are higher, stop: the top-up premium will not count.
If they are lower, enter the top-up premiums in the Anlage Vorsorgeaufwand.
Ask your employer about company health insurance as a benefit in kind.
Checklist
Annual basic contributions known
Correct cap of EUR 1,900 or 2,800 applied
Both partners counted when filing jointly
Employer benefits in kind below EUR 50 a month
Medical bills you paid yourself collected
Common mistakes
Buying a top-up policy for a tax benefit that never arrives
Assuming part of the premium always counts
Breaking the EUR 50 benefit in kind limit with extra vouchers
Claiming reimbursed bills as extraordinary expenses as well
Questions and answers
Frequently asked
Where do I enter supplementary health insurance in the tax return?
In the Anlage Vorsorgeaufwand, under health and care insurance that is not basic cover.
The tax office works out whether it has any effect.
Does this apply to dental top-up insurance too?
Yes.
Dental, hospital and outpatient top-ups all count as other insurance expenses and share the same
cap.
What if I have private health insurance?
Then only the basic cover share is fully deductible.
Extras such as a private room fall under the same cap and usually have no effect.
Is a reimbursement from my top-up policy taxable?
No.
It only reduces the costs you could claim as extraordinary expenses.
I pay tax in my home country. Does this still apply?
These rules apply only if you are taxed in Germany.
If you are taxed elsewhere, ask a tax adviser how your home country treats the premiums.
