Tax and SARS knowledge base
Can I claim medical costs paid for a deceased dependant?
Can I claim medical costs paid for a deceased dependant?
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Direct answer
Do not treat a medical bill connected with a deceased dependant as claimable in an individual's ITR12 until the payer, payment date, family-care facts, reimbursement and separate deceased-estate position have been verified. SARS's medical-credit and deceased-estate guidance supports this evidence and separation workflow, not a blanket deceased-dependant outcome.
This is a fact-sensitive medical-tax-credit issue, not a general estate deduction. Do not claim an invoice simply because it is unpaid or because the family paid it after death. Keep itemised evidence and obtain tailored advice when an executor, deceased estate or several family members are involved.
What this means in practice
Medical expenses can arise immediately before death, after death because of an earlier treatment, or as a bill sent later for services already delivered. These are not automatically the same for tax purposes. The medical-tax-credit route is concerned with qualifying expenditure and the taxpayer's circumstances. Estate administration can have separate duties that an executor must address.
Families often collect all final bills in one folder. That is helpful, but tax records should distinguish provider, patient, treatment date, invoice date, payment date, payer, refund and tax year. If a medical scheme paid part of the expense, keep its tax certificate and claims statement. If the estate paid a bill, keep the executor records rather than putting the cost automatically in a relative's personal return.
Sensitive medical and estate information should be handled carefully. Share only what a tax submission or SARS verification request needs. A personal representative should not assume that access to a deceased person's documents creates an entitlement for a family member to claim expenses.
Step-by-step
- Make a date-based schedule.
Record the treatment date, invoice date and payment date for each item. Allocate it to the relevant assessment year. Keep the provider's itemised invoice, not just a payment notification.
- Identify the actual payer.
State whether the taxpayer, another relative, the medical scheme, employer, insurer or deceased estate paid the amount. Add proof of payment. Where money was later reimbursed, show the original payment and refund separately.
- Confirm the family-care facts.
Document the dependant relationship and the taxpayer's responsibility for care and support. If family members shared payments, prepare a reconciliation to avoid one invoice being used in multiple returns.
- Separate estate administration.
If the deceased estate paid the invoice or the executor is filing a return, retain the estate documents separately. Ask the executor or tax adviser how the estate return and the payer's return interact before submitting a personal claim.
- Review SARS evidence requirements.
Use current medical-tax-credit and ITR12 guidance. Keep medical scheme certificates, provider records and correspondence. Do not insert a figure merely because a bill has a medical heading.
- File only supported figures.
Compare the ITR12's prepopulated data with the evidence. Save the filed return, ITA34 and your schedule. If SARS requests verification, give the requested supporting documents through the appropriate secure process.
Documents and records to keep
- Itemised medical invoices and receipts.
- Proof of payment and medical scheme reimbursement records.
- Evidence of the dependant relationship and family-care responsibility.
- Death certificate and executor correspondence where relevant.
- Estate payment records, ITR12, ITA34 and any SARS correspondence.
Important limits and exceptions
This guide does not say that every final medical bill qualifies, that the estate and a family member can both claim it, or that an invoice dated after death belongs in a particular return. These outcomes depend on evidence and the applicable rules. Funeral expenses and other non-medical estate costs are outside this medical-tax-credit guide.
Be careful with an employer medical subsidy, insurance payout or medical scheme refund. A cost that was not finally borne by the taxpayer may need a different treatment. If a dependant was an adult, if support was informal, or if an estate has complex assets, the claim should be reviewed professionally.
When to get tailored advice
Seek tailored tax and estate advice before filing if the executor has not finalised records, the cost was paid from an estate, family members disagree about payment, the amount is material or medical scheme information is incomplete. TaxProof can help organise the tax evidence, while legal estate advice must come from the appropriate professional.