Parents' Health Insurance Premiums

Discussion in 'Accounting & Tax' started by Nir, 20th Sep, 2019.

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  1. Nir

    Nir Well-Known Member

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    This is something I've had difficulty finding any information online on. Hopefully, there are others in this forum who may know more about the subject.

    • My parents reside overseas (for the time being. Currently going through a slow migration process to move to Australia and join the rest of the family - this can drag on another 3-4 years...).

    • They are both retired academics. While not entirely dependant on me, I cover as much of their expenses as I can. I fly them over to Melbourne about twice a year during warmer weather. Since they are in Melbourne a lot, I got a private health insurance policy (Medibank) for them. I keep it running even when they are not physically here in order to get the waiting periods over with (plus, I'm only allowed to 'suspend' the membership a handful of weeks a year). About $300 per month.

    Is there a tax deduction I'm missing in this picture?


    Much thanks
     
  2. Cimbom

    Cimbom Well-Known Member

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    Nope
     
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  3. Terry_w

    Terry_w Lawyer, Tax Adviser and Mortgage broker in Sydney Business Member

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    How could it relate to your income?
     
  4. Nir

    Nir Well-Known Member

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    It doesn't Terry :(

    I've read about premiums paid towards health insurance policies for your parents qualifying for deduction in some countries. So wanted to be sure that's not the case is Aus.
     
  5. Ross Forrester

    Ross Forrester Well-Known Member

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    There is no tax deduction for parents health insurance.
     
  6. Joynz

    Joynz Well-Known Member

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    I was surprised they are eligible for private health insurance if they don’t live here - but I looked it up and saw that insurers do offer ‘visitors cover’ (e.g. Bupa).

    Learned something new!
     
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  7. Nir

    Nir Well-Known Member

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    Thanks everyone for your input. Answer to my question is clearly a "No".

    --RESOLVED--
     
  8. Paul@PAS

    Paul@PAS Tax, Accounting + SMSF + All things Property Tax Business Plus Member

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    qak likes this.