Hospital stays, dental care, medication: how to deduct your unreimbursed medical expenses in Luxembourg

Hospital stays, dental care, and expensive medication: your unreimbursed medical expenses may be tax-deductible. Here's how to claim them in Luxembourg.

An unexpected operation, costly dental work, or pricey medication the CNS won't cover… These expenses can really add up. The good news? Some of them can be deducted on your Luxembourg tax return as extraordinary charges.

1. What counts as an extraordinary charge?

An expense qualifies as an extraordinary charge when it:

• isn't reimbursed (by the CNS, private health care, or a mutual fund),
• isn't voluntary (e.g. a medically necessary operation),
• and goes beyond your normal burden.

What does that mean in practice? The tax authorities look at your income and set a threshold. Only the part of your expenses above that threshold can be deducted.

2. The normal burden

The normal burden is what the tax authorities reckon a household can handle without it affecting their lifestyle. It's based on your tax class, taxable income, and number of dependent children.

If your expenses stay below this limit, they're seen as part of normal life, so no tax deduction.

With taxx.lu, you don't need to work this out yourself:
We automatically calculate your normal burden from the data you enter and apply it when working out your deduction for extraordinary expenses.

That way, you avoid mistakes and know right away whether your expenses are high enough to qualify.

Determining the normal burden

Taxable income	Class 1 (0 children)	Class 2/1a (0 children)	1 child	2 children	3 children	4 children	5 children
Below €10,000	2%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%
€10,000 – €20,000	4%	2%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%
€20,000 – €30,000	6%	4%	2%	0%	0%	0%	0%
€30,000 – €40,000	7%	6%	4%	2%	0%	0%	0%
€40,000 – €50,000	8%	7%	5%	3%	1%	0%	0%
€50,000 – €60,000	9%	8%	6%	4%	2%	0%	0%
Above €60,000	10%	9%	7%	5%	3%	1%	0%

3. Which medical expenses can you deduct?

The most common ones include:

• hospital costs not covered by insurance,
• dental care (implants, dentures, orthodontics…),
• prescribed medication you had to pay for yourself,
• specialist treatment abroad,
• medical equipment (wheelchairs, hearing aids…).

Anything purely for comfort or cosmetic reasons (like non-medical cosmetic surgery) doesn't count.

4. How do I claim them?

• On taxx.lu, enter your medical expenses under extraordinary charges.
• Include all your proof of payment: invoices, CNS/insurance reimbursement statements, prescriptions.
• The better your paperwork, the better your chances of getting the deduction approved.

5. A quick example

A married couple with two children paid the following in 2024:

• €8,000 for dental care,
• €2,000 was reimbursed by the CNS and their private insurance.
• Left to pay themselves: €6,000

Once the tax authorities apply the normal burden, part of that amount becomes deductible and lowers their tax bill.

If the normal burden is €5,000, only €1,000 can be deducted as extraordinary charges (€6,000 – €5,000 = €1,000).

6. Good to know

• If the tax authorities reject your claim, you can ask for a review, just send a letter explaining why, along with your supporting documents.
• Some recurring costs (like health insurance contributions) don't count as extraordinary, but might qualify as special expenses instead.

Bottom line: unreimbursed medical expenses can lower your tax bill, but only if they're above a certain threshold, and you'll need to back them up with proper documentation.