Reviewed by: MyTaxRebate Team on 9 Mar 2026 | Authority: s.469 TCA 1997
Quick Answer
Private nursing at home - where qualified nurses (RGN or RPN) provide 24-hour professional care to a patient in their own home - qualifies for income tax health expense relief under section 11 of Revenue's Tax and Duty Manual Part 15-01-12. A GP medical certificate confirming medical necessity is required. The relief is at 20% of the qualifying costs for standard-rate taxpayers. Home care assistants who are not qualified nurses do not qualify under this provision.
If you have engaged private home nursing and have not yet claimed, MyTaxRebate verifies the nurse's NMBI registration and GP certificate requirements, then submits the full backdated claim - at no upfront cost.
What This Page Covers
- ✓What private home nursing is and when it qualifies under s.11
- ✓The GP medical certificate: what it must certify and how to obtain it
- ✓What "fully qualified nurse" means - NMBI registration (RGN/RPN)
- ✓Records required: nurse names, qualifications, and invoices
- ✓Using a private nursing agency: how agency invoices work
- ✓The distinction from the Employed Carer tax credit (s.467)
Key Facts at a Glance
- ✓Private home nursing by a fully qualified nurse (RGN/RPN) qualifies at 20% under s.11.
- ✓GP medical certificate confirming the necessity of 24-hour professional nursing care is required.
- ✓Home care assistants and personal care workers who are not qualified nurses do not qualify.
- ✓Private nursing agency invoices qualify - individual nurse identification not required where the agency confirms NMBI registration.
- ✓Distinct from s.467 Employed Carer tax credit - a separate mechanism for carers who are not qualified nurses.
- ✓Backdate up to four years within the standard window.
What private home nursing is and when it qualifies
Section 11 of Revenue's Tax and Duty Manual Part 15-01-12 provides for private nursing at home as a qualifying health expense under s.469 TCA 1997. Home nursing qualifies where:
The s.11 provision is intended for situations where a patient's medical condition requires professional nursing care - including 24-hour care - but the patient prefers or is better served by remaining in their own home rather than being admitted to a nursing home or hospital. This might include patients recovering from major surgery, patients with complex medical conditions requiring ongoing monitoring and clinical intervention, patients requiring palliative care at home, or patients with serious disabilities requiring continuous professional nursing oversight.
- The nursing care is provided in the patient's own home (not in a nursing home or hospital).
- The nursing is private - personally paid by the patient or their family, not provided by or funded by the HSE.
- The nursing is provided by a fully qualified nurse - a nurse registered with NMBI as an RGN (Registered General Nurse) or RPN (Registered Psychiatric Nurse).
- The nursing care is medically necessary - confirmed by a GP medical certificate.
The GP medical certificate: what it must certify
A medical certificate from the patient's GP is a required supporting document for a home nursing claim under s.11. The certificate must confirm:
The certificate does not need to certify "24-hour care" in the literal sense of care every hour of every day - rather, it certifies that the patient requires professional nursing care at home as part of their ongoing medical management. Contact your GP surgery and request a letter for Revenue health expense purposes confirming the medical necessity of professional nursing care at home for the named patient.
The GP certificate is retained by you and does not need to be renewed for each claim year, provided the patient's condition and the home nursing requirement remain unchanged. If the patient's condition significantly changes, obtain an updated certificate to cover the new clinical position.
- The patient's name and the medical condition or conditions necessitating home nursing care.
- That the patient's medical condition requires professional nursing care at home.
- That the GP considers the home nursing care to be medically necessary.
What "fully qualified nurse" means
The qualifying condition for the nurse is that they are registered on the Register of Nurses and Midwives maintained by NMBI (Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland) as either a Registered General Nurse (RGN) or Registered Psychiatric Nurse (RPN). The NMBI register is publicly searchable at nmbi.ie.
This condition excludes:
- Home care assistants: Persons providing personal care assistance (bathing, dressing, meal preparation, companionship) without nursing qualifications do not qualify under s.11, regardless of how valuable their care is. They may qualify under a different mechanism (s.467 Employed Carer credit - see below).
- Healthcare assistants: Persons with healthcare assistant qualifications (FETAC Level 5 or similar) but without NMBI registration as an RGN or RPN do not qualify under s.11.
- Nurses registered outside Ireland: Where a nurse provides home nursing care but is not registered on the NMBI register, they may not meet the qualifying standard. Where the nurse is registered with a recognised nursing regulatory body in another EU jurisdiction, contact Revenue for guidance on whether the cross-border qualification is accepted.
Records required: what documentation to retain
For a home nursing claim under s.11, retain the following:
Ready to claim? MyTaxRebate handles your complete submission.
The NMBI registration requirement is important - Revenue may request confirmation of the nurses' registration as part of a compliance review. Keep NMBI registration details for each nurse who provided home nursing care in each relevant year.
- GP medical certificate confirming medical necessity of home nursing care (as described above).
- Invoices or receipts for each period of nursing care, showing: the patient's name, the dates of service, the name of the nurse(s) providing care, the hourly rate or session rate, and the total amount charged.
- Nurse's NMBI registration details: The full name and NMBI registration number of each nurse who provided the home nursing care. This can be included on the invoice or in a separate confirmation letter from the nurse or the nursing agency.
Check Your Claim
MyTaxRebate can review your position and guide the next step.
Using a private nursing agency
Private nursing agencies in Ireland supply qualified nurses to homes and other care settings. Where a family engages a private nursing agency to provide home nursing care, the agency invoices for the service on a per-shift, per-day, or weekly basis. The agency invoice qualifies as the receipt for the home nursing claim under s.11.
You do not need to separately identify individual nurses in this case - the agency bears responsibility for ensuring its nurses are NMBI-registered, and a statement from the agency confirming that all nurses placed are NMBI-registered RGNs or RPNs provides the necessary assurance. Most private nursing agencies routinely confirm their nurses' NMBI registration on request.
Retain the agency's invoices for each billing period, along with the agency's confirmation of NMBI registration of their nursing staff. These documents, combined with the GP medical certificate, constitute the full set of supporting documentation for the claim.
Distinction from the Employed Carer tax credit (s.467)
Section 467 TCA 1997 provides a separate income tax credit for a person who employs a carer to look after a permanently incapacitated person. The s.467 credit is structurally different from the s.11 home nursing health expense relief:
Where a family employs a qualified nurse as a home carer, they may be able to choose between the s.11 health expense approach or the s.467 credit approach - or they may use the s.467 credit for the carer's employment costs and separately claim any additional qualifying medical expenses ( prescription costs, GP visits, specialist fees ) under s.469. The two provisions cannot be applied to the same expenditure, but they can be used alongside each other for different types of qualifying costs.
- Section 11 (home nursing): A health expense deduction of 20% of qualifying home nursing costs paid to a qualified nurse (RGN/RPN). The nurse does not need to be an employee of the patient - they can be a self-employed nurse or provided through an agency.
- Section 467 (employed carer credit): A tax credit of up to €75,000 per year for the cost of employing a carer (who need not be a qualified nurse) for a permanently incapacitated person. The carer must be employed and the credit applies to the employer's costs.
How to claim home nursing in the Revenue system
After the end of the relevant tax year, log in to the Revenue system at revenue.ie. Navigate to the PAYE review area → review the tax position and select the relevant year. Under Health Expenses, enter the total home nursing costs paid in that year, combined with any other qualifying health expenses for the same year. Retain the GP certificate, agency or nurse invoices, and NMBI registration confirmation for six years. Submit the claim. Revenue will apply 20% relief to the qualifying total and process any refund due.
Check Your Claim
MyTaxRebate can review your position and guide the next step.
Tax Scenarios
Family medical bills paid by one spouse
A family pays €2,400 of qualifying medical costs in the year. At 20% relief, that element alone can support about €480 of tax relief once any reimbursed amounts are excluded.
Dental work with part reimbursement
A patient pays €1,300 for qualifying dental treatment and receives €300 from insurance. Relief is based on the unreimbursed €1,000, giving a potential tax benefit of about €200.
Higher-cost specialist treatment
A taxpayer pays €4,800 for qualifying treatment with no reimbursement. At 20% relief, the tax effect on that expense can reach about €960, which is why record-keeping matters on larger medical claims.
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- ✗Claiming home care assistant costs under s.11 - home care assistants and healthcare assistants who are not NMBI-registered nurses do not qualify. The claim must relate to a fully qualified RGN or RPN.
- ✗Not obtaining a GP medical certificate before claiming - this is a required document confirming the medical need for 24-hour professional nursing care and must be retained for six years.
- ✗Not retaining NMBI registration details for the nurses who provided care - Revenue may request confirmation of the nurse's registration status in a compliance check. Ask the agency or individual nurse for this in writing.
- ✗Confusing s.11 home nursing relief with the s.467 Employed Carer tax credit - these are separate reliefs with different conditions. If you employ a carer who is not a qualified nurse, s.467 may apply, but s.11 health expense relief does not.
- ✗Not backdating - where home nursing has been required for several years and claims were not made, the four-year backdating window allows recovery of all unclaimed costs. In 2025, costs from 2022 onwards remain claimable.
When This Does Not Apply
Key Takeaways
- ➤ Private home nursing by an NMBI-registered nurse (RGN/RPN) qualifies at 20% under s.11.
- ➤ Obtain a GP certificate of medical necessity before claiming - it is a required supporting document.
- ➤ Distinguish from s.467 Employed Carer credit - the two provisions target different types of carer and cannot apply to the same expenditure.
- ➤ MyTaxRebate verifies NMBI registration and GP certificate of medical necessity, then submits the full backdated home nursing claim across all available years - at no upfront cost.
Check Your Claim
MyTaxRebate can review your position and guide the next step.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does home nursing qualify for tax relief in Ireland?
Yes. Private nursing provided at home by a fully qualified nurse (RGN or RPN) qualifies for income tax health expense relief under section 11 of Revenue's Tax and Duty Manual Part 15-01-12. A GP medical certificate confirming medical necessity is required. Home care assistants who are not qualified nurses do not qualify under this provision.
What does "fully qualified nurse" mean for this relief?
A fully qualified nurse means a nurse who is registered on the Register of Nurses and Midwives maintained by NMBI (Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland). The nurse must hold a current active registration at the time the home nursing was provided. Agency-supplied nurses qualify if individually NMBI-registered. Healthcare assistants, home helps, and carers who are not on the NMBI register do not qualify, even if they perform similar tasks.
Is a GP certificate required for every home nursing claim?
Yes. A GP medical certificate confirming the medical necessity of 24-hour professional nursing care in the home is a required element of the claim. The certificate should state that the patient requires professional nursing care at home due to their medical condition. It does not need to be renewed for every claim year provided the patient's condition remains unchanged.
What is the difference between home nursing (s.11) and the Employed Carer tax credit (s.467)?
Section 11 is a health expense relief for the cost of qualified nursing care at home - the nurses must be fully qualified RGNs or RPNs, and the relief is at 20% of the cost. Section 467 is a separate Income Tax credit specifically for employing a carer for an incapacitated person - it covers carers who are not necessarily qualified nurses and provides a credit (not a deduction) of up to €75,000 per year. The two are distinct mechanisms and cannot both apply to the same expenditure.
Can I claim home nursing costs through a private nursing agency?
Yes. Where a private nursing agency provides qualified nurses and invoices for the nursing service, the agency invoice qualifies as the receipt for the home nursing claim. You do not need to identify individual nurses on your claim - the agency invoice evidencing qualified nursing services delivered qualifies. Retain the agency's confirmation that the nurses it supplies are NMBI-registered.
How far back can home nursing costs be backdated?
Up to four years. In 2025, you can claim home nursing costs from 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025 via the Revenue system's "review the tax position" function. Where a patient has required home nursing over multiple years, gather GP certificates and nursing invoices for each year being backdated. Home nursing costs are often among the largest qualifying annual health expenses, making backdating particularly valuable for recovering significant tax refunds.
