Private health insurance premiums will be an allowable deduction for personal income tax purposes, up to a maximum 15,000 baht, under a proposal approved by the cabinet on Tuesday.
Kobsak Phutrakul, assistant minister at the Prime Minister’s Office, said the mobile cabinet meeting in Ayutthaya province approved the deduction to encourage people to take out personal health insurance. It applies to premiums paid this year, or from Jan 1.
However, claims for health insurance premiums and other life assurance policies, and saving accounts with attached life assurance policies, must not exceed 100,000 baht.
The cabinet defined health insurance as -- insurance covering medical treatment for sickness, injury or compensation for disability or loss of organs from sickness or injury; personal accident insurance covering medical treatment; insurance for deadly disease; and insurance for long-term care.
Mr Kobsak said the impact of the new tax allowances on general revenue would be marginal, but it would help reduce the burden on the public health budget.