The expert urges the use of the provision of the personal income tax law, which allows for the submission of medical expenses for tax refunds not only for the individual but also for their closest relatives.
As is known, starting this month, it is possible to submit an income declaration for the past year to the State Revenue Service. Renowned economist Evgenia Zaitseva, in a conversation with bb.lv, pointed out one important feature related to the refund of overpaid taxes:
"From January 1, 2025, the government has increased the tax-exempt minimum for pensioners from 500 euros to 1000 euros per month – as a result, pensioners have almost lost the opportunity to receive a refund of personal income tax for their expenses on visiting doctors…
Why is that? – Simply because pensions are small, and no tax was paid on them in 2025. Well, a refund of personal income tax is only possible when it is paid during the year. For example, in 2024, a pensioner officially received a pension of 700 euros, of which 660 euros was received in hand. In 2024, the tax calculation on the pension looked like this:
• gross pension amount (on paper) = 700 euros
• minus tax-exempt minimum = -500 euros
• pension amount subject to tax = 200 euros
• tax amount 20% (200 x 0.20) = 40 euros
• net pension amount (amount in hand) = 660 euros.
In 2025, the situation changed; after indexing, the pension increased to 720 euros, but no tax is paid on it:
• gross pension amount (on paper) = 720 euros
• minus tax-exempt minimum = -1000 euros
• pension amount subject to tax = -280 euros
• tax amount 25.5% (0 x 0.255) = 0 euros
• net pension amount (amount in hand) = 720 euros.
What to do? After all, expenses on doctors and medical procedures have not gone anywhere! – Use the provision of the personal income tax law, which allows for the submission of medical expenses for tax refunds not only for the individual but also for their closest relatives. The law refers to a vertical – up to the 3rd degree of kinship. This means that a person can show medical and other justified expenses in their annual income declaration not only for themselves but also for their parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, as well as for their spouse. However, this kinship must be documented. If a man and a woman live together but are not married, they are not considered spouses for the tax system, even if they have common children. And if the father is not listed on the birth certificate, he also does not have the right to request a tax refund for his child, as this fact is not documented.
Thus, pensioners will be able to receive a refund of personal income tax by the end of 2025, but not directly, rather indirectly – through their children or grandchildren. At the same time, I want to emphasize that the law establishes a limit on the annual amount of recognized justified expenses (attaisnotie izdevumi) – 600 euros per person per year. That is, 600 euros for the individual's expenses, 600 euros for a child, 600 euros for a father, 600 euros for a mother, and so on. The list of justified expenses still includes –
• medical expenses,
• medical insurance that compensates part of the expenses for doctors,
• education expenses, obtaining a profession,
• expenses for paying for children's interest clubs,
• donations to budget organizations, charitable organizations, and parties.
All these expenses must be confirmed by payment documents. Thus, for regular payments for a child's club, it is not necessary to attach 12 payment orders; it is sufficient to make one bank statement filtered for all payments for the club for the year.
If the total justified expenses for the year exceed the limit of 600 euros, the remaining amount (the excess of the limit) is carried over to the next year. This excess limit is accounted for over the next three years. For example, if 1000 euros were spent on dental treatment in 2024, then 600 euros will be considered for the tax refund for 2024 (600 x 20% = 120 euros). The remaining 400 euros will be accounted for in 2025, provided that the current expenses for 2025 do not exceed the limit. For example, if only 50 euros were spent on treatment in 2025, then considering the excess limit from 2024, the tax will be refunded from 450 euros in 2025 (450 x 25.5% = 114.75 euros).
The excess limit of justified expenses is tracked separately for each person and in the declaration of the person who submitted the documents for these expenses. If all family expenses have been submitted in the husband's declaration so far, then the excess limit for the wife's expenses will also be accounted for in the husband's declaration. And here, pensioners face a problem by the end of 2025! In our first example, the pensioner submitted an annual income declaration for his medical expenses for 2024, and he might have an excess limit that can be used when submitting the declaration for 2025. BUT the tax-exempt minimum for the pensioner has been increased, and no tax was collected from his pension during the year, and therefore, there is nothing to refund.
What to do? Is everything lost? – No. This excess limit of the pensioner, remaining in his annual declaration for 2024, can and should be transferred to the annual declaration of the spouse, if that person paid taxes, or one of the children or even grandchildren.
The question is how to do this? You need to contact the tax inspectorate through the EDS system (EDS – electronic declaration system). You need to log into the pensioner's account in EDS and write a letter to the tax inspectorate requesting to transfer the unused amount of justified expenses from this person to another person, specifying in the letter - the name, surname, personal code, and degree of kinship of the person to whom the data should be transferred. Within 3-7 days, the tax inspectorate will fulfill the request, and you can submit the annual income declaration for 2025.
Good luck! And remember that we, as taxpayers, have not only the obligation to pay taxes but also the right to their refund…"
