FAQ about the special allowance for major sickness expenses

The provision concerning the special allowance for major sickness expenses has been abolished with effect from the 2012 income year, but transitional rules have been introduced that phase out the special allowance and that will apply until further notice. You must have received this allowance for 2010 and 2011 to claim it.

The expenses must be attributable to the sickness/debility. You cannot claim an allowance for expenses you would have incurred had you been healthy. If the sickness has resulted in your expenses being greater than they would otherwise have been, you can still claim an allowance for the added expenses. Consideration is therefore only given to the added expenses that are due to your sickness, etc. However, the requirement for a causal link also entails a requirement for the sickness/debility and the expense to be sufficiently closely linked.

You can for example claim an allowance for medical expenses (personal contributions to the public health service), medicines, expenses for suitable medical aids, added expenses due to the sickness, e.g. as a result of special dietary requirements and expenses for supervision, care and essential help around the home.

You can also claim an allowance for your expenses for private treatment, care or stays at an institution or private health practice outside the Norwegian public health and social services sector, but no corresponding service must be offered by the Norwegian public health service in such cases. In addition, the health authorities must assess whether the private health service concerned is professionally competent and appropriate. In such cases, Sections 6-83 (1) and (2) must both be met in order for you to be entitled to the special allowance.

You can read more about this and other aspects of the special allowance for major sickness expenses in theTax ABC under the topic "Special allowance - sickness or debility" (only in Norwegian).

If you are asked to do so, you must document/substantiate that you have incurred sickness expenses amounting to at least NOK 9,180 during the year.

If you have received a subsidy from the public sector in order to cover your added expenses that are attributable to your sickness, you must deduct this when calculating whether your expenses have been sufficient to enable you to claim an allowance.

You must claim the allowance for sickness expenses yourself when you submit your tax return.

You must also be prepared to document/substantiate all the expenses for which you are claiming an allowance if the tax office asks you to. You should therefore retain receipts, vouchers, etc. that are linked to the expenses you believe you are entitled to an allowance for. Even if your expenses are difficult to document, you will still be able to claim an allowance for your expenses if the tax office considers it overwhelmingly likely that you have incurred them. For retrospective added expenses in connection with a sickness that are difficult to document, substantiation of your added expenses for a continuous, representative period during the income year (at least one month) may be sufficient to substantiate that they were incurred over the entire income year.

A completed form prepared by a stakeholder organisation will not automatically be considered sufficient documentation/substantiation of your added sickness expenses. However, such forms can provide some guidance in relation to your expenses that can be attributed to your sickness either directly or indirectly.

If you claim the special allowance for added dietary expenses, including expenses for hypo food, you must be able to document this upon request through a medical certificate that states that the sickness is controlled through your diet or that the diet forms part of the treatment. In connection with this, it will be sufficient if you can produce receipts for expenses linked to purchases of food and non-alcoholic drinks over a continuous, representative period of at least one month during the income year. Only essential extra dietary expenses are deductible. This means that no allowance will be given for extra expenses for an unreasonably expensive diet.

Stipulation of extra dietary expenses is based on the National Institute of Consumer Research’s (SIFO) standard budget for the income year concerned - for consumer expenses for food and non-alcoholic drinks.

If you are unable to substantiate your actual extra dietary expenses, the extra expenses will be stipulated at NOK 4,000 for the whole income year. This amount also includes the cost of hypo food. You should note that, in addition to the standard amount of NOK 4,000, you must also document/substantiate further added expenses of at least NOK 5,180 in order to claim the special allowance. See above concerning the condition relating to the amount of expenses.

See the Tax ABC under the topic "Special allowance - sickness or debility" for more information. (only in Norwegian)

If you provide for a disabled child, you can claim a special allowance for added supervision expenses which are due to the child's sickness or permanent debility. In such cases, you will receive an allowance from the first krone for documented added expenses that are attributable to the child's health. The requirement for a minimum expense and allowance level of NOK 9,180 does not apply to expenses for the supervision of a sick child.

If you also incur other expenses that are due to your own sickness or that of a person you provide for, all the expenses must be included. This means that you may be entitled to a special allowance for other sickness expenses below the minimum limit if these expenses, combined with your expenses for the supervision of one or more children, amount to at least NOK 9,180. The term "supervision expenses" means the same expense types that are covered by the child-care deduction (minding and care of children at home), but the special allowance is only given for added supervision expenses that are attributable to the child's medical condition. You can therefore not claim a deduction for supervision expenses that are covered through the child-care deduction. You must be able to document the need for supervision and your expenses when asked to do so.

Important information

You do not need to send us any documentation concerning this, but you must be able to present it upon request.